Lessons from Week 17

The final week of the regular season leaves plenty of lasting impressions, particularly for the franchises that fail to make the playoffs.

Based on another uneven performance from Mark Sanchez, the Jets may have to turn to a new quarterback next season to return to the playoffs.

The Broncos will prolong their year in the playoffs, but the Tim Tebow era is suddenly in doubt.

The Eagles failed to make the playoffs, which is great news for all remaining contenders.

Finally, the Cardinals strong finish has them thinking of a bigger and better things in 2012 thanks to quarterback John Skelton.

The Jets need a new quarterback

Nobody saw this coming entering the season, but after yet another sloppy performance by quarterback Mark Sanchez, a change in signal-caller is likely required for the Jets to fulfill Rex Ryan’s prophecy of a Super Bowl championship.

The good news for Sanchez this season was his 26 passing touchdowns and six rushing touchdowns. Both were career highs and equaled a healthy average of two touchdowns per game.

On the other hand, Sanchez made some bone-head decisions, including the well-known time out called late in the second quarter against the Patriots that provided enough time for Tom Brady to add another score before the midway mark. In an in-game interview Ryan referred to Sanchez’s decision as the "stupidest play in NFL history."

Sanchez also had a startling 26 turnovers this season. The Jets defence spent way too much time on the field, and is the main reason why the Jets failed to make the postseason.

Perhaps the statistic that best epitomized Sanchez’ struggles was his 56.7% completion rate. This was a career-high, but it also ranked 28th in the league.

That explains why Peyton Manning’s name is often mentioned as a potential Jets savior. The Colts have the opportunity to select Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck with the first pick of the NFL Draft, possibly making Manning expendable. Is there room in New York for two Mannings? If so, there could be two teams representing NYC in the postseason next year.

Tim Tebow offers an amateur performance

The Broncos backed themselves into a postseason berth due to Oakland’s loss to the Chargers. However, any celebration of a division championship has been muted following another uneven performance by quarterback Tim Tebow in a 7-3 loss to the Chiefs.

It had been warned that Tebow’s hot streak earlier in the season was a novelty act and that NFL defenses would eventually adapt to the option-based offensive system that is more commonly found in the college ranks.

Sure enough, Tebow has put together three awful performances with four interceptions and three fumbles to close off the regular season. Against the Chiefs, Tebow completed a mere six passes on 22 attempts.

More telling of his forthcoming problems is that the Chiefs also shut down his rushing attack, as his 2.7 yards per carry were by far the fewest he’s averaged all season. This tells me that the league has figured him out.

It does not mean that Tebow’s NFL career is finished. It just means that the next move is on him. Tebow will have to adapt, whether improving his passing accuracy or finding a new way to create open space against opposing defenses.

The Eagles are the best team … not in the playoffs

If the Eagles were in the playoffs, they would be the top dark horse. They finished the 2011 season with four straight wins, the second longest winning streak in the NFC. During this stretch, the Eagles have outscored their opponents by an average margin of 17 points.

The Eagles opened the season with a convincing win over the Rams. However, they then faced three straight playoff contenders. Considering the Eagles were still developing team chemistry it was no surprise to see them fall flat against the Falcons, Giants, and Niners. The Bills were a surprising loss, but both team’s momentums were going in opposite directions.

By the time the Eagles went into their bye week, they were 2-4 and had very little room for error the remainder of the season. They destroyed the Cowboys 34-7 out of the bye, but followed up with a deflating loss to the Bears. The next week Vick had one of the worst performances of his career in a loss to the Cardinals that also resulted in two broken ribs.

Vick missed three straight games (two of them losses), and finally returned on December 11 against Miami. Vick totaled nine touchdowns compared to three interceptions over the final four games, but the damage was done.

The Eagles lack of chemistry on defense, numerous injuries, added with the controversial and volatile DeSean Jackson on offense was too much to overcome. Regardless, if they had made the playoffs, they would most certainly be one of the more dangerous teams based on talent alone.

Cardinals John Skelton Is a Winner

From a statistical perspective, John Skelton is actually quite horrible. His 11 passing touchdowns came with 15 turnovers, and his quarterback rating is an abysmal 68.9. The one statistic that does reflect some promise is his seven yards per pass attempt.

Of course, Skelton wasn’t starting because of his statistics. The second-year pivot only got the call because of an injury to Kevin Kolb, but he did something Cardinals fans hadn’t enjoyed since Kurt Warner was in town; he won!

Skelton’s record as a starting quarterback this season was 5-2, and won another game in relief of Kolb. The Fordham graduate was also 2-2 as a rookie last season and is now a perfect 5-0 at home. Skelton’s winning ways should earn him an opportunity to start ahead of Kolb next season.

Skelton finds ways to get the ball into the hands of his top playmaker Larry Fitzgerald, and has offered leadership despite his youth. A second place finish in the NFC West was a step in the right direction for the Cardinals, and Skelton should now be considered a building block for the rising franchise.