By Nick Shook
NFL.com
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A late-season divisional showdown hits national television on Monday night when the Atlanta Falcons travel to Tampa Bay to face the last-place Buccaneers. While the rest of the NFC South jockeys for playoff positioning, the Buccaneers — preseason sweetheart picks to make the leap into the postseason — are just trying to win a game.

Questions swirl around head coach Dirk Koetter in what has become a massive disappointment of a season. The campaign began with a publicized training camp (thanks to HBO’s and NFL Films’ Hard Knocks) and quickly unraveled after a 2-1 start. Since Tampa Bay’s thrilling win over the New York Giants in Week 3, the Buccaneers have gone 2-8. In a season that will be remembered for Jameis Winston‘s laughable pregame speech eating of a W, the Buccaneers have struggled mightily to actually secure one. Continue reading →

By Nick Shook
NFL.com
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New England (11-3) scored late to take the lead and staved off heartbreaking defeat in stunning fashion in a thrilling win over the Pittsburgh Steelers (11-3). Here’s what we learned from a game that will go a long way toward determining playoff home-field advantage:

1. We saw the two best teams in the AFC at this point go toe-to-toe for a full 60 minutes, and for a while, it looked like Pittsburgh would simply be the better team. We forgot, of course, that Tom Bradystill quarterbacks for the Patriots, leading New England on a 77-yard drive in just 1:10 with multiple completions to Rob Gronkowski. Not to be outdone, Ben Roethlisberger‘s completion to JuJu Smith-Schuster on a simple drag route ended up going for 69 yards and had the Steelers on the doorstep of a win. They never crossed it — well, they did, but it was overturned — and melted down in the final 15 seconds, with Roethlisberger faking a spike, looking for the back-corner fade and forcing a pass into the middle of the field, which was deflected and intercepted by Duron Harmon. It was a thrilling, unbelievable finish in a battle between the two heavyweights of the conference. Should they meet again in Foxborough in the postseason, we see no reason to not expect a similar performance.

2. The Steelers lost Antonio Brown in the first half to what NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported is a partially torn calf. The injury will end his regular season, but with surgery not required, there’s hope Brown returns for the postseason, Rapoport added. In the meantime, Roethlisberger didn’t flinch without his star receiver, completing his next five passes for 45 yards and a touchdown on a 15-play drive that covered 78 yards and burned 8:39. Martavis Bryant stepped up to the challenge, catching two passes for 14 yards and a touchdown on the ensuing drive. He seemed to have his way with Patriots corner Stephon Gilmore on multiple occasions, both before and after the Brown injury. Any franchise would miss its all-world receiver — Pittsburgh sure did later, and will if he can’t return for the postseason — but the Steelers are also fortunate to have talent below Brown in Bryant and Smith-Schuster. Continue reading →

By Nick Shook
NFL.com
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After a decade-long wait the Jaguars are heading back to the playoffs after defeating the Houston Texans 45-7 on Sunday. Here’s what we learned from the game:

1. Jacksonville is officially headed back to the playoffs for the first time since 2007, and a lot of it has to do with Blake Bortles. I’m convinced we’ve been watching a body double playing in place of Bortles for most of his career until this last month. The difference is stunning. Bortles has been a walking human torch in the last three weeks, posting passer ratings of 119.8, 123.7 and 143.7. His 21 of 29 passing line for 326 yards and three touchdowns — an excellent box score entry — almost lowballs how well he played on Sunday. Bortles dropped dime after dime, establishing a rapport with former practice squad man Jaydon Mickens (four catches, 61 yards, two touchdowns) and Keelan Cole (seven catches, 186 yards, one touchdown) and making throws we haven’t seen from him since his days at UCF. A team that was considered strong at every position except quarterback suddenly has one who is playing at a high level.

Is December Bortles’ month? We’ve never really known, since the Jags usually have found themselves well out of the race at that point. He posted a 103.5 rating on Christmas Eve last season in a win over the Titans and was surprisingly effective in December 2015 (posting ratings of 134.5, 114.6 and 124.5 in three of his final five games). This, with a playoff-bound team, is remarkable and a great reason for Jags fans to be feeling great about their team as we hurtle toward the new year. Continue reading →

By Nick Shook
NFL.com
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Muhammad Wilkerson is back in the doghouse.

The Jets defensive end will not be making the trip to New Orleans with the team as a result of a coach’s decision, head coach Todd Bowles said Friday.

“I’m worried about the guys that I’m coaching,” Bowles said when reporters pressed him for a reason for the decision. “I’m not worried about [Wilkerson] right now.”

A team source told NFL Network’s Jane Slater that the decision stems from Wilkerson being late to a team meeting this month. Continue reading →

By Nick Shook
NFL.com
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Expectations might not be any lower in an NFL city than they currently are in Cleveland.

A city accustomed to 4-12 and 5-11 finishes — since 1999, Cleveland has posted a 4-12 or 5-11 record nine times — is now just clamoring for one win. It’s the second season in which the best hope that remains is 1-15. As we all know, there’s only one mark worse than that, one of infamy. Continue reading →

By Nick Shook
NFL.com
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Much of 2017’s struggles in Indianapolis can be traced back to one massive void under center.

While Jacoby Brissett has performed admirably, he’s no Andrew Luck. The result of Luck’s season-long absence (and a defense that lost its best player to injury and is largely filled with spare parts otherwise) has the Colts at 3-10 entering Thursday night’s matchup against the 4-9 Denver Broncos. Both teams will look back on this season as a campaign of great disappointment, but one has reason for optimism entering 2018. Continue reading →

By Nick Shook
NFL.com
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New England and Miami clash on Monday night in an annual battle between two teams with very different trajectories.

There are the Patriots, who at 10-2 are comfortably perched atop the AFC East, needing just one win in the final four games to clinch yet another division crown. Business is good as usual in New England. Continue reading →

By Nick Shook
NFL.com
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Philadelphia emerged from a back-and-forth affair victorious, but might have lost its most important player.

The Eagles believe Carson Wentz‘s season could be over after the quarterback suffered an ACL injury in his knee during Philadelphia’s 43-35 win Sunday over the Los Angeles Rams, NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported. Wentz exited the contest late in third quarter and was ruled out shortly after heading to the locker room. Continue reading →