Ahh Week 17 in the NFL…a week of who cares, what does it matter and who the hell is that?
It is now an NFL tradition for some of top ranked teams to sit their best players in Week 17 (the last week of the NFL regular season) to avoid injury and fatigue leading up to the NFL playoffs.
As a result no one knows who is going to play and who is going to sit out the final week…and even if the big names do play, they might only play one quarter or a single series simply to stay in rhythm.
This means it is also prime time for lesser known players to step up and make an impression on their teams and earn some playing time and roster spots heading into next season.
Not all games in Week 17 were write offs though…several games were brutal fights for playoff spots and division titles, the biggest being a showdown in Dallas between the Dallas Cowboys and the Philadelphia Eagles to determine who wins the NFC East division.
The Dallas Cowboys coming off a two game winning streak and a shut out of division rival the Washington Redskins last week, came out firing putting up 17 first half points and shutting down the high powered Philadelphia big play offense.
Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo silenced his critics once again throwing for 311 yards and two touchdowns, breaking three team season passing records for completions, pass attempts and yards…by halftime!
It wasn’t just the passing game that torched the Eagles defense however, both Dallas running backs Felix Jones and Marion Barber rushed for 91 yards each as Dallas gained 21 first downs to Philadelphia’s 10 and doubled up on time of possession.
The Cowboys posted their second defensive shutdown (a Cowboys franchise record), beating the Eagles 24-0 and giving the Cowboys the NFC East division title.
Both teams will meet again this week in the first round of the playoffs. It will be interesting to see if the game is this one sided again or if the Eagles bounce back and get revenge.
In freezing conditions and a snow covered field, the 5-Buffalo Bills ended their season on a high note hosting the Indianapolis Colts.
The Colts, who have their season and the AFC conference all wrapped up, sat their star players on the sidelines as the teams backup players fought it out against the Bills starters.
Bills running back Fred Jackson took advantage beating down the Colts backup defense to the tune of 227 rushing yards as the Bills came away with 30-7 win.
Another hard to watch one sided affair saw the Carolina Panthers end their season with an 8-8 record through a 23-10 thrashing of the New Orleans Saints.
The decision by New Orleans coach Sean Payton to sit the teams starters for nearly the whole game gave the Panthers their third straight win and the Saints their third straight loss of the season after starting 13-0.
No team has ever made the Super Bowl after ending the season with three consecutive losses, so it will be interesting to see how the move by Payton plays out.
Panthers running back Jonathon Stewart was once again dominant, finishing the game with 125 rushing yards and a touchdown despite sitting out the fourth quarter.
The Minnesota Vikings had some fine tuning to do before they started their playoff campaign and did so in fine form with a 44-7 embarrassment of the lowly New York Giants.
The Vikings improved their impressive season with a perfect 8 wins and 0 losses in their home stadium for the season while the Giants ended their season on a two game losing streak missing the playoffs for the first time since 2004.
The Vikings clinched the NFC’s No. 2 seed and a first round playoff bye after the Dallas win later that night.
The San Fransisco 49ers improved their season total to 8-8, to finish their first non-losing season since 2002 with a 28-6 over the St Louis Rams.
The Rams horrible season continued as the team could only come away from their 1-15 season in hope that their high 2010 NFL draft picks will bring a better season next year.
For the 49ers running back Frank Gore finished off his solid season with 107 rushing yards and two touchdowns, and first year pro bowler Tight End Vernon Davis caught six catches for 89 yards, including a 73-yard touchdown which tied him with Antonio Gates as the single-season NFL touchdown record by a tight end.
The Atlanta Falcons continued their late season winning streak by putting the Tampa Bay Buccaneers away with a 20-10 win in Tampa Florida.
Despite the Falcons missing the playoffs this year they have finished the last two seasons with winning records, the first time in Franchise history.
Reigning Super Bowl champs, Pittsburgh finished their dissapointing season with a 30-24 win over the Miami Dolphins.
The Steelers outrushed the Dolphins 202 yards to 99 yards and quarterback Ben Roethlisberger had another big game finishing with 220 yards and three touchdowns.
Despite squeaking out a win, the Steelers later found out that their playoff chances were finished with the Baltimore Ravens defeating the Oakland Raiders.
In a game with no meaning, Arizona Cardinals coach Ken Wisenhunt decided to rest all of his big name players while Green Bay Packers head coach Mike McCarthy went for it all starting his whole team as the Packers ran away with a 33-7 win.
Only time will tell which coach made the right decision as the Cardinals host the Packers again next week in the NFC wild-card round.
Another result which will see both teams play each other again in the Wild Card round next week saw the dominant New York Jets defense shut down the Bengals 37-0 in New Jersey.
Jets running back Thomas Jones led the way with 257 yards and two rushing touchdowns giving the Jets their ninth win of the season.
In a game with jobs and careers at stake, the Cleveland Browns improved upon their end of season winning streak taking their season total to 5-11 with a 23-17 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars in Browns stadium.
From being one of the first names on the list of coaches to be fired in the off season, Browns coach Eric Mangini has fought hard and may just have done enough to keep his job next year ending his first season as Browns coach with a four game winning streak.
Browns running back Jerome Harrison proved the past few weeks weren’t flukes with another solid performance rushing for 127 yards and a touchdown as the Jaguars were eliminated from playoff contention, finishing the season with a four-game losing streak.
In Reliant Stadium, Houston, the New England Patriots werent concerned with the score as they suffered their biggest loss of the season (and maybe next season) as star Wide Receiver Wes Welker suffered a season ending knee injury in the first quarter.
Texans Rookie running back Arian Foster scored two touchdowns and Strong Safety Bernard Pollard recovered a fumble for a touchdown and had a key interception as the Texans beat the New England Patriots 34-27.
The Texans did all they could in their fight for a playoff spot with the win over the Patriots but were eliminated later in the day by the New York Jets with their win their game over the Cincinnati Bengals.
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