Determining winners and losers is a whole lot more straightforward when playoff positions are on the line. In Week 17, the postseason picture continued to clear, and the prevailing theme became obvious: The teams with serious playoff aspirations absolutely pounded the teams that will soon be cleaning out their lockers. See: Buffalo Bills 40, New York Jets 14.
This week called for a special category, too, and that's what we start with.
BIGGEST CONUNDRUM
New York Giants: A testament to the idea that players and coaches won't tank no matter the stakes, the Giants -- who were on a glide path to the first overall draft pick after a 10-game losing streak -- played their best, most complete game of the season Sunday, knocking the Indianapolis Colts out of the playoff chase and imperiling their own shot at control of next spring's draft with a 45-33 victory. Most Giants fans were so aghast at this sudden appearance of playmaking and competence that they booed when Malik Nabers -- a star in the making -- scored. Given that the Giants missed out on the quarterbacks they coveted in 2024, after Tommy DeVito won a handful of games late last season, it's fair to wonder if there will be some regret about this one when April rolls around.
WINNERS
1) Minnesota Vikings: Their gut-check victory over the Green Bay Packers sets up a winner-take-all meeting with the Lions next Sunday for the NFC North title and the No. 1 seed in the NFC. The winner will get the first week of the playoffs off. The loser will have to go on the road as a wild card. The Vikings defense held the Packers off early, and Sam Darnold threw three touchdown passes and completed a third-down pass to Cam Akers that allowed the Vikings to run out the clock. The Vikings don't blink -- they are 9-1 in one-score games this season -- making them a dangerous opponent, however they get in.
2) Philadelphia Eagles: They mauled the Cowboys, 41-7, to lock up the NFC East on Sunday. And at 13-3, they are locked into the No. 2 seed in the NFC, giving them a home game against the No. 7 seed on Super Wild Card Weekend. Because the Vikings beat the Packers on Sunday, the Eagles have no path to the No. 1 seed, so they can rest players next week against the Giants -- important, considering Jalen Hurts missed Sunday's game with a concussion he suffered in Week 16, and Kenny Pickett, who was already nursing a rib injury, left the game after a big hit. The rest would be good, but the knowledge that they might be good enough to win a playoff game without Hurts might be even better.
3) Cincinnati Bengals: They had the most winding path to snag a playoff spot when the weekend began. But following their own insane overtime win over the Broncos on Saturday, the Bengals got a bit of help on Sunday, with the Colts losing to the Giants. To get in now, the Bengals must beat the Steelers in Week 18, the Dolphins must lose to the Jets and the Broncos must lose to the Chiefs. One very big complicating factor: The Chiefs have already locked up the No. 1 seed in the AFC and will almost certainly rest key players, as they have done in the past. Given that the Bengals and Joe Burrow have historically given them more trouble than any other AFC contender, the Chiefs probably wouldn't be too sorry to see the Broncos win their Week 17 game and get in. On a four-game winning streak with Burrow playing at an MVP level, the Bengals are the team the rest of the AFC doesn't want to see make it.
4) Miami Dolphins: They beat the Browns without Tua Tagovailoa to keep their playoff hopes alive. Their path is straighter than the Bengals': The Broncos must lose, and the Dolphins have to beat the Jets to reach the postseason.
5) Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Their 48-14 demolition of the Carolina Panthers keeps their hopes of winning the NFC South alive going into Week 18. The Bucs hold a one-game lead in the division after Atlanta's Sunday night loss and can clinch the title with a victory over the New Orleans Saints next Sunday. They must finish a game ahead of the Falcons to win the NFC South, because a tie in record gives the division to the Falcons, who swept the Bucs in the regular season.
6) Buffalo Bills: They locked up the AFC’s No. 2 seed, meaning they will face the AFC's No. 7 seed and would only have to leave home during the playoffs for an AFC Championship Game if it is in Kansas City. Just as importantly, the Bills defense looked a lot better than it did during its curiously porous performance against the Patriots in Week 16. They made Aaron Rodgers miserable, sacking him four times, intercepting him twice and keeping the Jets off the scoreboard until Tyrod Taylor replaced him.
7) Green Bay Packers: It was too little, too late, but the Packers offense came roaring back from a 17-point deficit with about 7 minutes remaining against the Vikings, showcasing what will make the Packers a dangerous opponent in the playoffs -- Jordan Love letting it rip. The Packers were swept by the Lions and Vikings this season, but they are still in.
8) Los Angeles Rams: They clinched the NFC West after beating the Cardinals on Saturday night, then sitting back and watching the strength of victory tiebreaker -- the fifth tiebreaker -- fall into place for them. Wins by the Bills, Vikings and Commanders on Sunday gave the Rams the edge over the Seattle Seahawks. There might be better ways to spend a day off in the NFL, but we can't think of any.
9) Washington Commanders: Their Sunday night victory over the Falcons, in an overtime drive fittingly dominated by Jayden Daniels, clinched a wild-card spot for the Commanders, the biggest step in their dramatic turnaround from a 4-13 season in 2023. If they finish as the sixth seed, they'd take on the Rams on Super Wild Card Weekend. However, should they slip to the seventh seed by season's end, the Commanders would face the Eagles in Round 1 of the playoffs. The division rivals split their regular-season meetings.
LOSERS
1) Indianapolis Colts: With their playoff lives on the line, they sleepwalked through the early part of Sunday's game and lost to the Giants, who looked like the worst team in the league entering the game. The Colts haven't been to the playoffs since 2020, will finish under .500 and still have questions surrounding Anthony Richardson, who's had an up-and-down, injury-marred season -- though they reportedly view him as the presumptive starter in 2025.
2) The also-rans: This was a brutal day for the teams that are playing out the string. The Panthers, Cowboys, Jets and Patriots (on Saturday) suffered embarrassingly lopsided defeats that undercut any feel-good vibes the teams may have been trying to carry into the offseason and underscored just how far away they are from contention. In New England, the Chargers' blowout win even restarted questions about Jerod Mayo's future as the head coach.
3) Atlanta Falcons: Their loss to the Commanders, combined with the Bucs' win over the Panthers, swung the NFC South lead back to the Bucs, who have a one-game edge over the Falcons entering Week 18. The Falcons play the Panthers, while the Bucs face the Saints, and the only way the Falcons can win the division is if they win and the Bucs lose. The Falcons swept the Bucs in their head-to-head meetings, so they would win the division if it ends in a tie. But they will be thinking about confounding clock management for a long time in Atlanta if they miss out.
