There will likely be silly debates throughout the week about whether the No. 1 seeds should prioritize rest or rhythm before the playoffs.
The answer should always be rest when it comes to this grueling sport. Just ask running back Christian McCaffrey, who seemed thrilled about the possibility of getting two weeks to rest after the San Francisco 49ers clinched the NFC’s No. 1 seed on Sunday.
The Baltimore Ravens will also have the option of getting two weeks off after capturing the AFC’s No. 1 seed one week before the regular season concludes.
The 49ers (12–4) and Ravens (13–3) are among our biggest winners this week because they already punched their tickets to the divisional round. Here’s our full list of winners and losers from Week 17.
Winners
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Ravens: What a memorable final week of 2023 for the Ravens, from beating the 49ers on Monday Night Football to clinching the No. 1 seed and the AFC North in Sunday’s win against the Miami Dolphins. Oh, and Lamar Jackson probably locked up the MVP with his standout, five-touchdown performance and perfect passer rating of 158.3 vs. Miami.
The Ravens will now have the option of resting their starters for the regular-season finale against the Pittsburgh Steelers to give them two weeks of rest and recovery before the start of the divisional round. For most of the season, there was no clear No. 1 team in the AFC. That’s no longer the case, with the Ravens flourishing as a legit threat to win it all this season.
Arizona Cardinals: Three of the Cardinals’ four wins this season have been against the Dallas Cowboys, Steelers and Philadelphia Eagles. Not bad for a team that was supposed to tank its way to the No. 1 pick in the 2024 draft.
Instead, the Cardinals’ upset win against the Eagles clinched the top pick for the Carolina Panthers, a selection that technically belongs to the Chicago Bears. I’m sure many Cardinals fans would rather have the No. 1 pick in the draft, but it was a monumental victory for first-year coach Jonathan Gannon, the former Eagles’ defensive coordinator.
It was also another step forward for Kyler Murray, who helped his case to remain in Arizona next year. The Cardinals (4–12) could still have a top-five pick and draft a quarterback, such as Drake Maye, Jayden Daniels or Caleb Williams. Or they can select Marvin Harrison Jr. or Brock Bowers to help Murray—two ideal situations after a memorable victory in Philadelphia.
Cowboys: The Cowboys (11–5) were one two-point conversion away from starting the postseason as the No. 5 seed and playing the NFC South champions on the road for a wild-card matchup.
Now they can secure the NFC East title and the No. 2 seed if they beat the Washington Commanders during the regular-season finale. That scenario became possible because Dallas beat the Detroit Lions 20–19 on Saturday night and the Eagles lost to the Cardinals.
I should probably give the Cowboys some credit and not focus too much on the lucky breaks. Dallas still had a timeout and enough game clock to add a late game-winning field goal had the Lions converted the two-point conversion. Well, they did on the initial try, but referee Brad Allen disagreed.
The Cowboys probably aren’t asking how they got in this position, and are looking to make the most of it behind the dynamic duo of Dak Prescott and CeeDee Lamb, who had 227 receiving yards and a touchdown vs. Detroit.
Adam Hunger/AP
Rams: The Rams (9–7) proved the doubters wrong by making the postseason one year after a dreadful 5–12 season as the defending Super Bowl champions.
Credit to GM Les Snead and coach Sean McVay for quickly reinventing themselves and getting a roster filled with rookies and second-year players ready to play every single week. Los Angeles needs to fix its special teams issues, but it will be a dangerous team in the postseason with a red-hot offense.
Second-year running back Kyren Williams added another three touchdowns and rookie sensation Puka Nacua contributed 118 receiving yards in the 26–25 victory against the New York Giants. The Rams should probably send a thank you card to the Steelers for beating the Seattle Seahawks and to Giants kicker Mason Crosby for missing the potential game-winning field goal.
Nothing wrong with getting a few breaks with a young roster. Now they’re well equipped to make a postseason run behind veterans and Super Bowl champions Matthew Stafford, Cooper Kupp and Aaron Donald.
49ers: No way we can form a winners section this week without the 49ers, who have done plenty of winning this season.
San Francisco clinched the NFC’s No. 1 seed after defeating the Commanders and now have the option of resting its starters vs. Los Angeles next week. The 49ers also avoided a serious injury to McCaffrey, who referred to his calf injury as minor. He’ll have time to rest with possibly two weeks off before the divisional round of the postseason.
Losers
Lions: The Lions (11–5) probably got hosed by the referees during their two-point conversion that was nullified in the final seconds of Saturday’s one-point loss to the Cowboys.
I find it hard to believe that multiple members of the Lions would lie about left tackle Taylor Decker reporting as eligible, and not offensive lineman Dan Skipper, as Allen claimed. But without the audio to confirm what truly happened on the field, this setback falls on the Lions because they failed to get a verbal confirmation that Allen heard Decker report as an eligible pass-catcher. It sucks for Detroit, but there’s nothing Dan Campbell’s crew can do to change the result. All this could have been avoided, too, had Campbell opted for the extra-point attempt and gone to overtime.
But it wasn’t all bad for the Lions. They can still take the No. 2 seed if the Cowboys lose to the Commanders and they handle business against the Minnesota Vikings. And let’s not assume the Cowboys will cruise vs. the Commanders, with all the upsets that have occurred. Dallas already lost to Arizona earlier this year.
Matt Slocum/AP
Eagles: Not much has gone right for the Eagles (11–5) since beating the Buffalo Bills on Nov. 26 for their 10th win of the season.
Philadelphia has lost four of its past five games, with the lone win being an ugly Christmas Day performance vs. the Giants. The Eagles continued their year-long defensive struggles by allowing Murray, James Conner and the rest of the Cardinals to record 449 yards. The Jalen Hurts-led offense hasn’t been much better, with poor execution and turnovers.
It doesn’t appear this Eagles squad will be making another lengthy postseason run in January. Perhaps they can establish momentum for the postseason by decisively defeating the Giants next week.
Dolphins: The Dolphins (11–5) got punched in the mouth by the Ravens and now have to quickly regroup against the surging Bills (10–6) to avoid starting the postseason as a wild-card team.
Miami is also dealing with plenty of notable injuries, including the potential torn ACL edge rusher Bradley Chubb sustained against the Ravens. Also, cornerback Xavien Howard exited early and Jaylen Waddle and Raheem Mostert didn’t suit up due to injuries.
The Dolphins have gotten consistent pressure, despite the season-ending injury to Jaelan Phillips in November. Now, they have to adjust without Chubb before the showdown vs. the Bills with the AFC East title on the line.
Panthers: A long year for the Panthers (2–14) got worse and it wasn’t just because of a 26–0 shutout loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Carolina clinched the 2024 No. 1 pick for another team (the Bears) and owner David Tepper threw a drink at a Jaguars fan. Tepper losing his temper is another reminder of why the Panthers have one of the most dysfunctional organizations in the NFL.
Tepper fired Frank Reich after only 11 games as a head coach and now needs to hire a prominent coaching candidate to fill the vacancy. It’s been a bad 2023 for the Panthers, but at least the owner has plenty of money. We’ll soon find out if that’s enough to land a big-name head coach.
Atlanta Falcons: No one understands the Falcons (7–9) and it’s been that way since coach Arthur Smith was hired in 2021.
The Falcons got embarrassed by the Bears, 37–17, and only produced seven points against the lowly Panthers. Sandwiched between the two ugly losses was the 29–10 victory against the Indianapolis Colts.
That’s what Smith’s Falcons have done the past three seasons. One step forward and two steps back. With the loss in Chicago, Atlanta will likely miss the postseason for the sixth consecutive season unless it gets a lot of help in Week 18.
The Falcons are too talented to continue regressing under Smith’s watch. Owner Arthur Blank will have a decision to make about Smith’s future with the team.
