SEALED THE GAME. @TreyDeuce32RTR INT! pic.twitter.com/OgGctmNamY
— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) December 31, 2018
11 more games to go for the 2018 NFL season!
Happy New Year, and welcome to the postseason. Let’s see that board!
During Pro Bowl week, I’ll look back at all 32 NFL teams’ seasons. For now, just be glad that the Baltimore Ravens won the AFC North, while the Philadelphia Eagles and Indianapolis Colts secured the last Wild Card spots. Three teams missed the playoffs with winning records consequently: Pittsburgh Steelers, Minnesota Vikings, Tennessee Titans.
The Kansas City Chiefs, Los Angeles Rams, and New England Patriots did what they had to do to secure Wild Card byes. The New Orleans Saints took Week 17 off because they handled their business the previous week.
On the other side… there are now eight teams that have head coaching vacancies entering the new year: Miami Dolphins, New York Jets, Cincinnati Bengals, Cleveland Browns, Denver Broncos, Green Bay Packers, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and Arizona Cardinals. In addition to the head coach firings, coordinator positions were opened up by the Jacksonville Jaguars, Detroit Lions, Minnesota Vikings, and Atlanta Falcons. The Cardinals enter the offseason with the top pick in the 2019 NFL Draft.
Teams of the Week:
NE, BAL, HOU, KC
DAL, CHI, ATL, LA
Winning units:
BUF run offense (QB Josh Allen)
DET pass offense (WR T.J. Jones)
HOU run defense (CB Shareece Wright)
NE pass offense (WR Julian Edelman)
CAR pass offense (WR Curtis Samuel)
DAL offensive line (QB Dak Prescott)
ATL run offense (RB Tevin Coleman)
BAL run offense (QB Lamar Jackson)
LAC pass rush (OLB Kyle Emanuel)
KC pass offense (WR Tyreek Hill)
LA offensive line (QB Jared Goff)
CHI run defense (ILB Danny Trevathan)
PIT pass defense (CB Coty Sensabaugh)
SEA run offense (RB Chris Carson)
PHI pass defense (CB Rasul Douglas)
IND pass offense (WR Dontrelle Inman)
Looking ahead to 2018 Wild Card
An overview of the biggest strength and biggest weakness of each unit in the 2018 postseason for each team:
Patriots (11-5) => Run Offense (T-4th in run TD) vs Pass Rush (T-30th in sacks)
Ravens (10-6) => Run Defense (2nd in passer rating allowed) vs Pass Offense (26th in passer rating)
Texans (11-5) => Run Defense (1st in run yards allowed per attempt) vs Offensive Line (Last in sacks allowed)
Colts (10-6) => Offensive Line (1st in sacks allowed) vs Pass Rush (T-19th in sacks)
Chiefs (12-4) => Pass Offense (1st in pass TD) vs Run Defense (31st in run yards allowed per attempt)
Chargers (12-4) => Run Offense (T-7th in run TD) vs Special Teams (31st in extra point percentage)
Cowboys (10-6) => Run Defense (T-8th in run TD allowed) vs Offensive Line (31st in sacks allowed)
Eagles (9-7) => Pass Rush (T-8th in sacks) vs Run Offense (T-20th in run TD)
Bears (12-4) => Run Defense (1st in run TD allowed) vs Pass Offense (14th in passer rating)
Saints (13-3) => Run Offense (1st in run TD) vs Pass Defense (27th in passer rating allowed)
Rams (13-3) => Run Offense (2nd in run TD) vs Pass Defense (17th in passer rating allowed)
Seahawks (10-6) => Pass Offense (3rd in passer rating) vs Offensive Line (25th in sacks allowed)
Open Date – Kansas City, Los Angeles Rams, New England, New Orleans
Colts at Houston: Both teams improved as the season went on, but this will come down to whether or not Houston can protect QB Deshaun Watson at home. I expect the Colts to win at the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball en route to a victory.
Seahawks at Dallas: This will be a slugfest, but I do not expect the Seahawks to be able to go into Dallas and control the game, especially given Seattle’s weakness against the run.
Chargers at Baltimore: We just saw this game a couple of weeks ago. Expect more of the same, with the Chargers struggling to do the little things against a tough Baltimore defense.
Eagles at Chicago: Philadelphia will be one-dimensional on offense, and that will be disastrous on the road against that front seven.