Sunday of Week 16 provided its fair share of ups and downs, depending on who you play or cheer for.
While the Chiefs, Steelers and Packers all have reason to celebrate as they prepare for the final weekend of the regular season, the likes of the Colts, Browns and Washington Football Team will lament opportunities missed as everything comes down to one final kick at the ball.
Here are five takeaways from what was another unpredictable Sunday in the NFL.
RODGERS OVERTAKES MAHOMES AS 2020 MVP FAVOURITE
One of the many fascinating twists on Sunday of Week 16 was the change in the MVP race.
Sunday kicked off with Chiefs star Patrick Mahomes leading the way as favourite for the annual award, but by the time the final whistle blew on Sunday Night Football, Aaron Rodgers was atop the MVP odds.
While Mahomes and the Chiefs earned a first-round bye earlier in the day with a win over the Falcons, their 14th of the season, the reigning Super Bowl MVP had another so-so day under centre. Mahomes completed just 55 per cent of his passes, threw a wildly uncharacteristic interception on the goal line and posted his worst QB rating of the season.
Rodgers answered on Sunday night with a performance much like the ones we’ve come to expect from the 37-year-old this season: four touchdown passes (three to Davante Adams) on 21-of-25 passing with a rating of 128.1, his 13th game with a rating over 100 already this season.
The contrasting outings saw the two quarterbacks swap places on the MVP odds when the Packers’ 40-14 win over the Titans was final.
Who knows how Week 17 could impact those odds, but with 16 weeks of the 2020 season in the books, Rodgers is in the driver’s seat in the MVP race.
STEELERS GET THEIR GROOVE BACK
To say the Steelers had been struggling heading into Week 16 may be an understatement.
Pittsburgh had lost three straight after starting the season 11-0, hadn’t scored more than 17 points in a game over that span and were dealt two of their three losses by teams with losing records.
A loss on Sunday to the Colts would’ve meant the Steelers’ hopes of winning the AFC North would’ve been in serious danger in Week 17 — with the suddenly surging Browns lurking.
It started very badly for Ben Roethlisberger and Company against Indianapolis, and at one point in the the third quarter, Pittsburgh trailed 24-7.
Then at the end of the third quarter and into the fourth, the Steelers got their groove back.
Pittsburgh cut the deficit to 24-14 with a little more than three minutes left in the third frame and never looked back. By the time the clock crept past the mid-way point of the fourth quarter, the Steelers led by four and snuffed out all attempts at a Colts comeback down the stretch.
What’s most impressive about the win? The Steelers did it through the air with some really nice intermediate passes from Big Ben to his receivers, connections that had fallen apart during the course of the losing skid and had come under plenty of scrutiny.
With the division clinched, the Steelers will look to build off Sunday’s huge comeback victory and hope the worst of their 2020 season is behind them with the playoffs quickly approaching.
On the other sideline, the big blown lead could be a tough pill to swallow for the Colts, who now sit on the outside looking in of the playoff picture and need a win versus Jacksonville next week plus some help to get in.
IS TIME TO START BELIEVING IN THE BEARS?
Whether you’re a fan of the team or not, it’s been a roller-coaster ride if you follow the Bears.
The team has flip-flopped starting quarterbacks and play-callers all season long, endured a dreadful six-game losing streak in the middle of the season after a 5-1 start and just three weeks ago felt like an impossibility to make the playoffs.
But here we are – thanks to a trio of high-scoring victories over the past three weeks, Chicago not only has a chance to play January football but controls its own destiny.
That’s right: a win over the Packers in Week 17 and the 2020 Chicago Bears will be post-season bound.
Despite what really is a remarkable turnaround against the odds, we’re still not ready to trust this Bears team quite yet. Their three consecutive victories have come against teams with a combined 11-34 record, and the only team the Bears have beaten with a winning record so far this season is the Buccaneers — way back on Oct. 8.
If Chicago can get an upset win over Green Bay in Week 17 – presumably as big underdogs – maybe we’ll be willing to buy in, but we’re going to hold our final judgement on the Bears until the end of the regular season.
ROUGH WEEKEND FOR BROWNS
Things were going so well for the Browns.
Cleveland entered Week 16 as the winner in four of its past five games, playing itself back into the AFC North race. But the weekend brought with it bad news: the Browns were going to be forced to play against the Jets without seven of their players, including four wide receivers, due to COVID-19 protocols.
All of a sudden, the prospect of clinching their first playoff berth since 2002 became much more difficult.
Whether the loss of players had a role or not, the Browns struggled mightily on the field against the Jets on Sunday: Cleveland ran for just 45 yards (their lowest output of the season), punted six times and Mayfield fumbled three times, two of which Cleveland lost and the second of which sealed the defeat.
Now, instead of a shot at a division title or the peace of mind of having clinched a post-season spot with a week left to spare, the Browns must beat the Steelers in Week 17 to make the playoffs.
“It’s pretty much 2020 – all in 24 hours,” Mayfield remarked after the game.
You said it, Baker.
NFC EAST WAS ALWAYS GOING TO END THIS WAY
It was meant to be.
The 2020 NFC East is one of the worst divisions we’ve seen in some time, and Sunday’s results guaranteed it would produce the first sub .500 division champ since 2014.
So it only makes sense that the winner will be crowned in the final game of the regular season in dramatic, yet bizarre, fashion.
The Washington Football Team had a chance to lock up the division title with a win in Sunday’s late window against Carolina after watching the Giants crumble to a loss against Lamar Jackson and the red-hot Ravens. But instead of capitalizing on the opportunity, Dwayne Haskins turned the ball over three times and was benched, leaving his team in too big a hole against the Panthers to climb out of.
That loss means, despite being without their franchise quarterback since mid-October, the Cowboys somehow have a shot to emerge as the 2020 NFC East champions after a big win over the Eagles on Sunday that eliminated Jalen Hurts, Doug Pederson and Company.
Washington’s inept attempt to clinch its first division title since 2015 this weekend may not matter as all they need to do is beat Philadelphia on the final regular-season edition of Sunday Night Football to clinch.
But if we’ve learned anything from the NFC East in 2020, wins are easier said than done.
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