Right before we kick off the picks and power rankings for Week 15 of the NFL season, it’s always a good idea to look back at the previous weekend of shenanigans and the news that’s broken since. Here’s what we learned after Week 14.
AARON RODGERS IS BACK
Just as one marquee name leaves the field in Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz, another returns. Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers has been medically cleared to play after missing the last eight weeks with a broken collarbone.
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According to head coach Mike McCarthy, it’s not a sure thing that Rodgers will play Sunday, but, you know, come on.
“It is now in the evaluation stage,” McCarthy said Monday. “Dr.(Pat) McKenzie (Rodgers’ surgeon) is reviewing it. There’s a number of medical opinions that will be involved in a decision, so at this time, I do not have a clean decision for you or an update. That’s where it stands.”
Aaron Rodgers is pushing very hard to be allowed to play, per source. But remember, this is a guy who by his own admission has needed Dr. McKenzie to protect him “from himself” at times. #Packers are not purposely dragging this out. Genuine ongoing discussion/opinion-gathering. pic.twitter.com/LaiYX6mB60
— Jason Wilde (@jasonjwilde) December 12, 2017
The irony is that Rodgers was officially cleared Tuesday, Dec. 12. Back in 2012 the Wisconsin State Legislature delivered a declaration that 12-12-12 was “Aaron Rodgers Day.” Fitting that on that anniversary he returns to the field to scare the shit out of every team in the NFC.
Green Bay, at 7-6, will unquestionably have to run the table to make the playoffs, but with a healthy Rodgers slinging bullets, does anybody doubt they can do it? After the Carolina Panthers this week, the Pack has the Vikings in Minnesota, then the Lions in Detroit. It’s not a cakewalk by any standards, but it’s doable.
Aaron Rodgers to the rest of the NFC right now pic.twitter.com/eNrt8EFFVU
— Korey Matheus (@kmatheus20) December 13, 2017
In Rodgers’ six games this season, he completed 66.3 percent of his passes for 1,385 yards, 13 touchdowns and just three interceptions.
The strength of the NFC representative in Super Bowl 52 took a huge hit with the loss of Wentz, but with Rodgers back in the mix, anything can happen on Super Bowl Sunday. It’s going to be a fun home stretch.
TOM BRADY LOOKS HUMAN
If Tom Brady is falling off the quarterback cliff, it took him long enough to do it. As someone who predicted this would be Brady’s last season after the requisite cliff dive, the Terrific One has done nothing but prove me wrong with an absolute MVP-caliber season for the first 13 weeks. Then Week 14 happened and now everybody is ready to take their cyanide pill.
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Let’s look at the facts. Yes, Brady had a terrible game for the New England Patriots. He was 24-of-43 for 233 yards, one touchdown and two picks. His quarterback rating of 59.5 was his lowest in years. He was sacked twice and beaten around pretty well by the Miami Dolphins in a 27-20 loss.
Worse than all of that, he was outplayed by Jay Cutler who was 25-of-38 for 263 yards, three touchdowns and no picks. What does any of this mean?
It’s hard to say. On its face, writing Brady off after one horrible game seems silly, but the dude has taken a beating behind a lackluster line this year. Every time he gets knocked down, it looks to me like it takes him longer to get up. He’s 40 and that’s no joke. There’s a reason quarterbacks don’t play as long as he has, regardless of how many aisles of Whole Foods he knows by heart.
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If you just look at the season stats, any idea of Brady being done seems ridiculous. He currently leads the NFL in completions (324) and passing yards (3,865). With Carson Wentz out, he’s the odds-on favorite to win MVP. He’s thrown 27 touchdowns and just six picks, two of which came Monday night.
Even though I was ready to write Brady off at the beginning of the year, I’m not jumping on board this bandwagon. Not yet.
This game at Heinz Field Sunday against the Pittsburgh Steelers will tell us all we need to know. The Steelers are, unquestionably, the better team. But they were last year too and it didn’t stop Brady from carving them up like Hannibal Lecter at a Jenny Craig meeting. Brady has consistently ripped the Steelers’ defense a new asshole, even in losses. He took a beating Monday and will have to face the best team in the AFC on the road on a short week. If he performs well, all this talk of QB cliff will be history. Even if the Pats lose.
Tom Brady threw that ball like a 40 year old would. They should bring in Jimmy G… Oh, wait…
— Joe 'Baboots' Curci (@JoeyBaboots) December 12, 2017
IF THE PLAYOFFS STARTED TODAY
In the AFC, the Steelers (11-2) remain the No. 1 seed, but now have a game lead over the Patriots (10-3) at No. 2. That can be erased if New England wins Sunday. The good news for Pittsburgh is, if they do manage to knock off the Patriots at Heinz Field, a two-game lead with three to go will be nearly insurmountable at this point.
The three seed is now the Jaguars (9-4), who secured their first winning season in a couple of presidential administrations. The No. 4 is the Chiefs (7-6), who actually stopped their skid with a win over the Raiders Sunday.
Your Wild cards are, at present, the Titans (8-5) and the Bills (7-6). The Ravens (7-6) and Chargers (7-6) are both still very much alive for that bottom spot.
The Eagles (11-2) still control their home field destiny in spite of losing Carson Wentz for the rest of the season with a torn ACL. They’re the one seed. The Vikings (10-3) are the two, but their road to a home field Super Bowl just got a lot easier. If the Eagles stumble, the Vikings could play at home throughout the entire postseason.
In spite of losing to Philadelphia, the Rams (9-4) are still the No. 3 seed and the Saints (9-4) are the four. Your NFC Wild Cards are the Falcons (8-5) and the Panthers (9-4) and they’ve got a solid handle on them with three games to go.
If there’s a team that can spoil it, it’s the Seahawks (8-5) who are playing the Rams Sunday. If Seattle wins that game, they’ll take over the NFC West and the Rams will have to match up with the Falcons and Panthers via tie breakers.
The Lions (7-6), Packers (7-6) and Cowboys (7-6) are all still mathematically alive, but need to run the table as I said earlier and get some help with very little time left in the season.
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