With all that in mind, here are the best and worst of the final week of the 2014 regular season.
Best:
DeMarco Murray and Tony Romo, Dallas Cowboys
Dallas needed to win to lock down the a home playoff game on Sunday. There were questions as to whether or not Murray and Romo would be able to play. Well both were answered in pretty convincing fashion. The Dallas Dynamic Duo emerged unscathed physically from a win in Washington that had few implications for Dallas, though the NFC East champs will take a hot streak into the playoffs after their 44-17 victory. And Murray has to feel good after claiming Emmitt Smith's franchise record for rushing yards in a season, while Romo completed the first undefeated December of his up-and-down career. Now that both guys appear healthy, the question has to be how far can they carry this team in the playoffs? For Romo can he shake the stigma of being a playoff choke artist? Only time will tell.
Worst:
Philip Rivers, Quarterback San Diego Chargers
Rivers had a fairly decent day on the day, but that was about it. Here's a guy who was considered to be an MVP candidate early on this season, when he had the Chargers in a prime spot in the AFC West. Since then, both he and the Chargers have fallen off. San Diego needed to win Sunday to hang on to the final wild card spot. They weren't able to do that. Rivers finished 20 of 34 for 291 yards, not a bad day by some standards. But he didn't throw a TD pass, was picked off twice and was sacked seven total times. Sure both he and the team were dealing with injuries, but he had a chance to fight through it and get the team to the playoffs and he wasn't quite able to do it.
Best:
Joe Flacco, Quarterback Baltimore Ravens
The week before, Flacco and the Ravens laid a major egg against the Texans. That loss forced them to have to win and get help in the final game of the season,. That's what happened. Flacco and co. bounced back in a nice way, with the 20-10 win over the Browns. Flacco went 22 of 36 for 312 yards and a pair of touchdown tosses. Thanks to that performance, and the team win, Flacco was able to help the Ravens snatch a playoff spot for the sixth time since 2008.
Worst:
Matt Ryan, Quarterback Atlanta Falcons
Atlanta laid a total egg at home in the final game of the season. Matt Ryan was part of that. He hasn't exactly been having a good year this year, and Sunday's loss was the bookend to it. Ryan was 29 of 47 for 260 yards, no touchdowns and two interceptions. Both of his interceptions were returned for touchdowns. The Falcons didn’t score a touchdown, which is hard to explain for a team with Julio Jones and Roddy White (although fullback Patrick DiMarco did drop a sure touchdown catch).
Best:
Odell Beckham Jr., Wide Receiver New York Giants
This guy has been lighting it up for Big Blue this season. Beckham has been one of the bright spots for the Giants all year long. He finished the season on a high not in the Giants win over the Eagles, snagging 12 passes for 185 yards and a touchdown. Those yards were the 2nd highest by a wide receiver in the final week of the year, only the 221 yards hauled in by Eric Decker of the Jets were more than what Beckham did. He finished the year with 1,305 receiving yards, the third-highest total in Giants history. This was more amazing considering he missed the first four games of the year with an injury. I think it's safe to say that he a good lock to win Rookie of the Year this year!
Worst:
Blake Bortles, Quarterback Jacksonville Jaguars
Back at the June draft, Bortles was the first quarterback taken. Between then and now, Bortles might be happy that this season is over and we moving towards 2015. He was sacked five times Sunday and passed for just 117 yards. Bortles averaged 165 passing yard in his final six starts and never exceeded 210 in that stretch. Jacksonville was 0-for-11 on third downs Sunday in Houston and managed just 233 yards. The takeaway: Bortles needs a lot more offensive support. He can do only so much, he needs help.
Best:
J.J Watt, Defensive End Houston Texans
The NFL has not seen a defensive player win the league MVP award since Lawrence Taylor of the Giants won it in 1986. This year the streak may end thanks to the outstanding play of J.J. Watt of the Texans in 2014! He left MVP voters with serious food for thought after putting an exclamation point on his case to claim the hardware. Thanks to Watt's three sacks Sunday, he became the first player in league history with two 20-sack seasons. One of Watt's takedowns of Jags QB Blake Bortles led to a safety, giving the Texans star 32 points this season (he'd previously scored five TDs). He was a overall threat this year on the Houston Defensive line and should be in major consideration for the award.
Worst:
Mike Smith, Head Coach Atlanta Falcons
With the NFC South and a home playoff game on the line, his Falcons got laid out by the Panthers. Smith, the winningest coach in team history, took the fall for what happened and was let go by the Falcons on Black Monday.
Best:
Carolina Panthers
Thanks to their big win over Atlanta on Sunday, the Panthers captured the NFC South once again. The first back-to-back champions in the 13-season history of the NFC South will host a winnable wild-card round contest against the Cardinals next weekend. Carolina (7-8-1), which went two months without a win in the middle of the season, suddenly seems set up to make a run in January.
Worst:
New England Patriots
They already owned the AFC's top seed at the outset of Week 17, hence the decision to sit TE Rob Gronkowski and WR Julian Edelman against Buffalo. But with its loss to the Bills, New England sacrificed its 35-game home winning streak against AFC teams, saw LT Nate Solder leave the field with a knee injury and won't carry any semblance of momentum into the divisional round after ending the regular season with two listless performances.
There you have it the best and worst of Week Seventeen in the NFL!
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