by John Czarnecki

NFL Week 17

Week 17 action

Vikings 20, Giants 19 -- Recap | Box
Panthers 33, Saints 31 -- Recap | Box
Packers 31, Lions 21 -- Recap | Box
Falcons 31, Rams 27 -- Recap | Box
Texans 31, Bears 24 -- Recap | Box
Patriots 13, Bills 0 -- Recap | Box
Colts 23, Titans 0 -- Recap | Box
Steelers 31, Browns 0 -- Recap | Box
Raiders 31, Bucs 24 -- Recap | Box
Bengals 16, Chiefs 6 -- Recap | Box
Eagles 44, Cowboys 6 -- Recap | Box
Dolphins 24, Jets 17 -- Recap | Box
49ers 27, Redskins 24 -- Recap | Box
Ravens 27, Jaguars 7 -- Recap | Box
Cardinals 34, 'Hawks 24 -- Recap | Box
Chargers 52, Broncos 21 -- Recap | Box


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Analysis

• Marvez: Mangini should blame Favre
• Whitlock: It's all about character

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Video

• NFL on Fox: Scariest playoff team?
• NFL on Fox: NFC playoff preview

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Photos

• NFL Week 17 snapshots
• NFL cheerleaders
• Worst teams ever
• NFL year in photos

WHAT TO WATCH FOR: The Panthers figure to be minus both starting defensive tackles in run-stopper Maake Kemoeatu and his sidekick, Damione Lewis. It may not matter to the Saints, who list Pierre Thomas as a game-time decision, meaning that Mike Bell and Deuce McAlister could get the bulk of whatever carries coach Sean Payton decides to call. There's a solid chance that Saints QB Drew Brees comes out throwing. The Panthers stopped Brees earlier this season in Carolina, limiting him to 231 yards with an interception. Brees needs 403 passing yards to break Dan Marino's single-season record of 5,084. The Panthers need to win to claim the NFC South and a first-round bye. The Saints will stack the line of scrimmage, hoping to stop DeAngelo Williams (20 touchdowns) while forcing QB Jake Delhomme to throw the ball.

CZAR'S SCOOP: Williams has six TD runs of 30 yards or longer — the Saints have allowed only three runs of 30 yards or more, none for touchdowns — and he needs one more to tie Hall of Famer Jim Brown, who had seven such runs back in 1958 for the Cleveland Browns. Brown scored his seven such touchdowns in a 12-game season, averaging 53 yards per TD run. Williams, who has scored five of his long runs in the past seven games, has averaged 46.5 yards on his long TD runs. Panthers coach John Fox has taken some heat for benching Williams in overtime against the Giants, who stopped Jonathan Stewart short of a first down on two runs in their only OT possession. Saints TE Jeremy Shockey is out, as is NT Kendrick Clancy, who will be replaced by Hollis Thomas.

GAME: N.Y. Giants at Minnesota

TIME: 1 ET

WHAT TO WATCH FOR: The Giants won't take an entirely JV approach to this game, which has playoff significance for the Vikings, but they've already secured the No. 1 seed for the playoffs and there's no reason to play several beat-up players. QB Eli Manning will sit out the second half. Backup QB David Carr has attempted only one pass all season. The Giants are little tired, too, after playing one of the toughest schedules in the league this season. After their early bye week, the Giants are heading into a 13th straight week of playing through one of the most arduous schedules in NFL history. The Vikings will be an unprecedented 10th straight opponent with a winning record. The Giants are 7-2 in their first nine games of that stretch. "The first-round bye gives us an opportunity to get some guys rested and get some guys in the training room and back to 100 percent," said DE Justin Tuck, who may not play today. On offense, the Giants will start RB Derrick Ward, who is 52 yards shy of 1,000 yards, but Ahmad Bradshaw and Danny Ware probably will get the bulk of the snaps. The Vikings are sticking with QB Tarvaris Jackson, although he will be on a short leash if Minnesota falls behind. Backup Gus Frerotte is healthy enough to play. The Vikings may opt to pound the ball with New York's defense minus Tuck, DT Fred Robbins and CB Aaron Ross.

CZAR'S SCOOP: "Our basic philosophy is we want to win every game, and that's where our mentality should be," Coughlin said. Vikings coach Brad Childress has told the Metrodome officials not to display any partial scores from the Chicago-Houston game. If the Bears win, they can claim the North with a Minnesota loss. Minnesota RB Adrian Peterson needs two yards rushing to become the fifth NFL player to reach 3,000 in his first two seasons. The Vikings lost four fumbles last week and Peterson, who walked around all week carrying a football, has fumbled eight times this season. WR Bernard Berrian needs 117 yards receiving for his first 1,000-yard season. Minnesota is suspected to have a strong interest in potential unrestricted free-agent quarterback Matt Cassel of New England. Remember, Childress wanted to get Brett Favre last June. The Vikings handed the Giants their most embarrassing loss of last year's Super Bowl-winning season. In a game at Giants Stadium, the Vikings intercepted Eli Manning four times, returning three of the picks for touchdowns. The Giants' 301 rushing yards against Carolina was the fifth-highest total in team history and the highest total in 49 years. The franchise record is 423 yards at Baltimore on Nov. 19, 1950. Ward became only the second back in NFL history to run for more than 200 yards on 15 or fewer carries. It was the fourth-highest individual rushing performance in Giants history. If Ward reaches 1,000 yards, he and Jacobs would become the fourth NFL duo to reach the mark. In 2006, Warrick Dunn and QB Michael Vick did it for the Falcons.

GAME: St. Louis at Atlanta

TIME: 1 ET

WHAT TO WATCH FOR: The Falcons are in the playoffs, but they can still win the South if the Panthers lose. Falcons WR Roddy White needs 25 receiving yards to break the team record of 1,358 yards set by Alfred Jenkins in 1981. "It would mean a lot to me," said White, who had a season-low 24 yards receiving on three catches against the Vikings last week. The Rams need a huge game from RB Steven Jackson, who has been bothered by quad and hamstring injuries this season. Coach Jim Haslett said Jackson will get the ball a lot in the first half. The Rams have scored only 20 points twice all season. One of the bright spots for the Rams has been the play of LB Pisa Tinoisamoa, who was forced to the sidelines the past two seasons. He has started all 15 games and leads the Rams with 131 tackles. He had two of his three sacks last Sunday against the 49ers. The only bad thing is that Pisa has dropped 20 pounds, down to 220 right now.

CZAR'S SCOOP: Atlanta DE Jamaal Anderson (high ankle sprain) will miss the game, ending a streak of 31 consecutive starts. Falcons rookie QB Matt Ryan can make an extra $1 million if his team wins the Super Bowl or simply $100,000 for a first-round playoff win, $200,000 for a divisional-round win and $400,000 for making the Super Bowl. There is no question that new Rams GM Billy Devaney will be looking for a new coaching staff after this game. What will help Devaney is that he was involved in the Atlanta search last season that ended up with Mike Smith, a former Jacksonville defensive coordinator, getting the job and Smith has a shot at Coach of the Year honors. This year, the Rams cut loose Isaac Bruce and next year WR Torry Holt could be released. Holt would like to end up in Carolina, where he played college football.

GAME: Chicago at Houston

TIME: 1 ET

WHAT TO WATCH FOR: Despite having 1,640 scrimmage yards, second only to Adrian Peterson, Bears rookie RB Matt Forte is averaging just 3.2 yards per carry the past three games and forcing QB Kyle Orton into longer passing downs. Orton, who has a habit of staring down his receivers, has been intercepted eight times in his last four games. The Texans, though, aren't very good in the secondary and they need DE Mario Williams to have a big game against Chicago LT John St. Clair. Houston QB Matt Schaub needs rookie RB Steve Slaton to find some holes against the Bears' fourth-ranked run defense which is minus SS Mike Brown. No team blitzes more than Chicago in order to protect a very vulnerable secondary. Houston figures to open in a three-receiver set to take advantage of Chicago's secondary. The Bears clinch the NFC North with a win and a Giants win over Minnesota.

CZAR'S SCOOP: Houston coach Gary Kubiak is safe, but owner Bob McNair will want better results next season. Although Orton has hit several incentives that will boost his 2009 salary by $1.5 million, the Bears have shown no movement toward signing their quarterback to a long-term contract. Maybe the Bears are waiting to see what the Eagles do with Donovan McNabb? Chicago has a definite advantage in the kicking game. The Bears' Robbie Gould's game-winning field goal vs. the Packers Monday night was his second in as many games and the seventh of his career, five of which have come in overtime. Chicago punter Brad Maynard leads the NFL with 36 punts inside the opponent's 20-yard line, tying the career best that he established in 2001. Only two players have had more than 36 punts inside the 20 in a season since that statistic was first recorded in 1976, including the 49ers' Andy Lee, who set the record last season with 42.

GAME: Detroit at Green Bay

TIME: 1 ET

WHAT TO WATCH FOR: The Lions are the first NFL team ever to start a season 0-15 and they easily could be the league's first 0-16 team. The 1976 expansion Bucs were 0-14 in a 14-game schedule and made it 0-26, losing the first 12 games of 1977. The Bucs won their last two games of '77 to make their record 2-26. The Lions, interestingly, are 1-22 in their last 23 games. The Lions have not beaten Green Bay on the road since 1991 — a 21-17 win at Green Bay in Game 15. The win clinched a playoff berth in a season when their record was 12-4. The Lions have lost 17 straight road games to the Packers, including a playoff game after the '94 season. Said Lions center Dominic Raiola: "It's very real. It's right there. It's right there in front of us. It's pretty sad that it comes down to this. We did this to ourselves. Nobody did this but us. This is one big nightmare. Nobody's going to remember 1-15. Everyone's going to remember 0-16. All 53 guys are going out with this. The team picture says you were 0-16."

CZAR'S SCOOP: Maybe because he still owes fired GM Matt Millen more than $10 million, owner William Clay Ford opted against a drastic front-office shakeup and possibly attempting to lure Patriots executive Scott Pioli with a big contract. Since firing Millen on Sept. 24, Ford promoted Martin Mayhew to interim general manager while leaving Tom Lewand as chief operating officer. Last weekend, Ford said both Mayhew and Lewand would be staying. Mayhew will likely hire another personnel man, but not somebody who will have power over him. Head coach Rod Marinelli and his entire staff figure to be fired next week. Packers QB Aaron Rodgers said he was misquoted this week. Rodgers says that he doesn't have any surgery currently planned for his throwing shoulder. The last time the Lions won in Green Bay, Brett Favre was sitting on the bench in Atlanta.

GAME: Dallas at Philadelphia

TIME: 4:15 ET

WHAT TO WATCH FOR: In four career starts against the Eagles, Dallas QB Tony Romo is 2-2 with seven touchdowns and seven interceptions, and he's been sacked seven times. He missed practice with the flu on Wednesday and he's played the past two games with a sore back. As a starter, Romo is 5-9 in December and January games. There is no question that the Eagles will blitz Romo and attempt to confuse. His best friend on game day would be a powerful running game, but Marion Barber's dislocated toe remains a problem. Rookie Tashard Choice figures to get the bulk of the carries, but it would be nice to see Barber getting more carries. With more playing time and becoming the leading receiver, Eagles rookie DeSean Jackson has cooled off as a punt returner. He's averaging just 5.5 yards per return in the last six games. Although the Eagles have allowed only 22 sacks, QB Donovan McNabb has 16 turnovers (11 interceptions and five lost fumbles) in 572 pass plays this season. That's a turnover every 35.7 pass plays. Eagles RB Brian Westbrook led the league in rushing and receiving yards last season when he had 12 games with at least 100 total yards from scrimmage. This season he has only four such games.

CZAR'S SCOOP: McNabb is pressing Philly management for a new contract with a get-rich signing bonus. McNabb believes a new deal will prove to him the team's and Andy Reid's commitment to him. If he doesn't get what he wants, McNabb may ask to be traded. Every week, someone on Jason Garrett's offense seems to be complaining about not seeing enough of the football. This week new receiver Roy Williams, who cost the team a first- and a third-round draft pick, said he wasn't catching enough footballs and didn't feel he was a major part of the offense. Terrell Owens, of course, agreed with Williams' assessment. Well, the "Red-headed Genuis" has been mostly second-guessed this season after turning down two coaching jobs in order to return to Dallas for a record $3.5 million assistant's salary. No longer is Garrett considered the NFL's next great head coach. Wade Phillips' assumed successor finds himself in an unfamiliar spot — questioned and second-guessed as the play-caller of an offense that has been nowhere near as dominant as it was last season. As a result, the potential head-coach-in-waiting might remain that way unless the Cowboys string together a few wins beginning today. In his 14 December and January games as a starter, Romo has averaged 229 yards passing with 16 touchdowns, 19 interceptions and three lost fumbles. He also has been sacked 34 times. Said Romo: "Here's an easy analogy: Joe Montana wasn't Joe Montana before he won a Super Bowl. I mean, the Giants, their coach was fired at this point last year. And Eli wasn't a great leader, I heard. It is what it is until you win. So this team, we don't have anything that you need to win the Super Bowl until you win. Then, you have everything."

GAME: Washington at San Francisco

TIME: 4:15 ET

WHAT TO WATCH FOR: The Redskins have averaged just 11 points the past seven games, in part because of injuries along the offensive line, so QB Jason Campbell hasn't had the time to go deep. The 49ers are hoping that RB Frank Gore (ankle) will play, and it's looking like he will. He needs only 22 yards to reach 1,000 yards and become the first player in franchise history to reach that total in three consecutive seasons. The 49ers can stop Clinton Portis and the Washington running game, putting even more pressure on Campbell. The organization still isn't sold on 49ers QB Shaun Hill, who had three interceptions last week before coming back with the winning TD pass against the Rams. Hill (12 TDs vs. 7 INTs) has been forced to assume a larger role in moving the ball because of Gore's absence the past two weeks. The Redskins have thrown a league-low six interceptions. The 49ers will wear throw-back jerseys from the 1980s, with the offensive linemen growing mustaches as part of the look.

Jim Zorn could become Washington's winningest first-year coach in 64 years. (Streeter Lecka / Getty Images)

CZAR'S SCOOP: If the Redskins beat the 49ers, coach Jim Zorn will have a 9-7 record and become Washington's winningest first-year coach since Dudley DeGroot in 1944. Not even Hall of Famer Joe Gibbs had a winning season in his debut. In fact, Gibbs had to win eight of his final 11 games just to reach .500. Zorn would be in trouble if the Redskins could hire Bill Cowher. The 49ers are planning to offer Mike Singletary a long-term contract. Who knows about the quarterbacking situation? Alex Smith wants to come back to compete with Hill. Five days after saying he wasn't worth his $8 million salary-cap cost, DE Jason Taylor showed the Redskins for the first time that he just might be. Taylor arrived in July as the active sacks leader with 118 1/2, but he had only 1 1/2 sacks until playing Philadelphia last weekend. He missed three games because of blood clot in his calf, but he sacked Donovan McNabb twice and caused a fumble, leading to London Fletcher's touchdown. Taylor is due $9.5 million next season and the Redskins remain on the fence on whether they want him back at that price.

GAME: Seattle at Arizona

TIME: 4:15 ET

WHAT TO WATCH FOR: The Cardinals want to enter next weekend's playoffs with a win, but QB Kurt Warner will probably be without WR Anquan Boldin, who is still nursing a shoulder injury. Boldin caught 13 passes for 186 yards in an early-season win over the Seahawks. Seahawks QB Seneca Wallace doesn't take too many chances down the field, but he's been managing the offense and finding TE John Carlson and WR Deion Branch on third down. Carlson leads the team with 53 receptions for 613 yards and joins Steve Largent (1976) as the only rookies to lead the team in both for a season. RB Maurice Morris has been getting the bulk of the carries lately while the Cardinals must contain Wallace's scrambling ability. Seattle plans to blitz Warner as much as possible. Warner hasn't had much time lately, but he did throw for 395 yards in the first game. Seattle OLBs LeRoy Hill and D.D. Lewis are out and Leonard Pope starts at TE for the Cardinals. Arizona hasn't scored a first-quarter touchdown in any of its seven losses.

CZAR'S SCOOP: Arizona coach Ken Whisenhunt said that this "is an important game for us. We need to play well before going into the playoffs. I think our team recognized that. Hopefully that will be the case." Whisenhunt is disappointed in his team's December nosedive. "I'm hurt because we haven't held up our end of the bargain," he said. "We've worked very hard to build equity with our fans and with this town and we haven't carried our end of the business the last few weeks. Our focus is to turn it around this week and also in the playoffs. If we do that, then I think we can get some of those people back." Seahawks coach Mike Holmgren, 60, sounds serious about taking 2009 off, but who would hire him after he sits out an entire season? One thing Holmgren plans to do with his wife, Kathy, is spend some time in their Phoenix-area home, one that he has spent less than two weeks in over a six-year span.

Other games

Tennessee at Indianapolis: The Titans have wrapped up the No.1 seed, but have a few things to play for. With a win, they'd finish 14-2, which would be the best record in franchise history. Also, right now they're No.1 in the NFL in scoring defense, ahead of the Steelers. They've never finished No.1 in scoring defense. QB Kerry Collins is expected to play the first quarter and then give way to Vince Young. There's also a good chance that third-stringer Chris Simms may play for the Titans in the fourth quarter. Former high-round pick RB Chris Henry is expected to play a lot for the Titans, who will be minus LenDale White. Colts QB Peyton Manning is expected to play only the first series, and coach Tony Dungy plans to rest as many starters as possible. This game definitely will have the look of a preseason game after the first five minutes.

New England at Buffalo: The Bills have lost 10 straight to the Patriots and 15 of the last 16. They have been outscored 308-96 in the 10-game losing streak. In the past eight games against the Pats, Buffalo WR Lee Evans has just 16 catches with no touchdowns and only one reception of more than 20 yards. The Patriots will be minus DE Richard Seymour, but their running backs, Sammy Morris and Lamont Jordan, are healthy. The same cannot be said for Marshawn Lynch, meaning that Fred Jackson, who played Arena ball in 2005-06, may see a lot more carries. Jackson, who has four TDs, had 113 yards rushing and receiving in last week's upset of the Broncos. The Bills aren't saying, but Dick Jauron figures to get another year as head coach.

James Harrison is the last Browns offensive player to find the end zone, which he did on Nov. 17. (Rick Stewart / Getty Images)

Cleveland at Pittsburgh: Browns owner Randy Lerner is leaning toward firing both head coach Romeo Crennel and GM Phil Savage. With Bill Cowher putting out so many feelers that he doesn't want to coach in Cleveland, some suspect that Lerner could offer him $10-12 million to change his mind. The Browns will have to try to break a 10-game losing streak to the Steelers with Bruce Gradkowski, their fourth different starting QB of the season. Gradkowski is a Pittsburgh native. The Browns have gone five full games without an offensive touchdown. That's 20 quarters. Their last TD was a 72-yard run by Jerome Harrison just 13 seconds into the fourth quarter of a 29-27 win at Buffalo on Nov. 17. The big talk in Pittsburgh this week has been about the Titans, namely Keith Bulluck, Jevon Kearse, Bo Scaife and LenDale White, stomping on one of the yellow Terrible Towels that Pittsburgh fans swing over their heads during games. Kearse was seen pretending to blow his nose on the most revered cloth in Steeler Nation. Titans coach Jeff Fisher had to come out and say his players' actions were "not a shot at the Pittsburgh organization." The Titans and Steelers could meet again in the AFC Championship game if both teams make it that far.

Oakland at Tampa Bay: The Bucs need to win and for the Eagles to beat the Cowboys to get into the playoffs as an NFC wild-card team. Tampa Bay promoted secondary coach Raheem Morris to defensive coordinator this week to replace Monte Kiffin, who is going to coach with his son, Lane, at Tennessee. The Bucs are pretty healthy while Raiders QB JaMarcus Russell is showing signs of maturing as a passer, completing 61.4 percent of his passes in his last two starts. No. 1 pick Darren McFadden is finally healthy and starting to show some toughness and speed. The Bucs' defense has allowed 92 points during the team's three-game losing streak. In last week's opening drive, Russell tossed a 20-yard scoring pass to Chaz Schilens. It was only Oakland's third first-half touchdown of the year and first on the opening possession.

Kansas City at Cincinnati: The Bengals want to run the ball like they did at Cleveland, when they rushed for 191 yards (ex-Bear Cedric Benson had a career day) in a shutout victory. The Bengals are trying to improve to 4-3-1 in their final eight games after starting the season 0-8. The Chiefs are an unbelievable 2-22 in their past 24 games. The best news for Bengals fans was that Carson Palmer threw without pain this past week. Palmer estimated that he threw 30 passes, including a couple of 40-yarders. "I threw a couple of long balls; it felt good. Everything felt good," Palmer said. Is surgery less of a possibility now? Palmer said yes. The Chiefs owner Clark Hunt said he will hire a personnel man, but that Denny Thum will remain as team president. If Thum gains control, he will probably decide the fate of head coach Herm Edwards.

Miami at N.Y. Jets: Since knocking off the previously unbeaten Titans, the Jets have lost three of their last four games. QB Brett Favre has only one touchdown pass and six interceptions over the last three games, leading to speculation that his 39-year-old right arm is tired or, worse yet, injured. Favre hinted that his season-ending physical may show that there is something wrong. "I think my pending physical may shed some light on some things," Favre said. "I mean, just knowing my body, there may be something." The Dolphins should get warm weather for the game, although there is a chance of rain and wind. The Jets must continue to feed Thomas Jones, who still is leading the AFC in rushing yards with 1,289. The Jets shut down the Miami running game in the first meeting and must do so again. The big news is that former Jet Chad Pennington has nine touchdown passes and two interceptions in the last five games. With the Dolphins winning only once last season, Pennington is a strong candidate for league MVP. Word on the street is that Jets coach Eric Mangini could get fired if the Dolphins win handily.

Jacksonville at Baltimore: The Ravens need to win to secure a wild-card spot whereas the Jaguars have lost five of their last six games. Baltimore's rookie head coach John Harbaugh fully expects the Patriots to beat Buffalo. "They are the lock of the week. Book it," Harbaugh said. Harbaugh will allow his players to watch the New England game, which will be played earlier in the day, if they want. Even though the Ravens' locker room doesn't have TVs, Harbaugh isn't going to stop players from watching the game in the equipment room or somewhere else around the stadium. "I'm sure they'll sneak into the equipment room or whatever and take a look," Harbaugh said. "And you know what? That's OK. Everybody gets ready in their own way." The Ravens lead the NFL with 24 interceptions this season. Baltimore has at least one interception in 13 of 15 games this season. Ravens WR Derrick Mason re-injured his left shoulder and is hurting more than in previous weeks. He will play. But if the Patriots lose, Mason won't play.

Denver at San Diego: There is plenty of bad blood between these two teams, starting with Chargers QB Philip Rivers calling out Denver's Jay Cutler from the sidelines in the fourth quarter of a Monday night game last December. Cutler believes Rivers was calling him names and taunting him. "I'm just not a big fan of the guy," Cutler said of Rivers. "I don't like how he carries himself." But the Chargers remember that it was Denver's Steve Herndon who took a cheap shot at NT Jamal Williams six years ago, breaking his ankle. And Rivers got his opportunity because Denver's Gerard Warren took a free shot at Drew Brees and tore the quarterback's labrum while landing with a thud on his shoulder. The Chargers viewed Warren's hit as another deliberate Denver cheap shot. "There is always kind of a little extra activity going on when we play these guys," said LaDainian Tomlinson. "I'm pretty sure there will be a lot of that going on (Sunday) with so much on the line and two teams that really don't care for each other."