Tag: NFL Week 17

Bucs Wire staff picks for Week 18 against the Panthers

Here are our picks for Tampa Bay’s big NFC South-clinching matchup (again).

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers couldn’t quite take care of business against the New Orleans Saints in Week 17. Now, during the last game of the regular season, they have a chance to rectify that — and it will be against a very manageable opponent.

The Bucs are set to face off against the Carolina Panthers on Sunday, and should they win, they’ll make the playoffs with third-straight division title. Lose, though, and they’ll almost certainly be sitting at home while either the Saints or the Atlanta Falcons take home the crown instead.

As always, Bucs Wire has our picks for the matchup, and we’re all pretty much in agreement on this one despite the stakes.

Lions run defense continues to smother opposing RBs

The Lions run defense has been very good all season, but the recent run of stuffing RBs has been even better

One of the overlooked facets of Saturday night’s controversially officiated game between the Lions and Cowboys is just how well the Detroit run defense played. For the second week in a row, the Lions turned in an elite defensive performance in stopping opposing running backs.

In this case, it was Tony Pollard. The lead Cowboys RB managed just 49 yards on 16 carries, 18 of which came on one run. Even more impressive than holding Pollard to just over 3.0 yards per carry is that the Lions did so without stacking the box a single time, per Next Gen Stats. Base defense suffocated the opposing running back in Dallas, just as it did one week earlier against the Vikings. Minnesota, Detroit’s Week 18 opponent, gained 16 yards on 10 carries by running backs in Week 16 against the Lions.

It has been an unheralded strength of the Lions defense all season, but especially since the Week 9 bye week. In the eight games since the bye, Detroit’s defense has allowed opposing running backs just 474 yards on 151 carries. That’s an average of just 3.18 yards per handoff. Quarterbacks and wideouts, as well as whatever you want to call Taysom Hill, have fared quite a bit better against the Lions, but the run defense has been great at stopping running backs.

It looks even better on first-down carries by running backs. The Lions have more tackles-for-loss on running backs (10) than runs of five or more yards (9) on 1st-and-10 runs in the last six games.

For the year, Detroit’s overall run defense ranks third (tied with Chicago) in total yards per carry allowed (3.7) and fifth in rushing yards per game (88.8).

 

Bengals fail to use younger players well vs. Chiefs and other snap count takeaways

The Bengals didn’t use their draft picks and younger players enough against the Chiefs.

The Cincinnati Bengals didn’t give younger players enough run during the loss to the Kansas City Chiefs that eliminated them from playoff contention.

That much seems obvious when looking at the official snap counts from the loss.

Some takeaways:

  • Guard Alex Cappa played 93 percent of the snaps compared to his usual 100 due to a mid-game injury.
  • Ja’Marr Chase (73 percent) and Tee Higgins (41) both played through injuries, with the latter leaving and eventually returning to tough it out.
  • Rookie wideout Andrei Iosivas only got 20 snaps, while Charlie Jones was restricted to special teams. Missing the latter’s speed when other players were hobbled hurt the offense.
  • Despite the massive outbursts in recent weeks, rookie running back Chase Brown only got 11 snaps. That’s inexcusable, barring injury or massive concerns about pass protection, given the speed he presents.
  • Same story on defense, where first-rounder Myles Murphy only got 16 snaps despite it seeming like Sam Hubbard was limited by injury and Trey Hendrickson logged 72 percent. While we’re at it, Joseph Ossai played just five snaps.
  • Bottom line: The Bengals drafted talent and didn’t use it. It feels like the staff got stuck wanting to run a limited playbook for injured stars instead of relying on the guys they drafted and keep the attack fully open and it cost them. The team should be open to massively playing these players during the Week 18 game against the Browns that doesn’t matter.

Full snap counts:

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WATCH: Highlights from Tampa Bay’s Week 17 loss to New Orleans

While most Bucs fans probably have no interest in reliving this one, we figured we’d at least give you the option.

Believe it or not, there were, in fact, highlights in this game for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Not for most of it, at least. The Bucs were outplayed for just about the entirety of their contest against the New Orleans Saints, losing 23-13 in game that wasn’t quite that close. The game gave the team an opportunity to clinch the NFC South and go to the playoffs, but with the loss, it’ll have to wait one more week in an attempt to do it against the Carolina Panthers in the last week of the season.

The Bucs scored two touchdowns, with one coming from Bucs wideout Trey Palmer down the middle of the field and another coming on an impressive catch from Chris Godwin that he took to the corner pylon. That was about it, though — the Bucs had no turnovers to speak of on defense and not much offensive success until the dying embers of the fourth quarter.

Here are the highlights for the game (if you have the stomach to watch them):

The Morning After…Patriots back in control of draft destiny

The Patriots put up a valiant fight against the Bills and climbed the 2024 NFL draft board. Some would consider that a win.

Before the ball dropped on New Year’s Day, the New England Patriots were leaving it all on the field at Orchard Park in a hard-fought battle with the red-hot Buffalo Bills.

They didn’t come away with the victory on paper, but it’s hard to walk away from that game feeling like the Patriots lost. After being pegged as double-digit underdogs, the Patriots came within less than a touchdown of the Bills in a 27-21 loss at Highmark Stadium.

They also climbed back up the 2024 NFL draft board to No. 3 overall, which puts them within reaching distance of Jayden Daniels, Drake Maye or possibly even Caleb Williams at quarterback.

Granted, it might have still felt like a loss for the players, but for the Patriots organization overall, Sunday’s game was an absolute win.

Here are some leftover notes from the Week 17 matchup:

Bengals fans react to playoff contention elimination after loss to Chiefs

Best reactions after Bengals vs. Chiefs in Week 17.

The Cincinnati Bengals looked like an upset-minded team for most of Sunday’s 25-17 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs.

That made things more interesting than they probably had any right being, considering the Bengals were missing Joe Burrow under center and the Chiefs have been in the middle of a “down” season by their own standards.

Still, a fresh, long-running rivalry between these two teams had a way of generating reactions, as did the fact both teams had plenty of playoff implications at stake entering this one.

Here’s a look at some of the most notable takeaways from fans and otherwise exiting the latest meeting between these rivals.

Instant analysis after Bengals lose to Chiefs, eliminated from playoff contention

Instant analysis after Bengals vs. Chiefs in Week 17.

The Cincinnati Bengals looked ready for the big stage on Sunday against the Kansas City Chiefs, ultimately losing, 25-17.

Cincinnati entered this one aiming to keep slim playoff hopes alive while also bouncing back from an ugly loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers over the holiday.

Backup quarterback Jake Browning led the charge in this regard, erasing some of his past mistakes and making some early big plays. But a defense that has consistently had problems all season did more of the same against Patrick Mahomes throughout the contest.

With one game left in the season, here’s a look at the must-know stats, numbers and takeaways from Sunday’s game.

Bengals, Chiefs scuffle after Ja’Marr Chase and L’Jarius Sneed altercation

Ja’Marr Chase and L’Jarius Sneed got into a little fight on Sunday.

Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase had some not-so-nice words for the Kansas City Chiefs before the two rivals squared off in Week 17.

That spilled over onto the field itself on Sunday evening, with Chase and Chiefs cornerback L’Jarius Sneed getting into a fight that earned both players flags.

On the play in question, Sneed approached Chase after a whistle and things progressed from there, with both guys ending up with offsetting personal fouls and warnings.

Not long after, the two matched up again and Sneed got called for pass interference after holding Chase on what likely would’ve been a Bengals touchdown.

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Watch: Jake Browning dives for gutsy TD to extend lead over Chiefs

Jake Browning chose violence against the Chiefs, apparently.

Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Jake Browning was holding nothing back during the first half of his team’s game against the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 17.

Browning did it all, literally, while leading the team to a 17-7 lead before halftime. He rushed for multiple first downs, completed some tough passes, extended pockets and made other plays in a truly gutsy showing.

That play to get his team to the 17-point mark said it all, as he took off on a third down in the red zone and did the unadvisable thing for a quarterback — going head-first on a rushing play.

This one, though, went for a critical touchdown:

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Studs and duds in Patriots’ New Year’s Eve loss to Bills

Who were the studs and duds in the Patriots’ 27-21 loss to the Bills.

The New England Patriots’ short-lived excitement from their Christmas Eve upset win over the Denver Broncos came crashing to a halt at Orchard Park on Sunday.

Despite a valiant effort, the Patriots failed to overcome a run-in with the AFC East division rival Buffalo Bills at Highmark Stadium.

There were far too many self-inflicted wounds for them to really have a chance on the road against a potential playoff contender. The Patriots turned the ball over four times in total, and the Bills dominated in time of possession.

It’s still amazing that the Patriots were able to keep things competitive, despite all of their mistakes. They dropped a 27-21 loss on the road against one of the hottest teams in football. There’s no shame in losing like that to the Bills.

Here are the studs and duds from the game: