Winners and Losers Week 17: Playoff Trip or Not, Joe Burrow Is Having a Career Year

The Bengals quarterback may not be able to carry his team to the postseason, but that doesn’t diminish what he’s accomplished in 2024.

Burrow has helped keep Cincinnati in the playoff race amid an up-and-down season and was again pivotal in his team's overtime win against Denver. / Dylan Buell/Getty Images

The NFL never seems to be close to having 32 star quarterbacks, or at least one for every team. 

But when you break them down into tiers, from elite quarterbacks to promising young signal-callers, there’s plenty to like about the position. Most might agree that the best four quarterbacks reside in the AFC, with Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson and Joe Burrow. (My colleague Matt Verderame certainly agrees.)  

But it’s a shame that Burrow, who’s playing at a historic level, is a longshot to compete against Mahomes, Jackson and Allen in the playoffs. The Cincinnati Bengals need to beat the Pittsburgh Steelers on Saturday and have the Denver Broncos and Miami Dolphins lose their final games of the regular season.

Perhaps the elite four quarterbacks will soon get competition from this year’s rookie class, especially after what Jayden Daniels and Michael Penix Jr. displayed in their highly entertaining Sunday Night Football battle. And Bo Nix gave Burrow an impressive fight during their back-and-forth thriller on Saturday night.

The league is in good hands with this current crop of quarterbacks. Let’s get to the Week 17 winners and losers. 

Winners 

Joe Burrow’s career year

No one is throwing the football better than Burrow at this moment. This is not an MVP debate nor a statement for the best quarterback in the league. 

Again, at this moment, no one is throwing the ball better than Burrow. That’s a very specific line for a reason. It’s not meant to diminish MVP frontrunners Allen and Jackson. And we all know Mahomes is the best quarterback in the league because that’s what his three Super Bowl rings say.

But let’s put the debates on hold and just appreciate the level at which Burrow has played the quarterback position for most of the season. He’s in the midst of a career year, with league highs in passing yards (4,641) and passing touchdowns (42). Burrow is playing at a level we haven’t seen from him before and that’s saying a lot for a QB of his caliber, one who has accomplished plenty in the past five years.   

Burrow refused to let the Bengals lose, leaning on Tee Higgins to keep their playoff hopes alive during the thrilling overtime victory over the Broncos. Zac Taylor’s poor clock management, late defensive lapses and a missed field goal in overtime weren’t enough to derail the Bengals because they had Burrow (412 passing yards, four total touchdowns) on their side Saturday night.  

And some will be quick to point out all the one-score games the Bengals (8–8) didn’t win despite elite play from Burrow. Feel free to use that against Burrow’s MVP campaign and for your quarterback rankings. I’m here to say he’s throwing the football better than Mahomes, Jackson and Allen at this point in time. Let’s appreciate it because the Bengals still have long odds of making the playoffs and we probably won’t get to see Burrow showcase this elite level of quarterbacking in the season’s most consequential games next month. 

What we’re seeing with Burrow, Mahomes, Jackson and Allen reminds me of my first set of Valentine cards I passed out to my fourth grade classmates with pictures of Brett Favre, Steve Young, Dan Marino and John Elway. Those quarterbacks of yesteryear and the nostalgia this current crop of QBs sparks in my mind are why I fell in love with football. Again, put the debates on hold and just appreciate the greatness of these four AFC QBs. 

Kevin O’Connell’s crystal ball 

I loved that Minnesota Vikings running back Aaron Jones told Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer that coach Kevin O’Connell can see the future. Obviously, he was joking, but it’s somewhat believable with everything O’Connell has accomplished in his first three seasons as a head coach. 

O'Connell opted to keep the Vikings aggressive to close out the Packers in close NFC North rivalry game in Week 17. / Brace Hemmelgarn/Getty Images

Many said the Vikings were lucky to win 13 games in O’Connell’s rookie head coach season in 2022 and called the way they won one-score games unsustainable. Here we are nearly three seasons later and the frontrunner for Coach of the Year has a 26–9 career record in one-score games, including Sunday’s 27–25 victory vs. the Green Bay Packers. 

It shouldn’t have been that close with Minnesota leading 27–10 in the fourth quarter, but there was plenty of composure from O’Connell, who refused to sit on the ball and allowed Sam Darnold and the offense to air out and kill the final two minutes of regulation. Is that seeing the future? Is that foolish aggression that turned into luck? Or maybe it’s just more smart moves from a head coach who thinks three steps ahead and is well prepared. 

The Vikings (14–2) have been ready for the biggest moments even after the drastic roster overhaul that occurred in the offseason. Kirk Cousins and Danielle Hunter left, which added plenty of doubt from the outset for O’Connell’s 2024 Vikings. Now here they are with a winner-take-all game in Week 18 against the Detroit Lions for the NFC North title and the conference’s No. 1 seed. 

Chiefs’ passing attack

In case you forgot since the Chiefs (15–1) last played six days ago, Mahomes and Kansas City’s passing game appear to have corrected their mistakes from the first three months of the season. That’s a big problem for the other AFC playoff teams.

Mahomes delivered his best stretch of the season, picking apart the Houston Texans and Pittsburgh Steelers in a five-day span. There’s also chemistry now with rookie first-round wide receiver Xavier Worthy, who has benefited from the return of fellow wideout Marquise Brown. 

But Mahomes getting time to connect with playmakers wouldn’t have been possible without All-Pro guard Joe Thuney stepping up at left tackle, perhaps a season-saving move for a once stagnant offense. Thuney and guard Mike Caliendo have improved the offense line, which only allowed one combined sack against the Cleveland Browns, Texans and Steelers. That was against the likes of Myles Garrett, Will Anderson Jr., Hunter and T.J. Watt.    

Once again, the Chiefs are saving their best performances for when it matters most. After clinching the No. 1 seed last week, they’re now two playoff wins away from a third consecutive Super Bowl appearance.

Saquon Barkley’s greatness 

Barkley getting a standing ovation from the Philadelphia crowd seemed long overdue for a player who spent his six first seasons doing the heavy lifting for a franchise that seemed to always make games difficult.  

That’s not to say the Eagles (13–3) made it easy for Barkley in his first season away from the dysfunctional New York Giants. But it was nice to see Barkley get his flowers for becoming just the ninth player to rush for 2,000 yards in a single season. It makes you wonder how many more milestones he would have hit if the Giants didn’t take him No. 2 in the 2018 draft. 

Maybe it’s better this way because we’ve seen multiple versions of Barkley’s greatness. He can churn positive yards when the holes aren’t there against stacked boxes, which he often saw with the Giants. And there have been occasions where Barkley has carried his talented Eagles during sluggish outings for the rest of the offense. Barkley has been the best player on bad teams and now is the best player on a Super Bowl contender. 

He might be a Super Bowl win away from securing a spot in Canton one day. Winning the Lombardi Trophy will hold weight for many years to come, perhaps more than possibly breaking Eric Dickerson’s single-season rushing record on Sunday against his former team. Rest before the postseason should be the priority for Barkley, who’s 101 yards away from Dickerson’s 2,105 yards. 

Rookie QBs: Daniels, Penix, Nix 

I’ll break my rule here because I usually don’t list players who lost in the winner’s section. Daniels and his Washington Commanders (11–5) did win their game, but that came at the expense of Penix and his Atlanta Falcons (8–8). It was a thrilling game that displayed the high ceilings of the two first-round rookie quarterbacks.

Daniels, the No. 2 2024 pick, needed another game-winning drive to hold off Penix’s heroics. The No. 8 pick in April’s draft introduced himself to a national audience for the first time this season and didn’t disappoint. Penix missed a handful of throws, but never became gun-shy and threw a dart to Kyle Pitts to send the game into overtime. With time, Penix will consistently hit the downfield shots, an area he excelled in during his final year with the Washington Huskies.

Also, Nix deserves a shoutout for going toe-to-toe with Burrow in a prime-time shootout Saturday night. Like Daniels and Penix, Nix is rarely short on confidence. The No. 12 pick in this year’s draft had a costly interception, but quickly bounced back with a clutch touchdown bomb to Marvin Mims Jr. to send the game to overtime. There were missed plays in the extra period, but Nix has been instrumental during this turnaround in Denver. Even with the loss, the Broncos (9–7) can still beat the Chiefs backups’ in Week 18 and punch their ticket into the postseason.   

Losers

Love couldn't fully dig the Packers out of a late deficit in a performance that doesn't bode well for Green Bay's postseason outlook. / Dan Powers/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin

Packers’ passing attack 

Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores had a gusty game plan designed to bait the Green Bay Packers into throwing the football more. 

That was risky against Jordan Love and his talented skill players, but Flores willingly took that chance because there’s been a disconnect with the Packers’ passing game most of the season, which has been exposed against the top teams in the NFC. Green Bay is 0–5 this season vs. the Vikings, Lions and Eagles partly because Love has struggled to get in sync early in games. He hasn’t been as good as he was last season and Flores didn’t let the 2023 version of Love dictate his game plan for a crucial Week 16 matchup. Love (19-of-30, 185 yards, one touchdown) stared at a 27–10 deficit before a late rally fell short. 

It does make you wonder whether coach Matt LaFleur made the mistake of building an offensive scheme this year that was too reliant on Josh Jacobs and the rushing attack instead of asking more of Love. The run-heavy approach helped win 11 games and clinch another playoff spot, but a slow-moving offense won’t strike fear against playoff teams. Love needs to break out of his funk for Green Bay to avoid a short playoff stint. 

First-year coaches Jerod Mayo and Brian Callahan

It’s tough to say who had the worst first year as a head coach between Jerod Mayo and Brian Callahan. I guess you can say Mayo because his Patriots lost to Callahan’s Titans, who have been blown out in several games this season.

It’s been a nightmare first season for the rookie head coaches and there could now be questions about their job security with their respective teams. Mayo can point to the positives Drake Maye has had in his rookie season. And for my two cents, the Patriots should sit Maye for the regular-season finale vs. Buffalo, get the No. 1 pick and keep Maye healthy for 2025. But Patriots owner Robert Kraft could focus on all the negatives and say a different coach is what Maye needs to take the next steps in his development. 

As for Callahan, his work with Burrow in Cincinnati didn’t translate in Tennessee with second-year quarterback Will Levis. Maybe the 2023 second-round pick isn’t the long-term answer, but Levis did play a lot better as a rookie under Mike Vrabel and his coaching staff. Also, Tennessee went all in to give Callahan a quality roster by splurging in free agency. None of it worked, giving the Titans’ decision makers something to think about. 

It would be a surprise to see any one-and-done coaches, but it has happened more in the NFL in recent years.

Shane Steichen and Anthony Richardson 

Impatient Colts owner Jim Irsay might be itching for drastic changes after an embarrassing loss to the lowly New York Giants that ended their postseason hopes.

The Colts could be headed for drastic changes this offseason after a disappointing performance in Steichen's second season. / Christine Tannous/USA TODAY Network via Imagn Images

Indianapolis has gone backwards in many aspects during Shane Steichen’s second season as head coach. But what’s truly concerning is the lack of improvement from Anthony Richardson, who might be on the way out because there are concerns about durability and lack of commitment. Former Colts punter and ESPN analyst Pat McAfee didn’t hold back while ripping Richardson and the team in a social media rant. 

Changes are likely coming and it could happen with the head coach and starting quarterback who was drafted No. 4 last year. 

Raheem Morris’s game management 

Raheem Morris clearly had Penix ready for the bright lights after the rookie QB converted on clutch fourth downs and threw the game-tying touchdown in the final minutes of regulation against the Commanders.

But Morris’s poor game management prevented the Falcons from stealing the game while avoiding overtime. Morris passed on calling a timeout and killed plenty of valuable seconds after Penix connected with Darnell Mooney downfield. The first-year Falcons coach didn’t allow his offense to settle down in a pressure-filled situation, leading to a few missed throws before the short field goal that led to overtime. 

Morris might be thinking about that sequence if the Tampa Bay Buccaneers win on Sunday against the New Orleans Saints and take the NFC South crown to end Atlanta’s season.  

Aaron Rodgers

Aaron Rodgers made the weak decision to take himself out of Sunday’s 40–14 blowout loss against the Bills. Rodgers must either think he’s still in his prime or is leaning toward retirement to admit wanting out of a game. He could have gotten away with that with the Packers, but he’s probably now getting eye rolls from the Jets.  

And maybe if the Jets didn’t fire Robert Saleh, he would have been there to make the decision for Rodgers, who now has the look of a quitter. It was a bad look all around for Rodgers in a season filled with many similar moments. 

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