NFL Report Card Week 17: The NFC North continues to impress

The NFL regular season is nearly over, with just a few key battles left. Most notably, a Sunday Night Football clash between the Lions and the Vikings to decide the one seed in the NFC. Let's take a look at how all the teams performed in week 17.

The 49ers put up a good fight against the Lions despite their season already being over. They may have showcased some ways to beat Detroit's defense, as they racked up 475 yards and 34 points on the night. It's been a disappointing year after last season's Super Bowl heartbreak.

With the injuries on defense, it's no surprise the offense has had to do some heavy lifting in recent weeks. That's exactly what they had to do on Monday night against the Niners. There is no doubting this team's quality, and the expected return of some previously injured defenders will help, but we still feel like the defensive fragility shown last night could cost them in the playoffs.

Want to see more like this? Follow us here for daily sports news, profiles and analysis!

We have been saying for most of the season the Steelers’ style of play felt unsustainable. For a while, when Russell Wilson was playing good football, we thought we had got it completely wrong. Their performance on Christmas Day, against the Ravens, showed we should have trusted our instincts. This is an above average team, but not much more.

Don’t look now, but Patrick Mahomes just had one of his best games of the season, throwing for 320 yards and three TDs without any of the ugly picks that plagued his early season. The Chiefs have become masters of timing their runs, and it looks no different this season. Who's betting against them at this point?

The Texans were shut out offensively by a Ravens defense that is noting special. Perhaps more disappointing was how the Houston defense capitulated against Baltimore’s run game. The Texans now have a -9 point differential on the season which is suggestive of a not very good team.

There’s a very good argument Lamar Jackson deserves another MVP award for his play this season, even if it looks like Josh Allen is on course to win the award.  As it stands, the Ravens are set to play the Texans in the wild card round of the playoffs which would be a fun rematch to see if either side change much after the week 17 shellacking.

If we’re being completely honest, the Bears game against the Seahawks struggled to hold our attention for long, with the scoreline more akin to a late-July MLB game than anything you usually see in the NFL. Still, the Bears have bottomed out and need fresh ideas up and down the organization.

The Seahawks will look back on the 2024 season with some regret, as the playoffs were there for the taking. A win over Chicago still gave them some hope before the Rams crushed any playoff possibilities by beating the Cardinals.

John Breech puts it well for CBS Sports here, “The Patriots had the chance to play spoiler in this game, but instead, they ended up spoiling the day for every Patriots fan that showed up for this game.” The Pats have been awful this season despite encouraging signs from Drake Maye. Does Jerod Mayo deserve a second year in charge?

The Chargers clinched a playoff berth with their win over the Patriots, and Justin Herbert opened things up in an encouraging performance. Herbert has been good all season, but Jim Harbaugh’s risk-averse approach has limited his stats at times, Saturday’s game in New England showcased how explosive he can be when he’s let loose.

We wrote the Bengals off a few weeks ago, but results have fallen in their favor, and they now have a sniff, albeit an unlikely one, at the playoffs. Joe Burrow is having an incredible season and showed out once again against the vaunted Broncos defense, if only the defense had fulfilled its side of the bargain.

Want to see more like this? Follow us here for daily sports news, profiles and analysis!

Bo Nix made some impressive throws against the Bengals, including a game-tying lob to Marvin Mims with just seconds remaining to tie the game. Sean Payton’s refusal to go for the win was, without sounding too harsh, coaching cowardice, especially when your QB is indicating he wants to go for two.

Per CBS Sports, the Rams have held their opponents to under 10 points in their last three games, which is an unbelievable performance. It looked as though the Cardinals were marching towards a game-winning TD before the Rams defense came up with the clutch interception. The offense hasn’t looked at its best in recent weeks, so they will be hoping to turn that around quickly.

At one point this season, it looked like the Cardinals were on track for an impressive return to the playoffs. Then, everything fell apart, and quickly. Admittedly, if Tre McBride makes that catch, they probably win this game, but when you’re held to just nine points, you can’t expect to have consistent success.

Saquon Barkley passed 2,000 yards on the season, Kenny Pickett and Tanner McKee both played well in relief of Jalen Hurts, and the defense turned it over four times. The one seed is gone for Philly, giving them the opportunity to rest some starters in week 18. This is a team that has a real show at the Super Bowl.

The Cowboys had been on a good run of late, but injuries caught up to them on Sunday as they were demolished by their bitter rivals, the Eagles. We can’t be too critical given the circumstances, but it was still disappointing.

What a performance from Baker Mayfield, who continues to impress. After criticizing Tampa last week for a sloppy loss to the Cowboys, they responded with a huge win over the resurgent Panthers. Mayfield threw for 359 yards and five TDs, per ESPN, as the Bucs put up 48 points and put themselves back into the playoffs.

The Panthers were completely outmatched by the Bucs on Sunday, allowing over 550 yards of offense and 48 points. Bryce Young made some nice plays, but it was all too-little, too-late. There is something to build on in Carolina, but they need a big injection of talent up and down the roster.

The Bills put together an absolutely dominant performance against the hapless Jets to secure the number 2 seed in the AFC. If we’re allowed to be NFL fans for just one second, we would love to see the Bills take on the Chiefs again in the playoffs as we think that would be incredible to watch.

Want to see more like this? Follow us here for daily sports news, profiles and analysis!

This has been an embarrassing, and perhaps chastening year for the Jets who thought they would be among the Super Bowl favorites heading into the year. Instead, Aaron Rodgers has been awful, and the rest of the team hasn’t been much better. We have no idea what the Jets do next.

We have no idea what to make of this performance. The Giants played one of their best games of the season but at the worst possible time as they fall from the number one pick to number four with their win. That could be the difference between getting a new QB or not, given the teams selecting around them. Winning is fun, though, we suppose.

The Colts have been an enigma to us this season as we don’t think they’re very good, but up until week 17, were very much in the playoff hunt. The Colts gave up 45 points and 389 yards to the 30th-ranked offense in the NFL, per Sumer Sports’ EPA/Play rankings. Indy is another team with questions to answer this off season.

Spencer Rattler became somewhat of the hipster’s choice in the 2024 NFL draft, we were never convinced, and Sunday showed why. His accuracy and decision-making isn’t good enough. The Saints started the season looking unstoppable before regressing to a 5-11 record and another wasted year.

The win makes little difference on the season for the Raiders, but it does make drafting a new quarterback all the more difficult as they slip to the eighth pick in next year’s draft. Brock Bowers is a stud and continues to prove it, but he and the rest of the offense need better QB play for this team to improve.

The story of the Jaguars’ season is Brian Thomas Jr. who continues to look like the best rookie from this draft class. We don’t think this team is too far away talent-wise, but they need better coaching and a few more pieces before they can get back into the playoffs.

The only positive from Sunday’s performance is the Titans now hold the number two overall pick which will probably give them their choice of the top QB available. This has been another abject year in Nashville.

Jameis Winston’s injury ruined any fun there was to be had watching the Browns. Dorian Thompson-Robinson isn’t a starting NFL quarterback and has continued to look lost when he’s been given opportunities. The Browns have restructured Deshaun Watson’s contract, per ESPN, with a view to cut him in 2026, so there’s another year of mediocrity (at best) ahead.

The Dolphins needed a win to give them a chance to reach the playoffs, and that’s exactly what they got. Reaching the postseason is unlikely (28% chance, per NFL Network) but all you can do is win your games and hope. Tyler Huntley put in a great performance in relief of the injured Tua Tagovailoa, totaling over 270 yards and two TDs on the day.

The Vikings won and will now be battling the Lions in week 18 for the one seed and all the benefits that come with it. We have, admittedly, not always trusted this team, but they continue to perform at an elite level across the board. The Packers were one of the hottest teams in the NFL entering Sunday, and until a late surge, were blown out by the Vikings.

The Packers made it close with some late scores and had a chance at the win before their defense failed to make a stop. Jordan Love didn’t play well for the majority of the game, missing passes he should have completed. We continue to wonder about the decision to kick a field goal early rather than go for the TD, as well, 7-0 looks a lot better than 3-0.

Jayden Daniels has locked up the OROY award (you would think anyway) and Sunday’s performance showcased why. When the situation looks lost, Daniels seems to improve, which is exactly what happened on Sunday night as he rushed for 103 yards in the second half, per CBS Sports. Washington has clinched a playoff berth, which none of us expected before the season.

Want to see more like this? Follow us here for daily sports news, profiles and analysis!

At 17-7 at half-time, the Falcons looked comfortable, but a second-half defensive implosion saw them fall back out of the playoffs with an OT loss. The Bucs and the Falcons have been falling over themselves down the stretch, with neither side able to secure their spot in the playoffs despite opportunities to do so. If Atlanta doesn’t make it, they only have themselves to blame.