2021 NFL Week Eighteen: Biggest Storylines and Takeaways
2021 NFL Week Eighteen is in the books and the regular season has come to an end. In one of the most unpredictable seasons ever, week eighteen did not disappoint. The Jaguars stunned the Colts, the Raiders punched their ticket to the playoffs and the 49ers earned a gutsy win over the Rams. Check out the final week of regular season storylines right here!
2021 NFL Week Eighteen: Raiders Punch Their Ticket To The Postseason
In the season from hell, Derek Carr, Rich Bisaccia, and company have dragged the Raiders to the playoffs with a huge win over the Chargers. All you can do is tip your hat to this Raiders team, they have been dealt enough adversity to last five seasons. They lost their head coach, their star wide receiver is going to jail for a long time, and have had a number of other issues off the field. All they have done is power through everything and they were rewarded with a playoff spot after they outlasted the Chargers on Sunday night. One thing I took away from this game when it comes to the big picture is that the Raiders need to resign Derek Carr. That guy not only makes plays on the field but his true value is off the field when it comes to dealing with the inherent shit that is the Raiders organization.
On the other side, the Chargers continue to underachieve and disappoint. There is no excuse to not make the playoffs when you have a young star quarterback and a much better roster than the Raiders. I know everyone wants to pile on Brandon Staley for the timeout at the end but I thought the more egregious coaching decision was when they went for it inside their own twenty-five-yard line. There were about eight minutes left in the third quarter and the Chargers decided to go for it deep in their own territory. They did not get it and the Raiders turned around a kicked a field goal. The decision by Brandon Staley was borderline malpractice, right then and there I questioned if Staley is a little over his head. After that decision, the Chargers were playing catch up and without Herbert making plays out of his ass the Chargers would have had no chance. Finally, I don’t like poring on Brandon Staley but I’m going to say one last thing. Why does his defense get absolutely shredded on a consistent basis when he was supposed to be this defensive savant? I’m out on Brandon Staley and this organization as a whole.
2021 NFL Week Eighteen: Jags End Colts Season
From one of the hottest teams in the NFL to having one of the most disappointing ends to a season. In the final two weeks, the Indianapolis Colts needed to beat the Raiders and the Jaguars. One team was a borderline playoff team and the other will be drafting number one overall for the second straight year, they lost to both of them. The loss against the Raiders is semi-understandable even though the Colts are the more talented team. The loss in week eighteen to a team that has fourteen losses is inexcusable and embarrassing. The Jaguars just lost last week by a score of 50-10 and they manhandled the Colts. The Colts defense couldn’t stop a nose bleed as Trevor Lawrence looked like the number one pick we all know him as and in the end Carson Wentz’s recklessness was on full display.
This is a tough one to swallow for Colts fans. Indy will go another year of losing in Jacksonville but more importantly will miss the 2021 playoffs. I don’t have much else to say about the Colts, if they couldn’t win this game then they didn’t deserve to make the playoffs. Hopefully, the Colts can start next season strong so they are not playing catch up in the latter months of the season.
2021 NFL Week Eighteen: 49ers Earn Impressive Win Over Rams
When people talk about culture games and culture wins, this was one of them for the 49ers. After finding themselves in a 17-0 deficit, they crawled their way back and earned their sixth straight win over Sean McVay and the Rams. In a game where they needed to win, Deebo Samuel, Jimmy G, and Jauan Jennings played winning football when it mattered most. Kyle Shanahan brought out his bag of tricks executing a fantastic game plan that bludgeoned the Rams’ defense in the second half.
As for the Rams, I took away one thing from this game: they cannot win a Super Bowl this year. Now before you start arguing with me I think it comes down to one player and that one player in Matt Stafford. While he might be an upgrade in talent over Jared Goff his mistake-prone style of football could come back to bite the Rams in the ass. Stafford leads the league in pick-sixes with four and is tied for first in total interceptions. If he was to have a two-interception game against the Cardinals or the Packers, the Rams are not going to be able to overcome those mistakes and will lose the game. Now you always bet on talent and Stafford is one of the more talented quarterbacks in the league but I just don’t trust him in a big spot.
2021 NFL Week Eighteen: Black Monday
The final week of the NFL season could either mean you are going to the playoffs or losing your job. This year was no different as we saw a number of head coaches and general managers get fired. Those who got fired include Mike Zimmer, Vic Fangio, Matt Nagy, and the shocker of the day; Bryan Flores. Ryan Pace and Rick Spielman both were also relieved of their GM duties for the Bears and Vikings, respectively. Check out the Black Monday tracker for all the recent updates and coaching vacancies.
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Check out week seventeen here, come back for week one next year!
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