NFL Winners and Losers: Philadelphia Eagles protection stifle Josh Allen as Tyler Shough impresses once more for New Orleans Saints

We choose among the winners and losers from Week 17 within the NFL because the playoff race heads to the ultimate weekend of the common season…

Winner – Vic Fangio

The Philadelphia Eagles offense might proceed to sputter, however Vic Fangio’s Tremendous Bowl-calibre protection stays in tact, and it stays a defining pest within the face of Championship-chasing quarterbacks. The unit that suffocated Patrick Mahomes in New Orleans final February simply stifled reigning MVP Josh Allen because the defending champions held off a late assault to beat the Buffalo Payments 13-12, in doing so compensating for a second-half efficiency by which the Eagles managed simply 17 yards from 17 performs. Kevin Patullo ought to carry Fangio’s baggage on the airport.

It was Fangio’s protection that set the ball rolling when Jaelan Phillips knocked the ball unfastened from a scrambling Allen, permitting Jihaad Campbell to get better in Payments territory. It was Fangio’s protection that lured Allen into spiralling into no man’s land for a sack and a lack of 19 whereas attempting to make magic on third-and-eight within the fourth quarter. It was Fangio’s unit that compelled the Payments and its second-ranked EPA/play offense to punt on six possessions. It’s for this protection that the Eagles can nonetheless go back-to-back as Tremendous Bowl champions, regardless of their main flaws on the opposite facet of the ball.

Loser – Pittsburgh Steelers

It’s all arrange completely for a ultimate day winner-take-all playoff decider within the AFC North, precisely how the NFL script writers deliberate it. The Pittsburgh Steelers squandered their alternative to win the division on Sunday night time as they had been overwhelmed 13-6 by the Cleveland Browns, a day after a Derrick Henry-inspired Baltimore Ravens had saved their season alive in a 41-24 win over the Inexperienced Bay Packers. It means Pittsburgh and Baltimore will now face off in Week 18 for the correct to advance to the playoffs as AFC North champions, a state of affairs that most likely ought to have been lifeless within the water such have been the Ravens’ struggles this season. Mike Tomlin’s facet felt the absence of the suspended D.Okay. Metcalf because the offense stalled fully, Aaron Rodgers throwing for simply 160 yards whereas averaging 3.9 yards per move and Arthur Smith’s assault changing three of 15 third downs. Inconsistency has come again to chew them, and now they danger lacking out altogether.

Winner – Drake Maye

It’s nearly unfair that the New England Patriots ought to exit and discover their long-term reply at quarterback so shortly and so quickly after the Tom Brady period. Drake Maye bolstered his MVP case on Sunday as he torched the New York Jets in a 42-10 win, finishing 19 of 21 passes for 256 yards and 5 touchdowns earlier than being changed by Josh Dobbs within the third quarter with the sport out of sight. It was one other surgical day, albeit in opposition to a clumsy Jets crew, for a quarterback with each weapon within the bag, from the precision and analysis to dissect a protection from the pocket to the creativity to feast out of construction. Maye simply led the Patriots to their first AFC East division title since Tom Brady’s ultimate season in New England in 2019, propelling the complete franchise forward of schedule in its bid to return to competition. He’s environment friendly, he hits each stage, he can harm groups together with his legs, he can beat them by way of the air, he can dominate from the pocket, he can improvise off-script. Positive, it was the Jets. However the MVP calls have grow to be increasingly-difficult to disregard.

Loser – NFC South

It’s about this time each season when followers are inclined to lament a actuality by which a mean division champion with fewer than 10 wins is ready to enter the playoffs with home-field benefit. It’s about to be the case once more because the Carolina Panthers (8-8) and Tampa Bay Buccaneers (7-9) take their battle for the NFC South title into the ultimate week of the marketing campaign. Carolina had the possibility to win the division on Sunday solely to be comfortably overwhelmed 27-10 by the No 1 seed-chasing Seattle Seahawks, Mike Macdonald and Aden Durde having their means with Bryce Younger and a stagnant Panthers offense. Elsewhere the sliding Buccaneers suffered a 20-17 defeat to the Quinn Ewers-led Miami Dolphins, marking their fourth straight defeat and seventh of their final eight because the Week 9 bye. The cliff-fall of a once-MVP-contending Baker Mayfield and his offense has been alarming, whereas Todd Bowles’ job safety as head coach has been plunged into main doubt. The Panthers edged out the Bucs 23-20 after a late Mayfield interception when the groups met in Week 16, and now they are going to face off once more to determine which ones reaches the playoffs on Saturday night.

Winner – Tyler Shough

Eire’s Charlie Smyth is drilling 57-yard area targets because the satisfaction of Mayobridge, Tyler Shough is taking part in like a franchise quarterback and the New Orleans Saints are driving a four-game profitable streak having been sparked into life by their irrelevance within the playoff image. Quarterback purgatory has been a long-running theme to New Orleans’ woes in life since Drew Brees, and a defining conundrum awaiting Kellen Moore when he agreed to grow to be head coach, however Shough has arguably performed sufficient to make sure the Saints needn’t discover the market this offseason.

The second-round rookie completed 22 of 27 for a career-best 333 yards and two touchdowns to guide the Saints to a 34-26 comeback win over the Tennessee Titans, changing into the third rookie ever to document three consecutive video games of a minimum of 250 passing yards and no interceptions. Shough has gained 5 of eight video games since formally taking on from Spencer Rattler as starter in Week 9, finishing 181 of 260 passes for 1,997 yards and 9 touchdowns to 4 interceptions, main the Saints on their first four-game profitable streak since 2020 when Brees was nonetheless in New Orleans.

Loser – Indianapolis Colts

If ever there was a reminder of how lengthy, how winding, how two-halved the NFL season might be, it’s the Indianapolis Colts and their dramatic decline from contender to pretender. Shane Steichen’s crew had been formally eradicated from playoff competition on Saturday night time by means of Houston’s victory over the Los Angeles Chargers, earlier than struggling a 23-17 defeat to the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday.

It could mark their sixth straight defeat since coming into their Week 11 bye with an 8-2 document, at which level Daniel Jones had been taking part in one of the best soccer of his NFL profession, Jonathan Taylor was marching in the direction of Offensive Participant of the 12 months, Tyler Warren was dazzling in Offensive Rookie of the 12 months competition and Lou Anarumo was residing as much as his ‘Mad Scientist’ nickname behind one of many league’s smartest defenses. Cracks began appearing, however it will be a pile up of accidents to Jones that spelt hassle till he was lastly shut down for the yr with a torn Achilles, prompting one of many tales of the season when 44-year-old Philip Rivers signed with the crew 5 years into his retirement from the NFL. Rivers instilled unlikely life whereas studying NFL defenses as if he had by no means been away, but it surely hasn’t been sufficient to cease the rot because the Colts droop into the offseason.