Week 17 is in the books, and it was entertaining, as long as you watched the right games. That's what we'll talk about this week -- the games that mattered yesterday, the teams that matter next week, and throughout January.
Giants at Washington: So I obviously misread this game, thinking there was no chance the Giants would play their starters very much or play to win. Fortunately there wasn't much in the way of big fantasy numbers here, so it's not like you wished you'd started Beckham or Shepard. But what's Washington's excuse? They apparently bought into the conventional wisdom that this wouldn't be a competitive game. But they were the ones who actually had to play it, and with everything at stake they did essentially nothing for three quarters. Saves them a quick playoff exit, I guess. In any case, an embarrassing display. How happy is Dallas that the Giants and Packers face each other in the first round? Two teams very capable of going into Dallas and winning, so at least one of them will be gone before that happens. The other won't be an easy mark, though.
Saints at Falcons: Kind of as expected. The Falcons offense is pretty awesome and just cut through the Saints like a knife through butter. New Orleans came back to make things interesting, but not much doubt how it would go. I'm buying the Falcons as a legit NFC contender. They'll face Seattle in their first playoff game, most likely, which won't be easy, but that Seattle secondary isn't as scary as it was with everyone healthy. And Seattle's one-dimensional offense isn't that daunting, either.
Patriots at Dolphins: Death, taxes and the Patriots in the AFC Championship game. Their first opponent in Week 19 will be either Miami, Houston or Oakland, all playing with second- or third-string quarterbacks. Miami got blown out by New England twice this year (rallying to make one game look better than it actually was). Houston got embarrassed by the Patriots. The Raiders will be starting either McGloin or Cook. Michael Floyd may be going to jail at some point soon, but he's a productive Patriot now. I think Miami might score some points in Pittsburgh, but very unlikely they'll get past them.
Kansas City at Chargers: What a star this Tyreek Hill is. It's not every wide receiver you can start and get good fantasy numbers from even if they aren't a big part of the actual passing game. His punt return touchdown was a thing of beauty, a ball where he was hemmed in by players all around him inside the 10, only to weave through them, flatten a couple of his own blockers getting in his way, and going the distance. Week after week. Part of a money-winning fantasy team for me and I'll always have a soft spot in my heart for the guy going forward. Anyway, Kansas City isn't doing a lot on offense, but with that defense and special teams (and Hill), they should be able to win that first home game. Maybe. Pittsburgh has the offense that can seemingly overcome all that, but there's something special about the KC D/ST.
Seahawks at 49ers: Thomas Rawls. Is he healthy? Is he just not very good? Matched up with a lousy (historically lousy) 49ers run defense, he would have been a total bust but for a fortunate play where Jimmy Graham caught a pass and was knocked out of bounds inside the 1-yard-line. Don't know what to say beyond, the guy doesn't seem to be any good. Seattle should dispatch Detroit fairly quickly and advance, but it's an interesting playoff matchup between two one-dimensional offenses. As for Chip Kelly being fired, whatever. Why hire him at all if you're going to fire him because of a team that was terrible for reasons that had little if anything to do with Kelly's coaching.
Raiders at Broncos: Could kind of see this one coming. Gary Kubiak retiring, the Broncos home, the Raiders defense nothing special, and then Matt McGloin gets hurt. Been a rough couple of weeks for Oakland, which has gone from all but punching its ticket to the AFC Championship Game as the No. 2 seed to needing to win next week with Connor Cook, probably, in order to travel to New England and get absolutely crushed. Sorry, Oakland.
Browns at Steelers: Leave it to the Browns to nearly win a game that would have cost them the No. 1 pick in the draft. Being the Browns, though, they messed it up repeatedly, most notably failing to score on about seven chances from inside the 5-yard-line in overtime. I know it's hard to imagine things getting much worse for Cleveland, but I'm not sure where the signs are that the team is going to get better anytime soon. Entertaining game to watch and a credible outing for Landry Jones, who threw a pretty game-winning touchdown in overtime.
Texans at Titans: Less said about this one the better. Houston is a division champion, but they're a pretty ugly team to watch. Different sources were reporting different things about whether Tom Savage actually suffered a concussion or was benched after being cleared. Does it matter? Neither he nor Brock Osweiler is likely to start next season, and Houston might win a playoff game strictly because Oakland doesn't have a quarterback either right now. Nice game for DeAndre Hopkins, anyway. Could be a nice value in fantasy drafts next year if Houston finds a quarterback. I might actually start him this week in a playoff league where you can only use players once.
Cowboys at Eagles: Was kind of funny the reactions to Tony Romo throwing a touchdown. Wow, he can play! I mean, he didn't lose his job for performance reasons. If Dallas loses to the Giants or Packers two weeks from now, there will no doubt be talk about whether Romo should have started or the Cowboys should have played all out to win this game. I think if they lose it's because they faced a really good visiting playoff team; that's it.
Packers at Lions: This NFC North battle more or less lived up to the hype. As evidence, I was really tired last night from being up all New Year's evening/night (I still love you, Mariah!), but I stuck this one out until the end. Or until the Packers marched down the field to go up 31-17, anyway. If you ask me (and no one will) Aaron Rodgers is the MVP. Because I think New England, probably Dallas, and maybe Atlanta would have got to about where they are right now without their key offensive star leading the way. (Yes, New England could have probably won nearly as many games with Garoppolo in the lineup as Brady.) Green Bay without Rodgers would be a 4-12 team. Between his arm and his mobility in the pocket and his ability to make plays with his legs and just all-around elusiveness and accuracy -- what can you say. The guy's great, and you can bet Dallas doesn't want to see him in Week 19.
And that's a wrap. Season is over, but the second season begins. We'll take a look at those games in the Playoff ReDrafter, and in features and columns on the site over the next few weeks. Look for a playoff league, or start your own, even if you never have before. Lots of ways to do it, and hey -- better than nuthin'.