Welcome to the Week 17 grades!
After starting Week 17 off with a Christmas doubleheader on Wednesday, the NFL added another full day of drama with a Saturday tripleheader where all three games had major playoff implications.
In the first game of the day, the Los Angeles Chargers clinched a playoff berth by beating the New England Patriots, 40-7. The Chargers are now headed to the postseason for just the third time in 11 years.
With the Chargers' win, there's now just one AFC playoff spot up for grabs and the Broncos had a chance to clinch that in Saturday's second game, but they came up short in a wild 30-24 overtime loss to the Cincinnati Bengals. The win by the Bengals means that the AFC's final playoff berth can't be clinched until Week 18.
In the late game on Saturday, the Los Angeles Rams will be hosting the Arizona Cardinals. If the Rams come away with a win, they could clinch the NFC West title in a crazy scenario that you can read about here (The Rams would need three of the following five teams to win in Week 17: Bills, Browns, Vikings, Commanders, 49ers).
With that in mind, here are our Week 17 grades for every game that has been played so far:
Cincinnati 30-24 in OT over Denver
| B- |  |
| 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 |  |
| 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. | |
L.A. Chargers 40-7 over New England
| A+ |  |
| The Chargers clinched a playoff berth with this win, which is fitting, because Justin Herbert looks playoff ready. The offense was firing on all cylinders and that's mostly thanks to Herbert, who threw for 281 yards and three touchdowns before being benched with roughly 11 minutes left to play. One thing that makes the Chargers offense so difficult to stop is because the opposing defense never knows who's going to get the ball and that was the case in this game. Herbert completed at least one pass to nine different receivers, including Ladd McConkey, who had a huge day with eight catches for 94 yards and two touchdowns. Defensively, Derwin James had a big day with two sacks on a day where the Chargers beat up on an overmatched Patriots offensive line. This team has a strong defense and a great quarterback, which is a combination that could lead certainly lead to one or two wins in the postseason. | |
| F |  |
| The Patriots had the chance to play spoiler in this game, but instead, they ended up spoiling the day for every Patriots fan that showed up for this game. The offense couldn't move the ball, the defense couldn't stop Justin Herbert and the Patriots looked like a team that's just playing out its schedule. With six straight losses, it will be interesting to see what happens with rookie coach Jerod Mayo after the season ends. | |
Seattle 6-3 over Chicago
| C |  |
| The Seahawks needed a win in the worst kind of way and they were able to get it, thanks to a defense that came through with its most impressive performance of the season. Leonard Williams led a pass rush that had Caleb Williams on the run all night. The Seahawks linebacker tallied two of Seattle's seven sacks in the game. The defense held the Bears to just 179 yards while only allowing one drive the entire game that got inside of the Seahawks' 40-yard line. The Seahawks offense didn't do much, but Geno Smith and Zach Charbonnet played well enough in the first half to set up two Jason Myers field goals, and in the end, that was all Seattle needed. This team will now sit and wait to see what happens with the Rams on Saturday night against the Cardinals, but the important part is that it's still alive for a possible playoff berth. | |
| C- |  |
| The Bears offense has been getting close to rock bottom for nine straight weeks and they finally hit it on Thursday night. On the Bears' first nine offensive possessions, they only had one drive that went for more than 16 yards. Caleb Williams didn't have much time to throw -- he was sacked seven times -- but even when he did, he struggled to connect with his receivers in a game where he completed just 16 of 28 passes for 122 yards. The Bears defense played a nearly perfect game, but the effort went to waste because the offense couldn't move the ball. The Bears have now lost 10 games in a row, and the only good news for this team is that the season will be over next week. | |
Kansas City 29-10 over Pittsburgh (Wednesday)
| A+ |  |
| The Chiefs always seem to get hot just in time for the playoffs, and that appears to be exactly what's happening this year. Patrick Mahomes, who has a 4-0 career record against Pittsburgh, once again dominated the Steelers. The Chiefs QB diced up Pittsburgh's secondary for 320 yards and three touchdowns, and he did that my spreading the ball around: The Chiefs had seven different players catch at least two passes, including Travis Kelce, who caught eight passes for 84 yards and a TD. As good as the offense was, the defense might have been better. The Chiefs didn't have star pass-rusher Chris Jones, but they were still able to terrorize Russell Wilson. The Kansas City pass-rush racked up five sacks with Mike Danna recording two of those. Santa always delivers on Dec. 25, and the Chiefs always deliver in big games. Both of them delivered in this rare Wednesday game. | |
| D- |  |
| The Steelers are probably going to get coal in their stocking after this Christmas Day performance. With George Pickens back in the lineup, the offense did show some brief signs of life, but overall it was an ugly day. The ugliness started up front with the offensive line getting dominated for five sacks. As if that wasn't bad enough, the Steelers also made two back-breaking mistakes with a red zone interception by Russell Wilson in the first half and a lost fumble by Pat Freiermuth in the second half. It also didn't help that the Steelers defense looked lost while trying to slow down Kansas City's offense. This team feels like it's fading fast, and with three straight losses, it will be a surprise if it gets out of the first round of the playoffs with the way it is currently playing. | |
Baltimore 31-2 over Houston (Wednesday)
| A+ |  |
| Santa wasn't the only one who delivered on Christmas; so did Lamar Jackson. The Ravens QB made an MVP statement with an impressive performance that saw him total 255 yards and three touchdowns. Of that total, Jackson rushed for 87 yards, which moved him past Michael Vick for the most career rushing yards by a QB in NFL history. Jackson did get some help on offense from Derrick Henry, who plowed his way through the Texans defense for 147 yards and a touchdown. The Ravens defense, which had been a weak spot for the first 11 weeks of the season, had another strong game. It beat up on C.J. Stroud, who was sacked five times. The Ravens are getting hot at the right time, and they're now just one win away from winning the AFC North. | |
| F |  |
| The only thing that could have been uglier on Christmas than the Texans' performance was if Santa's sleigh had crashed. This game was a total disaster for a Texans team that has now struggled on offense in three straight games. C.J. Stroud couldn't get the passing game going, and that's mostly because he was under constant pressure (he was sacked five times). Even if the offense had been able to move the ball, it might not have mattered because Houston's defense couldn't stop a Ravens rushing attack that piled up more than 250 yards. The Texans are looking like a team that could go one-and-done in the playoffs unless they can somehow get things turned around before the postseason starts. | |
