The only people who are surprised What happened with Carson Wentz Sunday it may be Washington leaders. And that’s the problem.
the Trade decision in favor of Wentz Not the worst move an NFL team has made over the past year, but it’s a great example of why captains haven’t done well for decades.
Wentz threw three interceptions and did not give the Chiefs a chance Sunday in a game against Cleveland Browns That was crucial to their playoff hopes. The Browns came in with a 6-9 record. The leaders were at home. And they were tough, mostly because of the quarterbacks. Brown won 24-10pushing the leaders to 7-8-1.
And everything was expected, back to foreign trade. the Indianapolis Colts They can’t wait to get rid of Wentz or hide their desire to get rid of him. That was after Philadelphia Eagles I can’t wait to get rid of it. However, the Chiefs surprised the NFL by trading second- and third-round draft picks in 2022 and 2023 conditional third-round draft picks to the Colts for Wentz, a second- and seventh-round pick. They didn’t get any discount on the contract either; Washington took Wentz’s $22 million salary as part of the deal.
Everyone seemed to immediately hate the trade for Washington, and it happened just as the pundits said.
The hardest part for the Commanders’ fans, the few who remained after decades of destructive behavior with the fanbase anyway, was that the NFL front office couldn’t see what others had done about Wentz. He was an average, error-prone midfielder for a long time. During the season the leaders switched to Taylor Hynek – Who had the opportunity to assess all last season – When Wentz was injured and effectively met Wentz once he was healthy. Wentz got some mopping up missions last week vs San Francisco 49ers This led coach Ron Rivera to decide to give Wentz another chance.
The leaders needed any spark as their season collapsed, but it was clear Wentz wasn’t going to be the answer. And it was not.
It also wasn’t the best look when Rivera, a respected coach who stuck with a bad franchise, didn’t know the leaders could be eliminated from Sunday’s playoff race.
Teams can rebuild quickly in the NFL. It is what gives hope to all the fan bases. Years of bad decisions can be overturned with a big draft or two. To do this, the club needs the right decision makers. At this point, how can anyone trust the leaders franchise who doesn’t see that acquiring Wentz was a miserable decision when everyone else knows it? It seems hard to believe that they would suddenly start making great moves to turn the franchise around.
This was Washington’s privilege To the full ownership of Daniel Snyder. Fans are used to being let down. Seeing the season end primarily with three Wentz interceptions was another link in a series that most Commanders fans have now closed.
Here are the rest of the winners and losers from week 17 of the NFL season:
The winners
Daniel Jones: It’s hard to tell what a New York Giants Will do with Jones next offseason. But after Sunday, here’s what to say: Jones is a big reason the Giants are back in the playoffs.
Jones, who runs for a receiver corps that is one of the worst in the NFL, had a great day on the Giants easy team. 38-10 win Over the Indianapolis Colts. That clinched a playoff game for the Giants.
Jones had 131 passing yards and two touchdowns in the first half to go along with his 34 rushing yards. The Giants led 24-3. The Giants did not pick up a fifth-year option in Jones’ rookie deal and now must decide whether to re-sign Jones, franchise him, or let him go.
Dallas Cowboys: After a season in which the Philadelphia Eagles clinched the NFC East, the Cowboys will enter Week 18 alive for a division title.
It’s a shocking turn of events that becomes possible An awful 20-10 loss by the Eagles on Sunday to New Orleans Saints. Gardner Minshaw II, who played well last week in Dallas, was bad against the Saints. His fourth quarter pick six sealed the win for the Saints. He and the rest of the Eagles had their worst game of the season. Eagles need Jalen Hurts Back.
Maybe this will happen next week. The pain seemed about to return from a shoulder injury. Eagles should be fine. They face a The Giants team that clinched their playoff spot Appetizers can be seated. The fact that it took this long to untie the split is upsetting to Philadelphia.
the Detroit LionsQualifying Chances: The way Lions coach Dan Campbell enthusiastically greeted Panthers coach Steve Wilkes at midfield last week, Congratulations to Wilkes for kicking the Panthers behind the LionsWell, you knew Detroit wasn’t going to be flat in Week 17.
The Lions bounced back and kept their playoff hopes alive. They looked like a different team than the one that got run out by the Panthers last week, channeling Chicago Bears 41-10.
Campbell is a motivator, and while that means he deserves some of the blame because his team was so bad last week, it’s not going to happen twice in a row. He won’t need any extra motivation for his team for next week’s game in Green Bay Packers.
Mike Evans: Not much was good about it Tampa Bay Buccaneers this chapter. For a long time on Sunday it looked like they might lose out to Carolina Panthersand the Panthers would have dominated the NFC South a week earlier.
Evans saved the two brothers. He had 207 yards and three touchdowns in the A’s 30-24 comeback win that clinched the NFC South. Tom BradyA player’s career will include at least one more playoff berth.
The Pirates may not be good enough to win the playoffs. But thanks to one great game in Evans’ phenomenal career, they’ll have a chance to find out.
losers
Dolphins and their endless QB injuries: At some point it seemed impossible to believe Miami Dolphin You can miss the playoffs. It’s on the table now.
Miami is in trouble after falling 23-21 To the New England Patriots Which team will be in the playoffs by defeating Buffalo bills next week. Dolphins played without Toa TagovailoaWho has a concussion and lost Teddy Bridgewater He sustained a finger injury while trying to tackle a pick six. Rookie Skyler Thompson came up. This is the second time this season Bridgewater, replacing Tagovailoa, was injured during a game and Thompson had to finish the game for him.
The Dolphins haven’t been playing well and haven’t had much luck lately. Now, the playing area that had looked like a lockout for most of the season is in jeopardy.
Loffy Smith: It’s rare to see a team fire a coach after just one season two years in a row. Since the 1970 AFL-NFL merger has only happened twice (both times it was the San Francisco 49ers, including after the 2015 and 2016 seasons).
the Houston Tx You should consider joining that group. Smith was hired out last season after being poor defensive coordinator for the 2021 Texans. The best that can be said about the 2022 Texans is that they are well on their way to earning the franchise a much needed #1 overall draft pick.
It was Texas Awful again on Sunday in a 31-3 loss against a Jacksonville Jaguars A team that didn’t have much to play for ahead of next week’s AFC South Championship match against South Asia Tennessee Titans. The Texans have been playing some close games lately and that might be enough to get Smith a second season as head coach of Houston. But if Smith was fired after one season, it wouldn’t be a surprise.
Clive Kingsbury: Speaking of master trainers on the hot seat, the Arizona Cardinals It’s down to 4-12 and Kingsbury isn’t satisfied with its future. If he even wanted to be a Cardinals coach anymore.
Arizona fought hard in the 20-19 loss to me Atlanta FalconsAnd the Cardinals had to start David Plouffe At quarterback due to injuries, but it’s not like a close call against a bad Falcons team makes anything look better. This has been a horrible season for the Cardinals and it’s not looking good at Kingsbury.
Denver Broncosbut with signs of life after Nathaniel Hackett: The Broncos aren’t the first team to look good after firing their coach. This step is a wake-up call for everyone.
But it doesn’t look great to Hackett that the Broncos played probably their best game of the season on Sunday after being ejected. For a while, it looked like the Broncos might upset the Chiefs in Kansas City before KC took the lead. Bad Russell Wilson His interception led to a turning point touchdown in the fourth quarter.
Denver still trailed 27-24 late in the game but couldn’t get a push. The Broncos lost but looked like they belonged on the field with the Chiefs, which was a huge change from the first 16 weeks of the season. Perhaps Hackett’s most pressing moment came when on tight end Albert Okwegbonam, a talented and popular 2022 breakout pick who hasn’t been active since Week 5 scored the go-ahead. Hackett may not have been able to assess the talent at hand, in addition to his other shortcomings.
For Broncos fans hoping the team’s troubles are almost entirely on the coach’s head, Sunday gave them hope.
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