Week 16 of the 2022 NFL season began with the New York Jets putting on a putrid offensive showing against the surging Jacksonville Jaguars and ended with another low-scoring affair between the Los Angeles Chargers and Indianapolis Colts, who continue to look just as bad (if not worse) under interim head coach as they did under Frank Reich.
Those bookend games had obvious playoff implications, though it’s amazing to think the Jets still have a shot at making the postseason after that offensive display (in more ways than one) they put forth.
The one reason for hope for the Jets is that they’ll have Mike White back at quarterback when they face the Seattle Seahawks in the first of two must-wins that would put them in the playoffs with one New England loss.
The Jets will have a QB decision to make in the offseason with 2021 second overall pick Zach Wilson after he had yet another bad outing, though it’s clear he doesn’t give the team much of a chance to win at this time.
And the Jets still don’t need that much production from their offense because their defense is young and talented, though we still have to point out that their offensive line hasn’t been very good and their running game has suffered since they lost both G/T Alijah Vera-Tucker and RB Breece Hall in a costly victory at Denver in October.
At least White will make some throws — so long as the Jets can keep him upright — whereas Wilson looks completely overwhelmed, which is not a good place to be given the investment the Jets made him just one offseason ago.
But, again, the focus should be on the now for Robert Saleh and the Jets.
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The Patriots offense didn’t look much better than the Wilson-led Jets offense for the first half of New England’s game against Cincinnati, but in the end it was another heartbreaking loss that put Bill Belichick’s team on the brink of elimination.
This wasn’t nearly as bad as the still-shocking final play at Las Vegas in Week 16, but almost as painful because the Patriots appeared on their way to take the lead late in the fourth quarter before Rhamondre Stevenson fumbled.
And remember all those years when it seemed every close call went New England’s way? Well, make it two weeks in a row now where the Patriots have a legitimate beef.
The Stevenson fumble came on a play where he was stood and the Bengals keep punching and tugging at the ball until they finally got it out, a play that often would have ended up being whistled dead for forward progress being stopped.
It was close enough that there was a second officiating pool report — the same as the Las Vegas game for the failure to overtime the Raiders’ game-tying touchdown when it looked like WR Keelan Cole’s foot came down out of bounds — and in this case the rationale was that Stevenson’s legs were still moving and therefore the play was still alive.
In any event, it was another tough way to loss for the Patriots, whose silver lining is that they don’t need any outside help to make the playoffs because they’ll be in — no matter what else happens around the league — simply by beating the Dolphins at Gillette Stadium and then the Bills at Highmark Stadium in Week 18.
Of course, that’s easier said than done.
Through Week 16, that opponent would be the Kansas City Chiefs (12-3), who close out the season with a home game against the Denver Broncos and a game at Las Vegas.
But things could change because the Buffalo Bills (12-3) have to travel to Cincinnati to face the streaking Bengals (11-4) on Monday night in a game that could scramble the top of the conference.
A Cincinnati win after a K.C. win Sunday would put the Chiefs at No. 1, followed by the Bengals at No. 2 and the Bills at No. 3.
Buffalo already has won at Kansas City this season, but by luck of the regular season scheduling format the Bills likely will have to do it again against the other top three team in the conference to maintain the top seed.
A Cincinnati loss would set up a showdown in Week 18 for the AFC North between the Bengals and Baltimore Ravens at Paycor Stadium — regardless of the outcome of the Pittsburgh-Baltimore game Sunday night.
— The Chargers clinching a playoff spot came with their third consecutive victory, all of them driven by their defense. They allowed 34 points in beating the Dolphins, Titans and Colts, helping them overcome their shortcomings on the offensive line and in the running game. It also should be noted that one player who really has stepped up lately for the Chargers is former Dolphins linebacker Kyle Van Noy, who has a sack in each of the last three games. The last two victories came with Justin Herbert having no touchdown passes and three interceptions (plus a lost fumble), though he made big throws in each game.
— It was quite the win for the Pittsburgh Steelers on Saturday night, coming back to defeat the Las Vegas Raiders on an emotional night when they honored Franco Harris and retired his number 32 after he unexpectedly passed away a few days earlier. The win kept alive the possibility of Mike Tomlin keeping intact his run of never having a losing season, which the Steelers can make happen with closing victories at Baltimore and at home against Cleveland. Pittsburgh also is mathematically still in playoff contention, which is remarkable considering the Steelers once were 3-7. It’s also worth noting that what ultimately could knock out the Steelers from playoff tiebreakers was their Sunday night loss at Hard Rock Stadium.
— We close with a team the Dolphins defeated earlier this season and that would be the Detroit Lions coached by former Miami interim head coach Dan Campbell. The Lions have put themselves in playoff contention with some good play of late, but that was far from a playoff-worthy performance they offered while getting run over by the Carolina Panthers. And now the Lions find themselves pretty much having to defeat both Chicago (at home) and Green Bay (away) to have any realistic chance of making the playoffs — and even then they’ll need some outside help.
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