Another week is down in the history books and what a week it was. We saw several upsets as well as some close calls in the respective races. Division leaders switched places, while playoff spots were won and lost. To top it all off the race for the number one pick had its own twist and turns. So let\’s unpack who won and lost this week.
Winner #1 NFL Redzone
The NFL Redzone channel celebrated its 200th episode this week. For those of you who don\’t know about NFL Redzone I\’ll explain what the channel is. This channel shows every game-changing play around the league in live time for seven straight hours. It\’s the perfect channel if you want to keep track of everything happening throughout the league. This week was the perfect example of why NFL Redzone is a much watched channel for football fans. Of the first seven games to start, five of them came down to the last play. All five of which had dramatic endings within a ten minute span. It\’s the type of chaotic finishes that football fanatics crave and wouldn\’t be able to enjoy without that wonderful channel.
Loser #1 Pittsburgh Steelers
The Steelers saw their perfect record go down in flames as they lost at home to the Washington Football Team. While it\’s no surprise that this Steelers team won\’t be finishing the season with a perfect record, it is surprising who they lost to. Washington did have four wins including a two-game winning streak coming into this game, but none of those wins were against quality teams. The Steelers blew a 14 point lead at home as well as sole possession of that vital number 1 seed in the conference. Now that the Steelers have finally lost, there will be questions as to whether they can fend off the Chiefs for the top spot in the AFC.
Winner #2 Jets Fans
The Jets put their fans through a whole wide range of emotions on Sunday. Despite that, I\’m sure most Jets fans are happy with the outcome. The Jets were up by 4 with less than 15 seconds on the clock when their defense foolishly (or cleverly depending on how you want to look at it) did an all-out blitz leaving their last line of defense exposed. The Raiders took advantage of this scoring the game-winning touchdown despite having the odds against them. While losing is rarely good, this loss keeps the Jets in line for the number 1 pick in the draft. It would\’ve been typical for the Jets to win and ruin their chances at getting the number 1 pick. The fact that the Jets avoided that fate for at least another week, is enough to make Jets fans winners this week.
Loser #2 Seattle Seahawks
One week after taking the division lead of the Rams, the Seahawks gave it right back with an inexcusable home loss to the New York Giants. Despite having more yards and first downs Seattle could only manage 12 points in a head-scratching performance. Seattle QB Russell Wilson was harassed all day as the Giants defense sacked him 5 times and forced two turnovers. To make matters worse the Giants were without their best offensive player (Saquan Barkley) and their starting QB (Daniel Jones). Backup QB Colt McCoy is a serviceable player, but there\’s a reason why he\’s not a starter, and for Seattle to not be able to win this game hurts. On the bright side, the Seahawks get to play the winless Jets next week.
Winner #3 Cleveland Browns
Arguably the matchup of the week had the Cleveland Browns take on the Tennessee Titans in a battle of two 8-3 teams. The Browns not only won the game, but they made it a statement game. The final score flatters the Titans, but make no mistake the Browns made a statement in this game. The Browns came out guns blazing taking a 38-7 lead into halftime. The Titans were able to make the score look respectable as the Browns clearly took the second half off. But that doesn\’t take away their dominant first half as Browns QB Baker Mayfield had 4 touchdowns. The win allows Cleveland to take another step closer to ending their 18-year playoff drought. They face another big test against the Ravens next week under the lights in a Monday night clash.
Loser #3 Chicago Bears
The Chicago Bears managed to lose a game in which they were up by 10 points with a little more than 2 minutes left to go. To lose in that fashion at home against a division rival stings, especially as their faint playoff hopes took a hit as well. Bears QB Mitch Trubisky had a costly fumble late in the 4th quarter which doomed his team. The Lions were able to take advantage of that turnover by scoring the game-winning touchdown late in the game. This is the same Lions team that fired their coach a week ago and yet the Bears couldn\’t overcome them. These are the type of games that you need to win if you are going to make the playoffs. Unfortunately for the Bears and their fans, it doesn\’t seem like the playoffs will feature Chicago.
Bonus Winner: 1972 Miami Dolphins
They had to wait 13 weeks, but the 72 Dolphins finally saw the last undefeated team fall. That means for at least another year they remain the only team to go an entire season without losing a game. They can finally pop their champagne bottles, which has become an annual celebration for them, thanks to Washington getting the best of the Steelers.