NFL Week 17 winners and losers from Saturday games: Joe Burrow grows MVP case; Sean Payton has confusing call

[Arkansas Bengal]

 

By Jeff Kerr

 

9 hrs ago•8 min read

 

 

 

 

Getty Images

 

The Saturday NFL tripleheader did not disappointment in Week 17, thanks to the thrilling overtime victory the Cincinnati Bengals had over the Denver Broncos. In what essentially was a playoff game, the Bengals needed to win to keep their playoff hopes alive while the Broncos needed a win to clinch a playoff berth.

 

The final playoff spot in the AFC is still up for grabs as a result, yet one was clinched in the first game. The Los Angeles Chargers wrapped up a playoff berth with a blowout victory over the New England Patriots, capping Jim Harbaugh's tremendous first season coaching the team.

 

With the excitement of the first two games completed, here are some winners and losers from the Saturday tripleheader: 

 

Winner: Joe Burrow's MVP case

 

If the Bengals make the playoffs, Burrow is going to have a significant case for the league MVP award. Saturday's performance in the overtime win over the Broncos will be the first point of emphasis, as Burrow finished 39 of 49 for 412 yards with three touchdowns and zero interceptions for a 122.1 passer rating. 

 

Burrow put the Bengals on his back in the fourth quarter and overtime, going 18 of 20 for 217 yards with two touchdowns (145.2 rating), while also rushing for the go-ahead touchdown late in the fourth quarter and throwing the winning touchdown in overtime. This was Burrow's eighth consecutive game with 250+ passing yards and 3+  passing touchdowns, the most for any player in NFL history.

 

During the Bengals' four-game winning streak that got them to 8-8, Burrow has completed 75.6% of his passes for 1,304 yards with 12 touchdowns to three interceptions for a 116.3 passer rating. For the season, Burrow has completed 69.8% of his passes for 4,641 yards with 42 touchdowns to eight interceptions and a 109.8 rating. 

 

Saturday's overtime win was just further proof Burrow is a serious player in the MVP conversation. 

 

Loser: Zac Taylor's decision-making

 

Taylor had quite a few head-scratching decisions in the Bengals' victory, which certainly won't help him retain his job after the season (if the Bengals do fail to make the playoffs). Taylor's clock management in the final two minutes of the fourth quarter was abysmal, as he took away his team's chance of victory and extended a game that didn't need to be extended. 

 

The Bengals had a first-and-goal at the Broncos' 6-yard line in a 17-17 game, with Denver having just one timeout and 1:39 left on the clock. Denver tried to let Cincinnati score, and Bengals running back Chase Brown injured his ankle sliding and trying not to score. Instead of kneeling down and running down the clock after Brown's injury, the Bengals used the "tush push" and Burrow scored a touchdown with 1:31 left. 

 

Because it was second down, the Bengals could have kneeled twice and burned Denver's final timeout. Then they could have kicked the go-ahead field goal with just over 30 seconds to play, forcing the Broncos to go at least 40 yards with 30 seconds left -- and converting a long field goal to force overtime. 

 

In overtime, Cade York missed a 33-yard field goal with 2:48 left. Taylor was blamed for kicking on third down, but that one is on the kicker for missing an easy kick. Taylor kicked on third down in case there was a bad snap and the Bengals could get another shot, but his decision-making in the fourth quarter didn't help his case in overtime. 

 

How Taylor handled the late-game situation in the fourth quarter was brutal. Once again, the talent on his offense saved his job for another week. 

 

Winner: Broncos' playoff chances

 

Even though the Broncos lost to the Bengals and kept the final playoff spot available, all hope is not lost in Denver. The Broncos still need to win in Week 18 to make the playoffs in the AFC, and still control their own destiny in that sense.

 

The problem? The Broncos face the Chiefs. This won't be the Chiefs quarterbacked by Patrick Mahomes, as Kansas City will be resting its starters since the Chiefs clinched the No. 1 seed in the conference this week. Denver will be seeing Carson Wentz and plenty of Kansas City backups.

 

Of course, this isn't a guarantee Denver wins. The Broncos still have a significant advantage thanks to the Chiefs having home-field advantage clinched. 

 

Loser: Sean Payton's decision-making 

 

Payton is going to the Hall of Fame as a head coach because of his aggressive decision-making. This wasn't the same Payton who coached in Saturday's loss to the Bengals. 

 

When the Broncos scored a touchdown with 14 seconds left to make it 24-23, quarterback Bo Nix was signaling the Broncos to go for two and the win in a 24-23 game. The win would have clinched a playoff spot for the Broncos if Denver converted. However, Payton pulled the offense during the review of Marvin Mims Jr.'s catch (which stood) and kicked the extra point to force overtime. 

 

This decision did make sense, considering the Broncos also clinched a playoff spot with a tie -- and overtime is 10 minutes instead of 15. The decision was still interesting given Payton's history. 

 

In overtime, Payton had baffling clock management as well. Since the Broncos could still tie and the Bengals had the ball on their second possession in overtime, Payton called two timeouts at the 4:15 mark and 3:32 mark, saving over a minute of clock by calling those timeouts. This did bite Denver when Cincinnati got the ball back on its third possession, as the Bengals did score the winning touchdown with 1:07 left.

 

Payton couldn't have predicted Cade York was going to miss a 33-yard field goal, but he could have used those timeouts if Denver did get the ball back.

 

Even if Payton didn't want to use them, he was playing for the tie by forcing overtime earlier. Wouldn't Payton want to consume as much time as he could with his team having the ball? 

 

This wasn't Payton's finest game, and it ended up hurting Denver's chances of locking up a playoff spot. 

 

 

https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/nfl-week-17-winners-and-losers-from-saturday-games-joe-burrow-grows-mvp-case-sean-payton-has-confusing-call/

[Arkansas Bengal]

Cincinnati 30-24 in OT over Denver 

 

 

B-	Broncos
The Broncos offense got off to a slow start with just three points through the first two-and-a-half quarters, but Bo Nix made up for that by hitting Marvin Mims Jr. for two wild touchdowns in the fourth quarter, including one that tied the game with just eight seconds left. Defensively, the Broncos had an up-and-down day. On one hand, they kept constant pressure on Joe Burrow with Zach Allen recording 3.5 of Denver's seven sacks, but that wasn't enough to stop Burrow, who torched the Broncos defense for more than 400 passing yards. This felt like a playoff game, at a minimum, and it was good for young players like Nix to get big-game experience. However, if the Broncos want to play in an actual playoff game, they'll need to beat the Chiefs in Week 18.
B	Bengals
With the Bengals facing playoff elimination, Joe Burrow and Tee Higgins saved the season. Despite getting beat up by a Broncos defense that sacked him seven times, Burrow still managed to throw for 412 yards and three touchdowns. All three scores went to Higgins, who caught 11 passes for 131 yards. Although Burrow came through in the clutch, the unsung hero for the Bengals was a defense that came up with a huge fourth-quarter interception and two big stops in overtime. The Bengals didn't play a perfect game, but they played well enough to win, and when you're facing elimination, that's all that matters.    https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/nfl-week-17-grades-chargers-earn-a-for-playoff-clinching-saturday-win-bengals-get-b-for-wild-ot-victory/

[Arkansas Bengal]

Cincinnati Bengals 30, Denver Broncos 24 (OT)

 

Michael Baca's takeaways:

 

1. Burrow weathers hellish storm to keep Bengals' playoff hopes alive. Concluding one of the better regular-season games you'll ever see, Joe Burrow zipped a 3-yard touchdown pass to Tee Higgins in overtime beat the Broncos and keep Cincinnati in the playoff hunt. It was a fitting end for a duo that connected 11 times for 131 yards and three scores, but Burrow, who essentially led three game-winning drives in by the end of Saturday's thriller, put on a legendary performance that will be talked about for quite some time. There were several big-time plays he made: a beautiful 31-yard dime to Higgins to set up the game-winner, a 38-yarder to Ja'Marr Chase after escaping a collapsing pocket late in the fourth quarter and a perfect TD toss to Higgins in the corner of the end zone to re-take the lead in the third, which was preceded by the QB's 19-yard scramble on third-and-long. Considering what he had to go through — seven sacks, 15 QB hits, a missed chip-shot field goal in OT that nearly spelled doom -- Joe keeping his cool was simply amazing. Burrow finished 39-of-49 passing for 412 yards with three TDs (no turnovers) and scored what could have been the game-sealing TD if not for an incredible Broncos comeback at the end of regulation. It was certainly one to remember for Burrow, who needs a win in Pittsburgh next week for a playoff return, along with some help from other teams.

 

1. Denver can hold its head high in defeat -- but faces a must-win in Week 18. The Broncos have nothing to be ashamed of after taking part in an instant classic and can rest assured knowing they have a gamer in Bo Nix. The rookie QB got the Broncos into OT with an incredible 25-yard strike to Marvin Mims Jr. in the end zone with 14 seconds left in regulation, concluding a seven-play, 70-yard scoring drive that began with 89 seconds and just one timeout. It made up for his only faulter of the night -- a bad interception late in the fourth quarter, which resulted in the Bengals scoring the go-ahead TD. Nix overcame a rough first half for a Broncos offense that produced only 102 total yards (68 passing) and three points. He came out of halftime firing, leading Denver on consecutive TD drives, the second of which coming on a 51-yard deep shot to Mims. Nix finished 24-of-31 passing for 219 yards with three TDs and an INT while adding 31 yards on scrambles. The Broncos defense also put up an impressive fight, stopping the Bengals on two crucial fourth-down tries in the first half, both of which happening in scoring range. Zach Allen led the charge of Burrow's harassment all game with 3.5 sacks and six QB hits. The Broncos aren't out of it yet, either, needing a win or tie in Week 18 to get back into the playoffs to end a drought that's lasted since Super Bowl 50, but this was a winnable game that could haunt them. Next week, they'll face a Chiefs team that already has clinched the No. 1 seed in a game they have to have.

 

1. Bengals avoid potentially disastrous end. Hindsight is 20/20, but a late-game decision by Zac Taylor could have easily led to Cincinnati being out of the playoff race and the head coach potentially feeling the heat of his seat. The Bengals held the fate of this game in their hands late in the fourth quarter following Burrow's 11-yard strike to Chase, which earned the Bengals a big first down with 1:51 left and led to Denver expending its second timeout. On first-and-goal from the 6-yard line, running back Chase Brown intentionally fell short of the end zone, however, injured himself in the process which inadvertantly stopped the clock. The next play-call was a QB sneak, which abandoned the strategy of using up as much time as possible or at least forcing Denver to use its final timeout — one eventually used right before Nix found Mims in the end zone to force OT. Taylor said after the game that Brown's injury caused him to adjust his end-of-game thinking. Taylor also trotted out Cade York for a 33-yarder in OT on third-and-3, which is a safe play to avoid a bad snap, but considering the Bengals were using a backup kicker, there was still risk involved. York doinked the potential game-winner and Cincinnati was facing a dire situation against a team that just needed a tie to clinch a playoff berth. Fortunately, the Bengals defense got the necessary stop and Burrow authored an incredible ending to prevent yet another devestating loss this season.

 

Next Gen Stats Insight for Broncos-Bengals (via NFL Pro): Bo Nix's 51-yard TD pass to Marvin Mims traveled 67.0 yards in the air, the longest completion by air distance of the season and the second-longest in the NGS era (since 2016), behind only P.J. Walker to D.J. Moore in Week 8, 2022 (67.6 yards).

 

NFL Research: Joe Burrow is the fourth QB in NFL history to have 10 games with 250-plus passing yards and three passing TDs in a single season (each of the other three QBs to do so won 12-plus games and won NFL MVP). Saturday's performance by Burrow was also his eighth straight with three-plus passing TDs, tied for the second longest such streak in NFL history (Tom Brady had 10 in 2007).

 

https://www.nfl.com/news/chargers-patriots-broncos-bengals-cardinals-rams-on-nfl-network-what-we-learned