The Giants lose the first pick for winning, and what else do we learn in Week 17

FOX Sports NFL Experts provide the biggest takeaways from each Sunday game in Week 17 and what they mean for each team moving forward.

jeans: Injuries have certainly contributed greatly, but the most disappointing part of this bad Cowboys team might be Mike Zimmer’s defense. The loss to the Eagles on Sunday was the third time a team lost 40 or more points to Dallas, and the sixth time a team scored at least 30. The Cowboys’ first line in particular has been bad, and that’s why You are one of the worst teams in the NFL at stopping the run. But will there be no sacks with the Eagles playing Kenny Pickett and Tanner McKee at quarterback? Of course, the Eagles’ offensive line is one of the best, but Dallas needed to put some pressure on those two with Jalen Hurts out. But consistent pressure, consistent run defense and, really, any defensive consistency has not been there for the Cowboys this season. A year earlier, under then-defensive coordinator Dan Quinn, they were in the top five. But those days are clearly behind us.

Eagles: New offensive coordinator Kellen Moore has really turned Philadelphia’s offense into an efficient and dangerous machine, especially compared to the incoherent mess it was late last season. Last year, the Eagles had no identity and sometimes no idea, often passing when they should have run and vice versa. This season, with basically the same cast, they are so good that their two backup quarterbacks, Kenny Pickett and Tanner McKee, combined to go 13 of 19 for 197 and three touchdown passes in a division-clinching Cowboys rout. . The Eagles are very good at softening defenses with the pass, distributing the ball (DeVonta Smith led the way this time with 6 receptions, 120 yards and 2 touchdowns) and then taking away the opposition’s will with Saquon’s punishing power and speed. . Barkley (167 rushing yards to put him over 2,000 for the season). With a healthy Jalen Hurts, they can take on any offense in the league in the playoffs. — Ralph Vacchiano

foals: Jonathan Taylor is a fantastic player, but his presence in Indianapolis is a reminder that expensive running backs are a luxury, not a necessity. Taylor rushed for 125 yards and two touchdowns against the Giants and now has 546 yards and five touchdowns in the last four weeks and 1,254 yards and 10 touchdowns in just 13 games this season. On the surface, he’s living up to the three-year, $42 million contract (with $19 million guaranteed) he signed last year. But the Colts still missed the playoffs for the fourth straight year because they still don’t have a good quarterback. Running backs can’t transform bad teams. They can put good teams over the top, but the Colts are not a good team. Anthony Richardson hasn’t shown he can be a franchise quarterback (or stay healthy), and Indianapolis needs help on the offensive line and at receiver. Taylor has two more years with the Colts, but by the time they get back on track, he may be gone.

Giants: Um, where exactly has this been the last two years? Did the most offensively challenged team in football score the most points since 2015 with Drew Lock at quarterback? Lock threw for four touchdowns and ran for one as the Giants did everything they could to hurt their draft position. But the best part of this breakout for New York was the day rookie catcher Malik Nabers had. It’s not just that he caught seven passes for 171 yards and two touchdowns. It’s the movements, the speed and the escape ability that he showed on touchdowns of 31 and 59 yards. That explosion was the reason the Giants drafted him, but he has been absent most of the season while battling nagging injuries. He reminded everyone why he’ll be best friends with whoever the Giants quarterback is next year. — Ralph Vacchiano

Jets: In another embarrassing performance this season, Aaron Rodgers became the most sacked quarterback in NFL history. The 41-year-old quarterback was sacked four times by the Bills and has been sacked a league-record 568 times in his 20-year NFL career. The all-time mark was part of another miserable effort by the Jets, as they were tagged with 16 penalties taken for 120 yards, the most in a New York game since 2018. The Jets also had three turnovers that led to 14 points for the Bills. . Entering Sunday’s game, Rodgers had been playing good football, with 14 touchdowns and just one interception in his last eight games before the two-interception performance. Backup quarterback Tyrod Taylor, fortunately, finished the game in Rodgers’ place.

Invoices: In perhaps his last chance to make his MVP case (Buffalo clinched the No. 2 seed and has nothing to play in the final regular-season game), Josh Allen completed passes to eight different receivers while throwing for 182 yards. and two passes. touchdowns. He added a hurried touchdown amid chants of “MVP” from the home crowd. Allen now has 41 total touchdowns this season, reaching at least 40 for the fifth time in his career and joining Aaron Rodgers (6) as the only players with at least five seasons with 40 total touchdowns. Allen’s effort helped the Bills close out an undefeated regular season at home for the first time since 1990. In the MVP race, the fact that Allen’s Bills (13-3) have a two-game lead over Lamar Jackson’s Baltimore Ravens (11-3) 5) should count for something. – Eric Williams

Titans: The Titans aren’t completely devoid of talent they can build around. In what has been a bleak and disappointing season on multiple fronts, Tennessee can find optimism in players like sophomore running back Tyjae Spears, who had 103 yards from scrimmage, including 20 carries for 95 yards, in the second start of his career on Sunday before leaving with a possible concussion. Defensive tackle T’Vondre Sweat, left tackle JC Latham, cornerback Jarvis Brownlee Jr. and left guard Peter Skoronski are other mainstays. The Titans don’t have enough promising young players to envision a future of sustained success at this point, but they definitely have the beginnings of a foundation. It is paramount for them to get the 2025 draft class, including their potential quarterback of the future at or near the top of the first round.

jaguars: Brian Thomas Jr. gives the Jaguars reason for hope. On Sunday, he became the fourth rookie in league history with 1,100 receiving yards and 10 receiving touchdowns (the others: Randy Moss, Ja’Marr Chase and Odell Beckham Jr.). The former LSU star has been Jacksonville’s best player all season and still seems to be getting better week by week. These Jaguars are moving toward big changes this offseason, with possible firings for coach Doug Pederson and general manager Trent Baalke. But whoever is running the program next year will take comfort in knowing they have a franchise talent in Thomas, the type of receiver who could get Trevor Lawrence back on track next season (when he’s healthy), which could justify the move. investment of five years and $275 million. in it last summer. — Ben Arturo

panthers: As bad as things went for the Carolina Panthers on Sunday, there’s no denying that quarterback Bryce Young looks light years ahead of where he started the season. Even when the play flops, Young doesn’t seem nearly as frantic. He makes plays with his legs or throws the ball coolly. He’s not getting much help from his receivers not named Adam Thielen, as there were multiple drops in the game against Tampa. Young also ran into a motivated Buccaneers pass rush that made his life much more difficult. Despite all that, the second-year QB took charge of the football. As a Carolina fan looking toward the future, I’m encouraged by what the future holds, for Young in particular.

Bucs: The Buccaneers did exactly what they needed to do and then some against Carolina. It’s a shame they don’t control their postseason destiny since they were swept by the Atlanta Falcons, but quarterback Baker Mayfield was facing the Panthers at home on Sunday. He threw for 359 yards and five touchdowns and didn’t even finish the game, being pulled midway through the fourth quarter with the Bucs up 48-14. Fan-favorite rookie running back Bucky Irving surpassed 1,000 yards on the season with a 113-yard performance. Wide receiver Mike Evans, with 97 yards and two touchdowns, inched closer to his 11th consecutive 1,000-yard receiving season. The Bucs now await the outcome of Falcons-Commanders on Sunday night to see if they can clinch the division with a Week 18 win against New Orleans. — Carmen Vitali

raiders: The Raiders have picked a fun time of year to finally turn it on. With Sunday’s win over the Saints, in which Brock Bowers broke Mike Ditka’s record for most receiving yards by a rookie tight end in NFL history, they have now won consecutive games for the first time this season. In the process, they have removed themselves from the No. 1 pick conversation amid their obvious need for a quarterback. Now ranked to pick eighth with the Week 17 afternoon games still underway, according to Tankathon, Las Vegas should be game planning for the quarterback-less route in the first round right now. That’s why Boise State superstar Ashton Jeanty could be an interesting name to watch for the franchise. After all, the Raiders entered Week 17 last in rushing yards per game, and there has been a revival in the appreciation of running backs this season.

saints: New Orleans is shaping up to be the team to draft the first quarterback this spring not named Sheduer Sanders or Cam Ward. With Sunday’s loss falling to 5-11, the Saints are a bad team, but not bad enough to land one of the top two quarterbacks in what is believed to be a weak class for the position. What we know about the Saints is that Derek Carr is not the long-term answer for the franchise. And rookie Spencer Rattler, who has been given the chance to start with Carr out, hasn’t shown much hope. With the Saints set to hire a new coach, whoever arrives will have to mold a young quarterback who is the best of the rest. Jalen Milroe and Quinn Ewers could be considered the best options. — Ben Arturo

The following writers contributed to this story: Ben Arthur (@benyarthur); Henry McKenna (@McKennAnalysis); Ralph Vacchiano (@RalphVacchianocarmen vitali (@CarmieV); Eric D. Williams (@eric_d_williams).

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