NFL Week 17 winners and losers plus rank

Happy New Year everyone!This is the first newsletter of 2021 and I am celebrating by giving you the longest newsletter in Pick Six history. I didn't do that on purpose, but that's what happens when we get 24 hours of absolute crazine s in the NFL.Here's what has happened since the season ended yesterday:Three coaches have already been fired fans hate Doug Pederson more than they normally hate Doug Pederson The are in the playoffs for the first time since 2002We'll be covering all three of those things plus plenty more in today's newsletter, so without further adieu, let's get to the rundown. By the way, if you're still trying to think of a New Year's resolution, I have an idea: You can share this newsletter with everyone you know. Just , and if you do that, then we'll all have a fun 2021.1. Today's Show: Week Jesse Franklin Jersey 17 winners and losers plus full recapIt's Monday, which can only mean one thing: I stayed up until 3 a.m. last night recording a podcast with Will Brinson and Ryan Wilson that touched on everything you need to know about Week 17, and let me just say, it's probably for the best that you listen. Actually, I'll be honest, we didn't touch on everything you need to know, because we got carried away and started talking a lot about the playoffs at the expense of games that didn't mean anything like Broncos-Raiders. One thing we do every week is hand out our weekly winners and losers from Sunday's action. For our winners this week, we did the obvious thing: We all picked a team that made the playoffs. Ryan WilsonWinner: Browns.If you end an 18-year playoff drought, you're automatically a winner and that's exactly what the Browns did on Sunday. Who cares if they beat the backups? That doesn't matter. The only thing that matters is that they're headed to the postseason for the first time since 2002, when they lost to the... you know what, I'm not going to mention who they lost to, because they don't need that kind of negativity in their life right now. Loser: Giants.I'm not sure what it feels like to be tortured for three straight hours, but I'm sure the Giants now know after being forced to watch the tank against Washington in a game that would have given New York the NFC East title if Philadelphia had won.Will BrinsonWinner: . Week 17 could have been a disastrous one for Denard Robinson Jersey the Colts, but it turned into a week of celebration thanks to the . After Miami's lo s to Buffalo, that meant all Indy had to do to get into the playoffs was beat the and let's be honest, it's not that hard to beat the Jaguars.Loser: Dolphins.It's not often a team goes 10-6 and finishes the season on the losers list, but that's exactly what's happening here. No only did they mi s the playoffs, but their quarterback situation is a total me s. doesn't really look like the team's QB of the future, which is not what you Ignas Brazdeikis Jersey want to hear about a guy you just spent a top-five pick on.John BreechWinner:.The Rams were put in a rough situation last week when they found out that wouldn't be able to play against the on Sunday, but despite that setback, they still managed to beat Arizona. The Rams defense basically carried L.A. to the playoffs by outscoring the Cardinals 9-7 on their own. Loser:Mike McCarthy.It's a good thing Doug Pederson embarra sed himself in front of a national television audience on Sunday night, because if that didn't happen, people would probably be talking about McCarthy's multiple bad decisions. Not only did he fail to go for two at a point in the second half when he probably should have, but he also refused to challenge a catch by in the fourth quarter that set up a Giants' field goal that basically decided that game. McCarthy has been a below-average coach all year and the lo s to the Giants basically epitomized everything he's done wrong all season. Not only did we list our winners and losers, but we also recapped every game from Sunday. If you want to listen -- and you definitely should -- .2. Did Doug Pederson tank to cost the Giants a playoff spot?As we all know, Giants fans are naturally unhappy people, so you're probably not going to be surprised when I tell you that they were not happy with how Doug Pederson coached on Sunday night.With the Eagles trailing 17-14, Pederson decided to bench in favor Lamarr Woodley Jersey of during the second half of a game that the Giants needed Philadelphia to win. If the Eagles had been able to beat Washington on Sunday night, the Giants would have made the playoffs, but the Eagles did not win and that's mostly due to the fact that Pederson made some of the worst decisions in the history of coaching. We can debate whether he made those decisions on purpose, but let me just say this: The Giants didn't get wronged here. For one, benching your starters in Week 17 is something that's done every year in the NFL and the Giants weren't the only team that got screwed over on Sunday. The Dolphins would have made the playoffs if the Steelers would have beaten the Browns, but that didn't happen, because Pittsburgh rested its starters in a 24-22 lo s. I didn't not see Dolphins fans all up in arms on Twitter, but that also might be because they got the third overall pick in the draft as a consolation prize (more on that later).Also, if Pederson is returning to Philadelphia in 2021 -- and by all accounts he is -- then he has to look at the big picture. The big picture here is pretty simple: If you win the game, your draft pick in 2021 drops to ninth overall. If you lose the game, you get the sixth overall pick. If you're the Eagles, would you rather have the sixth pick or the ninth pick? That's easy.The Eagles don't owe the Giants anything. If the Giants wanted to make the playoffs, maybe they should have won more than six games. For instance, if the Giants hadn't blown a 21-10 lead in the final five minutes against the Eagles back in Week 7, then they would be in the playoffs. The only people who should be upset about Pederson's decision-making are the players in the Eagles locker room. They put their team in a position to win, Michael Schofield Jersey but Pederson undermined their effort by benching Hurts and putting an XFL-level quarterback (Sudfeld) in the game. If those guys are fine with the situation, then everyone should be.All that being said, I do think the NFL will make one minor rule change going forward regarding Week 17. In 2010, the league changed its rules so that the final week of the season would only consist of divisional games. This time around, I think they'll change the rule and require both teams to have something on the line if a game is going to be flexed to Sunday night. The only one that would have fit that bill on Sunday was Cardinals-Rams, but the NFL decided to go with Eagles-Washington.3. Ranking the wild-card gamesIf you use the internet at a