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Week 18 – the so-called “season finale” of the NFL – began on Saturday with a pair of AFC games that provided clarity on what had become a somewhat confusing medium during the week. last.
The Kansas City Chiefs smothered the Las Vegas Raiders 31-13 to temporarily lock up the conference’s No. 1 seed. However, if the Buffalo Bills won on Sunday, the Chiefs would have to face them at a neutral site for the AFC Championship Game instead of Arrowhead Stadium after the league adopted unique contingencies following the collapse of Buffalo safety Damar Hamlin during the Week 17 since-game draw with Cincinnati.
The ramifications of Saturday night’s Titans-Jaguars matchup were much clearer: Win and lock the AFC South title…which the Jags have done for the first time since 2017.
But winners and losers can go a little further than the obvious. Here are some more from Saturday:
WINNERS
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Damar Hamlin: He suffered cardiac arrest and collapsed on the turf at Cincinnati’s Paycor Stadium on Monday night before being resuscitated and taken to hospital – a chilling scene that left the league and, truly, the country elated for decades. days waiting for positive news. He took another step towards recovery on Saturday. Hamlin took to social media to thank his legion of supporters on Instagram and Twitter a day after speaking to his relieved Buffalo teammates on FaceTime.
The NFL also kicked off a weekend honoring the 24-year-old, with his players, coaches and staff wearing “Love For Damar” t-shirts. Courts in Las Vegas and Jacksonville were also among those that featured Hamlin’s No. 3 jersey on the 30-yard line in Bills colors.
The Jaguars and Titans even came together for a pre-game prayer before their AFC South title showdown kicked off – and it prompted another reaction from Hamlin.
An incredible outpouring for a player who has galvanized the nation in so many ways.
ESPN: The world leader offered his own subtle tribute to Hamlin ahead of the Jags-Titans game. Take a look at the microphone flags for play-by-play man Joe Buck and analyst Troy Aikman, who also called the game Monday in Cincinnati when Hamlin went down.
ESPN’s Robert Griffin III also wore a backwards Bills No. 3 jersey — to show off Hamlin’s nameplate — on the pregame set.
JAXD: It was the Jaguars’ defense that propelled Jacksonville into the playoffs for the first time in five years. The Jags’ 10 points in the fourth quarter, which turned a 16-10 deficit into a 20-16 advantage that held the final score, were set up by takeaways. The knockout blow came courtesy of a strip sack from Rayshawn Jenkins, who was returned 37 yards by Josh Allen for the game-winning TD.
KC D: The Chiefs finished the regular season with one of their best defensive performances of the campaign, limiting Vegas to 13 points and 279 yards while striking the ball out twice and racking up six sacks. Hopefully a week off won’t slow the momentum of this unit.
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Jerick McKinnon: TD’s ninth catch for the Chiefs’ tiny third back, known as “Jet,” is tied for most among running backs in a single season since the AFL-NFL merger in 1970.
Josh Jacobs: The Raiders guard finished the season with 1,653 rushing yards, a league-leading total that will almost certainly earn him his first rushing title just weeks before he arrives in free agency. Still, it’s amazing Jacobs, who rushed for 45 yards on Saturday, even played just days after his dad underwent emergency heart surgery. “The whole team, even the people upstairs who don’t really work with me every day. I definitely have that love and support,” he said of the Raiders, though he It was his last game with a club who turned down the fifth-year option on his rookie contract last year. “Everyone was supporting me and they knew it wasn’t really about football, so I appreciate them.”
Ryan Stonehouse: The Titans rookie finished with a single-season best 53.1 yards per punt, breaking Hall of Famer Sammy Baugh’s 82-year record (51.4).
Logan Cook: Yes, the Jags punter makes that list too. He dropped his four kicks, which averaged 51.0 yards, on Saturday inside Tennessee’s 20-yard line — a key way to further inhibit a limited Titans offense.
Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce and the Chiefs: For the third time in five seasons, the seven-time defending champions AFC West and their two biggest stars also won the conference’s No. 1 seed. (KC has failed to get a first-round bye just once in that streak.) Kansas City’s victory also eliminated an AFC Championship Game neutral-site scenario — the Bengals should now come to Arrowhead – while a loss to Buffalo on Sunday would ensure the Chiefs stay home for the rest of January.
LOSERS
Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce: The Raiders’ 31-13 breakout on Saturday was never in doubt – to the point that the Chiefs uncharacteristically ran the ball more times (28) than they passed (26). It effectively shortened the game … and also cost Mahomes a chance at Peyton Manning’s single-season record (5,477) for passing yards and kept Kelce from breaking his own mark (1,416) for receiving yards by a tight end in a season. However, Mahomes, the league-leading 5,250 passing yards, set a personal best and certainly won’t hurt his case for a second MVP award. His 5,614 combined passing, rushing and receiving yards are the most for any player in league history…maybe we need to reconsider that “loser” section.
Shank Stidham: Didn’t look much like a QB1 in his second start since replacing Derek Carr on the bench for the Raiders. Two turnovers and no attacking rhythm… one wonders where the Silver and Black will turn under center in 2023. (Former Josh McDaniels collaborators Tom Brady, Jimmy Garoppolo or even Jacoby Brissett could all be options…)
Joshua Dobbs: Didn’t look much like a QB1 in his second start since replacing benched rookie Malik Willis for the Titans. In fairness, Dobbs gave Tennessee a fighting chance on Saturday, rushing for 32 yards while passing for 179 and a first-half TD. But second-half turnovers dented his team’s faltering playoff hopes.
Titans: A team that had reached the playoffs in the previous three seasons, winning the AFC South in 2020 and 2021, is crashing and burning with a season-ending seven-game slide. RB Derrick Henry just turned 29, injured QB Ryan Tannehill didn’t finish the season, and WR AJ Brown’s rash trade in the 2022 draft may have doomed this team early on. It remains to be seen where they go from here, a month after the surprising sacking of GM Jon Robinson.
Urban Meyer: It turns out the Jags had a capable core in 2021, despite the disgraced hiring of the disgraced former national championship-winning college coach that lasted 13 NFL games. But the franchise — and, notably, second-year QB Trevor Lawrence — quickly recovered under coach Doug Pederson, who is in the playoffs for the fourth time in his last five seasons considering his tenure. with the Philadelphia Eagles. Good to see Urban renewal in Duval County.
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Follow USA TODAY Sports’ Nate Davis on Twitter @ByNateDavis.
