In a week full of games with playoff implications, the NFL regular season finished with a bang.
The Baltimore Ravens won in a nailbiter against rival, Cleveland Browns, to clinch the AFC North. This means the Pittsburgh Steelers (9-6-1) will miss the playoffs after being 7-2-1 through the first 10 games, and leading the AFC North for most of the season.
The Ravens’ fittingly won on a final defensive stand to edge out the Browns 26-24.
The defending champion Philadelphia Eagles sneak into the NFC sixth seed with a 9-7 record after they beat Washington 24-0. Their fate wasn’t entirely in their own hands, however, as they required a Vikings loss to the Bears to gain the final remaining playoff spot in the NFC.
The Bears did beat the Vikings 24-10. The Bears could’ve rested their starters knowing they would finish third regardless of the game’s outcome. Instead, they decided to keep their foot on the throat of their rivals from Minnesota, ending the Vikings’ chances of a playoff berth.
In the biggest game of the week, the Colts took on the Titans in Sunday Night Football. This game was elevated to prime time due to its playoff implications: with both teams sitting at 9-6 a win for either team means a trip to Houston to play the Texans in round one of the playoffs.
The Colts, one of the hottest teams in football, won 33-17, against a banged-up Titans team. The Titans were chasing Andrew Luck and the Colts all night, and had to do so without their starting quarterback, Marcus Mariota. Titan’s fans will be left wondering how the game may have gone if they had Mariota available.
For the Steelers and Vikings, missing the playoffs is especially disappointing.
The Steelers looked a sure thing to win the AFC North for most of the season. Fans of the black and gold will look to their loss against the Oakland Raiders in Week 14, and their Week 1 tie with the Browns, as killer blows to an otherwise promising season.
Only last season the Vikings made it to the NFC Championship game, and this offseason they upgraded the quarterback position with the signing of Kirk Cousins. Some pundits considered this team the best in the NFC coming into 2018, and almost everyone saw them as likely to make the playoffs.
Even two weeks ago, their only competition for the NFC sixth seed were the 7-7 Eagles and the Cam Newton-less Panthers. Very few people saw a roadmap for the Vikings to miss out on the playoffs based on their standings, and the outlook of the NFC.
Looking back, this will be a season of what-ifs for the Vikings and the Steelers.
With the Ravens and Colts entering the AFC playoffs, opposing teams will be nervous to play them. Both teams have momentum on their side – the Colts are 9-1 in their last 10 games, and the Ravens are 6-1 since Lamar Jackson was promoted to starting quarterback.
