Josh Allen would not be denied.
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After tossing two interceptions and losing a fumble, Allen unleashed a torrid fourth quarter comeback to propel the Buffalo Bills all the way back to the No. 2 seed by knocking off the Miami Dolphins 21-14 in the finale of the 2023 season.
Buffalo and Allen's heroics were emblematic of an NFL season built on parity.
After all, the Bills were left for dead at 6-6 when the buses pulled out of Lincoln Financial Field for Philadelphia International back in Week 12. But, after the Bills' late bye, Sean McDermott's Bills have won five straight games, overcome debilitating early-season injuries, and are now the team that no one wants to play.
Beyond Buffalo, there were 10 teams still technically alive for the playoffs when Week 18 kicked off.
Now, the regular season is in the rearview mirror.
The Bills, Cleveland Browns, Houston Texans, Dallas Cowboys and Detroit Lions are riding all kinds of momentum into the postseason. Meanwhile, the Philadelphia Eagles most certainly are not.
Here's a look at the biggest takeaways and awards from the final week of the regular season:
First Down: Eagles' Collapse Should Sound Alarm Bells Across South Philly
Photo by Cooper Neill/Getty Images
Philadelphia will return to the playoffs a year after losing the Super Bowl, but if the past month is any indication, the Eagles' return trip to the postseason — and perhaps Nick Sirianni's tenure as head coach could both be short-lived.
In what became a nightmare in North Jersey, the Eagles' regular season that began by racing out to a 10-1 start careened back to earth with a thud after being drubbed by the New York Giants, who had nothing left to play for, 27-10.
"I'm serious," an NFL agent with clients on the Eagles' roster told FanBuzz. "Nick [Sirianni- could go. I'll tell you this. He is not well liked in that locker room, that's for sure."
The reigning NFC champions limped across the finish line having lost five of their final six games, and allowing more than 30 points in four of those contests.
"Nick's defensive coordinator hire was a horrid one," the agent said, referencing Matt Patricia's promotion over Sean Desai that seemed to send the Eagles into a tailspin.
Sunday, with the outside chance of both winning the NFC East and securing the No. 2 seed in the conference — if the Washington Commanders beat the Dallas Cowboys, the Eagles offered a lackluster effort that seemed indicative of a team that quit on its coach.
"Looking at it from afar," an NFL Personnel Director tells FanBuzz. "They have no chemistry whatsoever."
Philly's problems go well beyond Sirianni potentially losing the locker room.
The Eagles were without DeVonta Smith for Sunday's game, A.J. Brown suffered an injury at MetLife Stadium, and the secondary seemed to lose its way over the final five games of the season after cornerback Darius Slay went under the knife to have his knee scoped. Then, Sunday, Jalen Hurts suffered an injured finger on his throwing hand.
Philadelphia has too much invested in young talent, especially along both lines of scrimmage, to see it undermined by a coaching staff that can't seem to develop them or tailor a scheme to their best traits.
Whatever happens next weekend, it is becoming evident that Sirriani has coached his way onto a scorching hot seat thanks to his decisions both in terms of coordinator hires and an inability to adapt his scheme when things are not working.
"I'm not in that building so I can't tell you for sure," an NFC Front Office Executive told FanBuzz, when asked if he could figure out what happened to the Eagles. "But there are serious problems up there. I also think that Jalen Hurts might be a little overrated."
Second Down: Bills Thrilling Victory Over Dolphins a Microcosm
The Bills were never quite in control of Sunday night's Game 272 in Miami, until the fourth quarter, much like they never quite seemed in the AFC East race until their Week 13 bye. But, Buffalo has now won four consecutive AFC East championships.
Buffalo now gets the Pittsburgh Steelers, without potential Defensive Player of The Year T.J. Watt and with Mason Rudolph making his first career postseason start.
After barnstorming back against the Dolphins on Sunday night, the Bills might be the hottest team in the league, winners of five straight games and six of their last seven.
Much like the Bills needed to overcome injuries, some internal strife, and underachieving through the season's first three months, in Week 18 in Miami, Buffalo needed to come back from 14-7 down when the fourth quarter began and that's exactly what they did.
Allen put the Bills on his back, passing for 359 yards with two touchdowns, two interceptions, one fumble lost, and 67 rushing yards.
"I think Josh feels like he's built for this," Hall of Fame coach Tony Dungy said on Peacock following the game. "No matter how I play, I'm going to make something happen in the fourth quarter.
"The coaching staff needs to help him out, too. Five carries for James Cook in the first half, is not the way to go. When they're balanced, and they're running the football, that's when they're tough to beat, that's what makes Buffalo a tough out."
The Bills might go as far as Allen can take them, and despite throwing 18 interceptions this season, the 27-year-old led Buffalo to two victories over the playoff bound Dolphins, while adding wins over the Cowboys, Chiefs, and Buccaneers along the way.
"I think it's the best group I've ever been a part of," Allen said in a post-game interview on NBC. "In terms of togetherness, I don't know if I can describe it, but we just have to keep it rollin'."
Third Down: Jaguars Face Real Concerns after Disappointing Season
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The Jaguars' epic collapse over the second half of the season culminated with a shockingly disappointing performance in a 28-20 loss in Tennessee that slammed the door on Jacksonville's playoff hopes.
With a victory, the Jaguars would have flown back to Duval with a hat and t-shirt as the AFC South champions, and instead will deplane to an offseason of real concern after dramatically regressing in 2023.
Lawrence and the Jaguars cashed in just one of three red-zone trips against the Titans, finishing the season ranked 20th in red zone touchdowns, failed to reach the end zone from the one-yard line on a pivotal fourth quarter possession while finishing 20th in goal-to-g0 touchdown percentage in 2023.
Sunday's issues were emblematic of a season that saw Lawrence take a step back, in a division that was there for the taking for the Jaguars.
Lawrence's third season comes to a close with the 24-year-old passing for 4,016 yards with 21 touchdowns. However, Lawrence's 14 interceptions, while fumbling 12 games and losing seven of them calls his ball security into question.
"They should take a real hard look at whether to bring [offensive coordinator] Press Taylor back," a league source told FanBuzz Sunday evening.
Meanwhile, the Jaguars' effort on defense — or lack thereof, against the Titans on Sunday was inexplicable.
Tennessee averaged 5.7 yards per play, converted all three red-zone trips into touchdowns and added seven to the scoreboard on both of their goal-to-go situations.
This was a team that entered the 2023 campaign with legitimate Super Bowl aspirations, especially one year after beating the Chargers and taking the Chiefs to the brink in the AFC Divisional Playoffs. Instead, Jacksonville is on the outside looking in.
It would seem unlikely, even after Sunday's debacle in Nashville, that Doug Pederson would be in any real danger of being relieved of his duties on Black Monday. However, there is suddenly very tangible pressure entering Lawrence's fourth NFL season for the Jaguars to make very tangible strides towards competing in 2024.
Fourth Down: One Quick Thought on Each Wild Card Matchup
The Regular season is over, the postseason has arrived with 14 teams dreaming of raising the Lombardi Trophy next month in Las Vegas.
As the journey begins, here's a quick first thought on each of the games upcoming on Super Wild Card Weekend.
NFC
No. 5 Eagles at No. 4 Buccaneers: It isn't hyperbole to suggest that Nick Sirianni might be coaching for his job less than one year since leading the Eagles to the Super Bowl. Philadelphia losing five of six, including in embarrassing fashion to the Giants to cap the regular season raises significant questions about Siranni's grip on the locker room, and potentially worse, his ability to adapt his scheme to his players.
No. 6 Rams at No. 3 Lions: Jared Goff's Lions host the Rams, with the chance to oust the team that drafted him. However, this game is all about Matthew Stafford returning to Detroit. Stafford famously never won a playoff game with the Lions, going 0-3, and aims for his fifth career postseason victory after winning four playoff games en route to hoisting the Lombardi with the Rams in 2022.
No. 7 Packers at No. 2 Cowboys: Dak Prescott and the Cowboys need this victory to establish legitimacy, not just for this season, but this era. Prescott was just 3-4 against teams that qualified for the playoffs this season. In those contests, the Cowboys' quarterback averaged 262 passing yards, 2.0 touchdowns and .85 interceptions in those contests compared to 218.4 passing yards, 1.6 touchdowns and .18 interceptions in Dallas' other 11 contests.
AFC:
No. 5 Browns at No. 4 Texans: Two Cinderella stories; savvy veteran quarterback Joe Flacco resurrecting the Browns' season following Deshaun Watson's fractured shoulder against rookie head coach DeMeco Ryans and quarterback C.J. Stroud's rapid ascension to the top of the AFC South. Stroud aims to become just the 11th rookie quarterback to win a playoff game.
No. 6 Dolphins at No. 3 Chiefs: The Dolphins won't be in Miami, or even Frankfurt, anymore. Kansas City held serve against the Dolphins, 21-14 in Germany, but the Dolphins will need to beat Patrick Mahomes at Arrowhead on an afternoon that is predicted to have a high of 12 degrees at game time. That's a daunting combination for a Dolphins team that won just one game against an opponent heading to the playoffs.
No. 7 Steelers at No. 2 Bills: For all the accolades Josh Allen deserves from a strong five-game finishing stretch, Buffalo's defense has allowed 20 or more points only twice over that span and held opponents to 16.8 points per game. The Bills now boast the NFL's fourth-ranked scoring defense, which is why Buffalo is going to prove so difficult to beat in the postseason.
Week 18 MVP: Nico Collins, WR, Houston Texans
Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images
Saturday night in Indianapolis might have been the night that Texans wide receiver Nico Collins became a household name. But, more fittingly it was an emphatic exclamation point on the most consistently dominant season of his career.
Collins was the difference in a win-and-in de-facto playoff game against the Colts, catching all nine of his targets for 195 yards and a touchdown in Houston's 23-19 victory. The victory propels the Texans to the postseason in head coach DeMeco Ryans and quarterback C.J. Stroud's rookie campaign, representing the franchise's first trip to the playoffs since 2019.
Throughout the season, Collins emerged as Stroud's favorite and most reliable target, catching 80 passes for 1,297 yards with eight touchdowns. Now, Collins and Stroud get to build on that chemistry in the postseason with the stage set for this duo to possibly reach even loftier heights in 2024 and beyond.
Week 18 Breakout Star: Dontayvion Wicks, Green Bay Packers
Even though the Packers' young receiving corps was a bit of a MASH unit in recent weeks, it didn't matter against the Bears thanks to Dontayvion Wicks' emergence.
Against Chicago, Wicks saw more zone coverage looks and made the Bears defense pay.
In the final regular season game of his rookie season, Wicks caught six of his seven targets for 61 yards and both of the Packers' touchdowns in a 17-9 playoff clinching victory.
The Packers' fifth-round pick in the 2023 draft, Wicks' two-touchdown performance ended his rookie campaign on a high note. Wicks, 22, made the most of his opportunities during a season that saw Christian Watson and Romeo Doubs each miss time due to injury, catching 39 passes for 61 yards and four touchdowns this season.
Week 18 Team of The Week: Pittsburgh Steelers
Mike Tomlin did it again.
Tomlin guided the Pittsburgh Steelers to the postseason for the 11th time following a gritty 17-10 win over the Lamar Jackson-less Baltimore Ravens on Saturday afternoon, silencing a chorus of critics over the past month of a wildly inconsistent regular season.
"Mike Tomlin really is the ultimate communicator," an AFC Personnel Executive told FanBuzz.
Tomlin's Harry Houdini escape act to avoid the first losing season of his career is all the more impressive because it was Mason Rudolph behind center for the final three weeks of the season, including as a coaches decision the past two games against the Seahawks and Ravens with the season at stake. Over that span, Rudolph passed for 426 yards with one touchdown.
However, if the Steelers are to pick up the franchise's first playoff win since 2016, it might take some actual magic. Especially with potential Defensive Player of The Year T.J. Watt suffering a sprained MCL against the Ravens, that could sideline him as long as three weeks.
"If TJ Watt isn't healthy, that's a wrap," an AFC South scout told FanBuzz. "If they can't find a way to get George Pickens the football, they won't score enough to beat anyone."
Regardless of what happens next weekend, Tomlin making the playoffs after losing his starting quarterback and earlier in the season firing offensive coordinator Matt Canada, underscores his dominance as a head coach and the buy in that he's garnered from his players.
