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CNNSI.com's Jon A. Dolezar reviews the Week 17 games.
| Week 17 |
|---|
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Chicago 33 |
at Chicago |
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Jacksonville 13 |
• Recap
• Game Summary
|
| Key Stat |
35:13 -- Time of possession for the Bears. |
Player of
the Game |
Anthony Thomas, RB, Chicago: Carried 33 times for 160 yards and one touchdown to break Rashaan Salaam's team rookie rushing record with 1,183 yards. |
| Breakdown |
The Bears clinched their first division title in 11 years by dominating the Jaguars with a punishing rushing attack and by taking care of the football. Chicago picked off Mark Brunell three times and held Jacksonville to 237 total yards. |
|
 |
New England 38 |
at Charlotte |
 |
Carolina 6 |
• Recap
• Game Summary
|
| Key Stat |
15 -- Consecutive losses by the Panthers to close the season after beating the Vikings 24-13 in Week 1. |
Player of
the Game |
Otis Smith, CB, New England: Led the Pats defense by making five tackles, recording one sack and picking off two passes, running one back 76 yards for a score in the fourth quarter. |
| Breakdown |
The Patriots closed out their first division title since 1997 by rolling over one of the most hapless teams in league history. Antowain Smith carried 21 times for 81 yards and one TD and Tom Brady completed 17 of 29 for 198 yards, one TD and two interceptions. Chris Weinke completed only 15 of 36 for 144 yards and three interceptions, giving him 19 INTs for his rookie season. |
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 |
Green Bay 34 |
at East Rutherford, N.J. |
 |
New York 25 |
• Recap
• Game Summary
|
| Key Stat |
22.5 -- Sacks this season for Michael Strahan, breaking Mark Gastineau's single-season record of 22 set in 1984.
|
Player of
the Game |
Ahman Green, RB, Green Bay: Carried 23 times for 101 yards and two touchdowns to finish with 1,387 rushing yards this season.
|
| Breakdown |
The Packers entered the day with hopes of winning the NFC Central crown, but the Jaguars didn't cooperate and the Bears wrapped up the division. Green Bay led 34-10 going into the fourth before allowing New York to claw its way back and make the score more respectable. Brett Favre threw for 315 yards and two touchdowns, hooking up with Corey Bradford three times for 111 yards and a score and with Bill Schroeder five times for 102 yards and one touchdown. Kerry Collins completed 36 of 59 for 386 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions.
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|
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San Francisco 38 |
at New Orleans |
 |
New Orleans 0 |
• Recap
• Game Summary
|
| Key Stat |
281 -- Yards by which the 49ers (407) outgained the Saints (126).
|
Player of
the Game |
Terrell Owens, WR, San Francisco: Caught two passes for 116 yards for two touchdowns. |
| Breakdown |
The Saints finished their embarrassing home stretch by mailing it in against the 49ers. New Orleans lost its fourth in a row and finished by getting outscored 78-0 in the final seven quarters of the season. Jeff Garcia hit on 14 of 21 passes for 263 yards and four touchdowns. San Francisco held Ricky Williams to 33 yards on 11 carries and also forced him to fumble twice. Aaron Brooks completed 21 of 33 for 119 yards and four interceptions, giving him 13 interceptions in the final four games.
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|
 |
Pittsburgh 28 |
at Pittsburgh |
 |
Cleveland 7 |
• Recap
• Game Summary
|
| Key Stat |
221 -- Rushing yards for the Steelers, even with Jerome Bettis inactive due to injury.
|
Player of
the Game |
Kendrick Bell, LB, Pittsburgh: Continued his push for the defensive rookie of the year award by making nine tackles and two sacks to give him nine sacks this season. |
| Breakdown |
The Steelers finished with their second-best regular-season record by dismantling the Browns while getting some much-needed rest for some of their dinged-up starters heading into the postseason. Pittsburgh dominated Cleveland on the ground with Chris Fuamatu-Ma'afala gained 98 yards and one touchdown on 17 carries and R.J. Bowers rushed 11 times for 67 yards and one touchdown. Tim Couch completed only 13 of 26 for 150 yards and two interceptions to close the season with 16 picks in the last eight games.
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|
 |
Indianapolis 29 |
at Indianapolis |
 |
Denver 10 |
• Recap
• Game Summary
|
| Key Stat |
3.1 -- Difference in yards per pass attempt between the Colts (5.9) and Broncos (2.8).
|
Player of
the Game |
Marvin Harrison, WR, Indianapolis: Caught nine passes for 128 yards and two touchdowns to finish with 109 catches for 1,524 yards and 15 touchdowns this season. |
| Breakdown |
The Colts and Broncos were just playing for pride, though the Broncos would've kept their record above .500 with a win. Dominic Rhodes rushed 31 times for 141 yards to finish with 1,104 rushing yards in a very surprising rookie season filling in for the injured Edgerrin James. Peyton Manning hit on 16 of 30 passes for 191 yards and two touchdowns to pass the 4,000-yard plateau for the third consecutive season, joining Dan Fouts and Dan Marino as the only quarterbacks to do that. Chad Bratzke tormented Brian Griese with three sacks as Griese struggled by completing only 16 of 32 for 151 yards and four interceptions.
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|
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Detroit 15 |
at Pontiac, Mich. |
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Dallas 10 |
• Recap
• Game Summary
|
| Key Stat |
11 -- Consecutive 1,000-yard rushing seasons by Emmitt Smith after he rushed 18 times for 77 yards and one touchdown on Sunday to give him 1,015 yards this season. |
Player of
the Game |
Ty Detmer, QB, Detroit: Completed 24 of 40 for 242 yards and two touchdowns. |
| Breakdown |
The Lions are wishing the season wasn't over now that they have won two of their last four following their awful 0-12 start. Quincy Carter completed only 11 of 26 for 158 yards and one interception. Johnnie Morton was Detmer's top target, catching eight passes for 86 yards and one touchdown. The Cowboys committed nine penalties for 99 yards while the Lions played a very clean game and had only one 5-yard penalty.
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|
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Cincinnati 23 |
at Nashville, Tenn. |
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Tennessee 21 |
• Recap
• Game Summary
|
| Key Stat |
25 -- First downs for the Bengals, who outgained the Titans 436-329. |
Player of
the Game |
Corey Dillon, RB, Cincinnati: Rushed 22 times for 87 yards and two touchdowns. |
| Breakdown |
The Bengals capped off their best season in four years by beating a Titans team that had gone 7-5 since their 0-3 start. Jon Kitna threw for 340 yards, with Darnay Scott catching nine passes for 152 yards. Kitna finished the season with 3,216 yards, his second 3,000-yard season in the past three. Takeo Spikes made seven tackles and had two sacks for the Bengals' defense. The lone bright spot for the Titans was Derrick Mason, who caught nine passes for 186 yards and two touchdowns.
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|
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Washington 20 |
at Landover, Md. |
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Arizona 17 |
• Recap
• Game Summary
|
| Key Stat |
.471 -- Third-down conversion percentage for the Redskins (8 of 17), while the Cardinals failed on all nine attempts.
|
Player of
the Game |
Stephen Davis, RB, Washington: Rushed 38 times for 148 yards and one touchdown to give him a career-high 1,432 yards this season and an impressive 4,155 yards in the past three seasons. |
| Breakdown |
Davis was pretty much the extent of the Redskins' offense, which rolled up 22 first downs and 340 total yards. Washington controled the ball for 40:07 and outrushed Arizona 178-45. Jake Plummer completed only 11 of 25 for 154 yards and an interception. |
|
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St. Louis 31 |
at St. Louis |
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Atlanta 13 |
• Recap
• Game Summary
|
| Key Stat |
4 -- Consecutive seasons with more than 2,000 total yards for Rams running back Marshall Faulk. |
Player of
the Game |
Marshall Faulk, RB, St. Louis: Rushed 20 times for 168 yards and one touchdown and caught five passes for 58 yards. |
| Breakdown |
The Rams clinched NFC home field by dismantling a Falcons team that has a lot of decisions to make this offseason. St. Louis proved to Atlanta why Chris Chandler should be brought back for at least one more season as Michael Vick struggled. Vick completed only 12 of 30 for 176 yards and one interception. He also scrambled four times for 58 yards but fumbled twice. Kurt Warner completed 25 of 30 (83.3 percent completion rate) for 280 yards, three touchdowns and three interceptions to finish with a career-high 4,830 passing yards.
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|
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Miami 34 |
at Miami |
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Buffalo 7 |
• Recap
• Game Summary
|
| Key Stat |
163 -- Yards by which the Dolphins (202) outrushed the Bills (39).
|
Player of
the Game |
Lamar Smith, RB, Miami: Rushed 30 times for 158 yards and one touchdown.
|
| Breakdown |
The Dolphins' win looks pretty on the scoreboard, but the Bills were in it until Miami finished off the game with a 21-0 run in the fourth quarter. The Dolphins held Shawn Bryson to 16 yards on 12 carries after he had rushed for 237 yards in the past two weeks. Miami picked off three passes with Bills backup Travis Brown getting victimized twice after he replaced Alex Van Pelt in the first half. |
|
 |
New York 24 |
at Oakland, Calif. |
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Oakland 22 |
• Recap
• Game Summary
|
| Key Stat |
7-1 -- Jets' record on the road this season.
|
Player of
the Game |
John Hall, K, New York: Made his only field-goal attempt of the game, the game-winning 53-yarder with 59 seconds left.
|
| Breakdown |
The Jets clinched a spot in the postseason with Hall's clutch kick, while the Raiders continued to limp home, losing for the third week in a row and the fourth time in the past six games. Curtis Martin carried 16 times for 50 yards and lost out on the rushing title to Priest Holmes. Laveranues Coles caught five balls for 111 yards and one touchdown to end his surprising second season with 868 yards and seven touchdowns. |
|
 |
Seattle 21 |
at Seattle |
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Kansas City 18 |
• Recap
• Game Summary
|
| Key Stat |
20-1 -- Trent Dilfer's record in his past 21 starts (including playoffs), including 15 consecutive wins since October 2000. |
Player of
the Game |
Darrell Jackson, WR, Seattle: Caught six passes for 71 yards and two touchdowns.
|
| Breakdown |
The Seahawks did their part and now need to sit back and wait for the result of the Monday night game to see if they or the Ravens will get the final spot in the AFC. Dilfer completed 22 of 38 for 248 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions starting again in place of the injured Matt Hasselbeck. Shaun Alexander rushed 20 times for 127 yards and one touchdown, while his Chiefs counterpart Priest Holmes had 23 carries for 117 yards to finish with 1,555 yards and win his first rushing title. Trent Green completed just 15 of 33 passes for 184 yards, one touchdown and one interception to finish his disappointing first season for Kansas City with a 56.6 percent completion rate and 24 picks. |
|
 |
Philadelphia 17 |
at Tampa, Fla. |
 |
Tampa Bay 13 |
• Recap
• Game Summary
|
| Key Stat |
0-20 -- Buccaneers' record when the gametime temperature is under 40 degress; Saturday's high temperature in Philadelphia for their wild-card playoff game is supposed to be 41.
|
Player of
the Game |
A.J. Feeley, QB, Philadelphia: Eagles' third-stringer relieved Koy Detmer and completed 10 of 14 for 143 yards and two touchdowns. |
| Breakdown |
The Eagles and Bucs played one of the most meaningless regular-season games in NFL history, as they already knew Tampa Bay would be playing in Philadelphia next week for the wild-card game. Both teams rested most of the starters and neither seemed to care much about the outcome, which made the Eagles' come-from-behind victory rather anticlimactic. Only Feeley and Dameane Douglas got really excited about their two touchdown connections late in the fourth quarter to bring Philadelphia back from a 13-3 deficit. |
|
 |
Baltimore 19 |
at Baltimore |
 |
Minnesota 3 |
• Recap
• Game Summary
|
| Key Stat |
0 -- Road wins by the Vikings this season. Detroit was the only other NFL team to go winless on the road. |
Player of
the Game |
Terry Allen, RB, Baltimore: Had his best game since signing with the Ravens, rushing for a season-high 133 yards. |
| Breakdown |
It's a win, but the defending champions are stumbling into the playoffs. Baltimore failed to score an offensive touchdown, relying on four Matt Stover field goals and a fumble return for a touchdown. Elvis Grbac struggled again for the Ravens, going 10-for-27 for 160 yards -- but Grbac did not throw an interception. For the Vikings, this said it all: Randy Moss passed for 29 yards on one trick play, while rookie quarterback Spergon Wynn had only 86 yards on 29 passes. |
