The NFL Roundup 2019: Week 17 – What We Learned

Written by John Edward Betancourt 

​Normally I have to admit that I feel a sense of melancholy when we reach this particular day in the NFL’s calendar year. Because football is over for a lot of fans since they’re favorite teams are done playing, but this season… everything feels a touch different on Black Monday. Because a lot teams made the right call in regard to their respective coaching changes, something that offers up a sense of hope for fans everywhere, and some of the epic matchups from yesterday brought about some genuine surprise for certain, and of course, every coaching move and final score taught us a great many things about our favorite franchise. Which means the time has come to dive in and discuss everything we learned from Week 17 in the NFL.
 
The New England Patriots need to be worried about their postseason chances.
Make no mistake about it, yesterday’s matchup with the Dolphins was outright embarrassing for the New England Patriots. Because not only did they lose to one of the league’s worst teams with so much riding on the line, they did so in abysmal fashion. For once again the New England defense was a joke and was unable to stop the Dolphins at absolutely critical moments and Quarterback Tom Brady was awful once again, only completing 55% of his passes in that matchup and well, this is all cause for concern in Foxboro. Because teams heading into the tournament should be peaking at this point, but instead the Patriots are in decline and honestly, I won’t be shocked in the slightest if they get knocked out of the playoffs quickly. For this team simply does not have the talent to win a championship this year and the sooner they have time to reflect upon that, the better.
 
The Cleveland Browns finally made a logical coaching decision.
I think we can all agree upon the fact that the Browns make some weird decisions with the coaches they hire. Sometimes they’re simply impatient and fire a guy before he has a chance to build something special with this team, or they hang onto garbage coaches regardless of their record. But yesterday’s firing of Freddie Kitchens is the first coaching decision they’ve made that makes sense. Because Kitchens was supposed to revolutionize this offense and take it to new levels with all of the talent that GM John Dorsey acquired and that certainly didn’t happen this year. And to make matters worse, his squad was undisciplined in every sense of the word, to the point where they embarrassed the league and the franchise like never before. But while the decision to part ways and not drag out a bad situation deserves merit, the bigger task at hand now is to find the right coach for a change, one that actually can lead men and develop this young and talented squad and hopefully Cleveland does a better job of picking the next guy so people can finally take this franchise seriously once again.
 
Daniel Snyder’s decision to fire Bruce Allen is quite the pleasant surprise.
To call the Washington Redskins dysfunctional, would be an understatement. Because I am hard pressed to think of another franchise out there that tolerates mediocrity and is fine with spending stupid amounts of money on garbage free agents and are okay with maintaining a status quo in the front office as the losing seasons pile up, but that has been the M.O. for the Redskins for some time now. Which is why it was a bit of a shock, in a good way, to see Daniel Snyder let Bruce Allen go. Because Bruce has been a big part of the problem in Washington and this kind of move signals that Snyder is wanting to turn things around. But while there is some joy to be found in removing a man that believes complacency equals success, time will tell if this move brings the Redskins success down the line. Because they still need the right coach, a position that Ron Rivera is rumored to be attached to as of press time, and they also need a serious injection of solid talent from top to bottom on this squad. So, while this is a step in the right direction, Snyder’s actions following this bold act will better inform us in regard to his commitment in making this team a genuine contender.
 
The Dallas Cowboys need to quit puttering about and let Jason Garrett go.
Speaking of teams that are committed to mediocrity, let’s talk about the Dallas Cowboys and their strange decision to hem and haw on what to do with Head Coach Jason Garrett. Because as of press time, Garrett was still the coach of the Cowboys and is spending a fair chunk of the day meeting with team officials and the Jones family and well… none of this makes any sense. Because let’s be honest, Garrett is not the right guy to lead this team to the next level. He’s had talented players at his fingertips, the kind that most coaches would love to have on their team and he’s done nothing with them, and he’s made boneheaded decision after boneheaded decision on this field, the kind that has helped this squad to lose critical games. So, here’s to hoping Jerry Jones is well rested today and realizes the fact that he needs to make a change for the good of his storied franchise.
 
The San Francisco 49ers put everything together at just the right time.
The NFC playoff race has been a wild one to say the least, since the final seeding structure was waiting on the results of last night’s NFC West title game and uncertainty swirled around that game as well. Because neither team was truly dominant down the stretch, meaning this one was up for grabs, but thankfully the Niners finally put it all together in this matchup and walked away the victor. Granted, they had a late game assist from Pete Carroll and his questionable play calling, but they made the big stop when necessary and that makes this franchise the feel-good story of the playoffs. Because not that long ago they were in the bottom of the NFC, and everyone was wondering if Kyle Shanahan was the right guy to lead this team, and clearly, he was. For now, the road to the Super Bowl has to go through the city by the bay and it should be interesting to see what the Niners do in the playoffs now that they’re back in the tournament after all these years. 

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