The NFL regular season is starting to come to a close with some exciting storylines as the postseason draws near. Saquon Barkley is going for Eric Dickerson's rushing record while the Minnesota Vikings and Detroit Lions each have 13+ wins and will fight in a winner-take-all Week 18 battle for the NFC North and home-field advantage in the NFC.
The Cincinnati Bengals are a win and losses by the Miami Dolphins and Denver Broncos away from doing the improbable and reaching the playoffs. The Atlanta Falcons and Tampa bay Buccaneers are taking their NFC South title fight to the final round while the New York Giants lost their grip on the No. 1 pick.
With all the storylines in the Sunday slate in Week 17, what justified overreactions around the league? Which of those overreactions are truly overreactions and which are reality?
Eagles should let Saquon Barkley go get Eric Dickerson's record
Overreaction or reality: Reality
Barkley is just 101 yards away from passing Dickerson's single-season rushing record and has a game to play. The issue? The Eagles have nothing to play for in Week 18 with the NFC East title and the No. 2 seed clinched, and are eliminated from the No. 1 seed and home-field advantage.
If Nick Sirianni decided to rest his starters, it would be hard to blame him. How many times does a player have an opportunity to get the single-season rushing record, a mark which has stood for 40 years? Barkley may only need a half to break that record.
Getting 2,000 yards in 16 games is a tremendous accomplishment, but a memorable first season in Philadelphia would be capped if the Eagles allow Barkley the opportunity to pass Dickerson. And Barkley could do it against his former team, the Giants.
Chiefs should let Broncos win next week to keep Bengals out
Overreaction or reality: Overreaction
The Chiefs don't have to play their starters in Week 18 since they have home-field advantage locked up. Andy Reid can do whatever he likes, even if his team won't have to play a meaningful game in more than three weeks. Sitting Patrick Mahomes and the first-team offense would do the Broncos a favor, who just need a win to clinch a playoff berth -- no matter what the Bengals or Dolphins do.
The only reason this is a topic is because Burrow has beaten the Chiefs in Arrowhead Stadium and the Bengals have an offense that can score with anyone. No team should be afraid of their offensive line and defense, which is an easy weakness to exploit. If the Bengals do make the playoffs and win in the wild-card round, they would face the Chiefs in their first playoff game.
The Chiefs aren't scared of the Bengals, but who could blame them if they let the Broncos win and rest their starters for Week 18. They earned that right.
Packers are the most overrated team in the NFC
Overreaction or reality: Reality
Another opportunity to beat a team with 10+ wins for the Packers ended in a loss. The Packers fell to 0-5 against the Vikings, Lions and Eagles this season -- the three teams in the conference with 13+ wins and the three teams with a better record than them in the conference.
The Packers are 2-5 against teams that currently have 10+ wins, but that victory was over a Rams team without Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua. There is no victory on the Packers' schedule that convinces anyone they can make a playoff run in the NFC, nor beat any of the elite teams in the conference.
Green Bay is a good team, and the Packers' five losses to these 13+ win teams are by a combined 22 points. The goose egg in the win column makes them overrated, but they can change that narrative in the playoffs.
Giants won't have a winning season for another three years
Overreaction or reality: Reality
Give it to the Giants for winning a football game when they shouldn't have. The Giants didn't win a 10-9 barn burner either, scoring 45 points as Drew Lock threw for 309 yards and four touchdowns while rookie Malik Nabers had 171 yards and two scores.
All the Giants had to do was lose out and the No. 1 pick would have been theirs. They could have paired Nabers and 1,000-yard rookie running back Tyrone Tracy with a quarterback who would have been picked No. 1 overall and immediately changed the fortunes of their franchise.
With the win, the Giants won't have an opportunity to get that franchise quarterback unless they trade up (which they didn't have to do). By virtue of strength of schedule, the Giants will now pick at No. 4 instead of No. 1 -- a major difference in getting a franchise quarterback compared to a difference-maker somewhere else.
The Giants needed a quarterback in the worst way. They likely won't get the best quarterback on the board, and will have to trust their front office to make the right pick. Whether it's Joe Schoen at general manager or someone else, good luck with that.
Brock Bowers is Offensive Rookie of the Year
Overreaction or reality: Overreaction
In most years, Bowers would earn this award for his accolades. The Raiders star broke Mike Ditka's 63-year-old record for most receiving yards by a tight end in his rookie season, having 1,144 yards in his first year in the league. Bowers also has 108 catches, the most by any rookie in league history.
There's even more history at stake for Bowers, as he's just eight catches away from tying Zach Ertz for most receptions by any tight end in a season (116). Bowers is second in the NFL in catches and sixth in receiving yards, showcasing how elite of a receiver he is in Year 1.
Bowers isn't getting Travis Kelce's single-season receiving yards record for a tight end (1,416), but he's having a historic rookie campaign. Unfortunately, so is Jayden Daniels, who is the first player in league history to have 10+ wins, 30+ total touchdowns and 4,000+ total yards in his rookie season.
Daniels will take home the hardware, but Bowers certainly should get votes.
