Monday Morning Digest: Packers Pick off Seahawks to Pump Up Playoff Bid

This week's Digest has answers to all of your biggest questions: 

• Can the Packers run the table now that their secondary can out-boom the Legion of Boom?

• Can the Dolphins reach the playoffs without Ryan Tannehill?

• Who is the least bad team in the AFC South?

• What the heck did they do to the field in Buffalo?

• What sort of person willingly watches a Jets-49ers game?

All that and more is just a click away!

Top Story: Tannehill Injured Just as Dolphins Turn Corner

Eric Espada/Getty Images

The Dolphins should be celebrating instead of bracing for the worst.

They outlasted the Cardinals in a sloppy, penalty-filled, slip-'n'-slide of a game, winning 26-23 on a last-second field goal in a downpour to rise to 8-5.

It was the kind of resilient, playoff-relevant win the Dolphins haven't enjoyed late in a season for years. They overcame 14 of their own penalties and a late Cardinals comeback despite being without many injured starters on defense. With the Broncos losing in Tennessee and the Jets and sagging Bills upcoming, the Dolphins would appear to be on the inside track for a wild-card berth.

Except that Ryan Tannehill was hurt against the Cardinals. Multiple reports indicate the Dolphins fear an ACL tear. Just when they finally put the playoff pieces together, they have lost the biggest one.

You remember Tannehill. He's the quarterback who gets sacked all the time. The one who cannot throw downfield. The one who always seemed to be one year away from stardom but two bad games away from getting benched.

A funny thing happened to the not-so-excitingly average Tannehill this season. His line got better. His coaching got better. His defense and running game got better. Wouldn't you know it? The same quarterback looks a heck of a lot better.

Tannehill was 15-of-20 for 195 yards, three touchdowns and one interception before he got hurt—outstanding numbers in a game that might as well have been played inside a car wash. Journeyman Matt Moore entered the game and led a few three-and-outs before Kenny Stills came back for his underthrown 29-yard pass to set up the final field goal.

Moore lacks Tannehill's arm and mobility. Until this season, Moore might have had an edge in decision-making. But again, Tannehill's decisions look much better now that his coaching is consistent and his situations aren't as dire. And the Dolphins had finally evolved beyond needing or expecting Drew Brees numbers from Tannehill. They were becoming a solid, balanced team.

Maybe they still are. The Dolphins can still make the playoffs with Moore at the helm. The Jets can be beaten by any quarterback. The Bills are ready to surrender to any opponent with a decent running game.

It's a testament to Adam Gase's coaching that the Dolphins are still here. Past teams would have wilted during the defensive injury spate and/or descended into organizational infighting after getting blown out last week by the Ravens.

It's just a shame that we probably won't get to see what Tannehill could have accomplished during the stretch run. The Dolphins looked like a team on the rise. For now, they're another banged-up wild-card hopeful wondering where their offense is going to come from.

Game Spotlight: Packers 38, Seahawks 10

Dylan Buell/Getty Images

What Happened

The Packers secondary hauled in interceptions like it was a Gold Glove outfield shagging fly balls. Russell Wilson served up five of 'em in the worst performance of his career.

Aaron Rodgers threw three touchdown passes for the Packers, and the rout was on. The only blemishes for the Packers were injuries to Randall Cobb (he returned after being carted off) and Rodgers (he hobbled through the whole game, but uh-oh).

What It Means

The Packers secondary has had injury issues all season. At times, two or more defensive backs were hurt, limiting what Dom Capers could call and creating some easy-to-find mismatches. All-Pro pass-rusher Clay Matthews was also hurt for several games. So when the Packers lost to opponents such as the Falcons, Titans and Colts, they were in a defensive Catch-22: limited pass rush, bad coverage on the back end, too many holes to cover up.

Matthews and the secondary have been much healthier in recent weeks. Strong games against the Eagles (no receivers, injured line, rookie quarterback) and Texans (Brock Osweiler, Brock Osweiler, Brock Osweiler) could be overlooked or blamed on the opponents. But five interceptions against Wilson are no mirage. Capers is free to blitz safeties (or play Morgan Burnett, pictured, at linebacker) and vary coverages much more than he was a month ago. Suddenly, all of the world's problems can no longer be blamed on Rodgers.

As for the Seahawks...boy, it's a good thing the rest of the NFC West picked this year to fall off. Otherwise, this emotional tilt-a-whirl they have been on for the past month might have damaged their playoff chances.

What's Next

It's time for everyone's favorite talking point: Now that the Packers are good again, will they make the playoffs and become darling stealth Super Bowl contenders?

It's possible.

The Packers must run the table to reach the playoffs while hoping the Lions lose to either the Cowboys or Giants. (There are other scenarios, but they are less likely.) A Lions loss at Dallas seems feasible, as do Packers wins against the Spare Bears, Vikings and Lions.

But before you assume the Packers will become THE PACKERS down the stretch while the Lions become *the lions*, remember that the Packers remain a team with a suspect/banged-up skill-position corps and little depth. Also remember that the Vikings, their Week 16 opponent, beat them early in the year and still have slim playoff dreams of their own.

Throw in Rodgers' aches and pains, and the Packers still face a steep uphill climb. But they remain a much better team than they were a month ago.

Digestible Nuggets

Rey Del Rio/Getty Images

A quick whip-around of the fringes of the playoff picture.

Falcons

They are the second-best team in the NFC right now. They've fared well against one of the toughest schedules in the NFL. They proved several times this season that they can win with Julio Jones out or neutralized, and their defense has gotten more cohesive as the season goes on.

Sunday's devastation of the Rams is exactly the kind of blowout win a Super Bowl contender should produce down the stretch. Atlanta may be the biggest sleeper in the playoff picture right now.

      
Lions

Another week, another smoke-and-mirrors victory.

With Matthew Stafford (pictured) playing through a hand injury, the Lions played down to the plucky Bears' Triple-A affiliate all game before capitalizing on some late penalties to regain the lead and keep it in the fourth quarter.

It doesn't matter how they are doing it at this point: The Lions have done it enough to almost certainly reach the playoffs. And with a mediocre wild-card chase group, they can win a game (on 50-yard field goals and such) when they get there.

       
Broncos

They have no running game—Justin Forsett went straight from the waiver wire to the field to rush six times for 17 yards and a fumble—and their vaunted defense looked overmatched at the line of scrimmage against the Titans.

With a Patriots-Chiefs-Raiders slate to finish the season, the Broncos are in serious danger of getting knocked out of the playoffs. Or at least they would be if Ryan Tannehill wasn't hurt, the Bills didn't stink and the Ravens weren't facing a gauntlet of their own.

      
Redskins

The Redskins aren't great, but they are consistent: You know what you will get in any given week.

Their run defense is weak, but they do everything else fairly well, and their late schedule (Panthers-Bears-Giants) is manageable. If they make the playoffs, they will be prime candidates to beat some flawed, beat-up division winner, get lots of "momentum" hype against their rested next opponent and get the tar beaten out of them.

      
Bucs

Either the Buccaneers have suddenly developed a Seahawks-caliber defense or they are winning close games against quality opponents in mysterious and unsustainable ways. My guess is the latter, though 10 interceptions in the last four games might be evidence of the former.

Even penciling in a loss to the Cowboys next week, the Buccaneers are somehow in great wild-card position. And they have been finding too many ways to win to press down too hard on that pencil.

Player Spotlight: Dak Prescott, Quarterback, Cowboys

Elsa/Getty Images

What He Did

Dak Prescott had the worst game of his magnificent rookie season, throwing two interceptions and completing just 17 of 37 passes for 165 yards against the Giants defense in a 10-7 loss. The Giants consistently generated pass rush with three or four defenders, confounding Prescott while keeping extra defenders in coverage.

By the third quarter, with the Giants leading thanks to a slant-and-whoa touchdown by Odell Beckham Jr., the cries for Tony Romo rang across the Twitterverse. They are sure to ring across the talk shows this week. Because it's not like we have ever seen the Giants use this exact same defensive concept to defeat Tom Brady in the Super Bowl or anything.

What It Means

Dear America,

There are many gradients of quarterback play on the spectrum between MVP Candidate/Greatest Rookie in History and Bench Him Immediately.

Prescott has always existed somewhere between the poles on that spectrum. He has veered well to the left for most of the season, but there was always a possibility that he would face a tough defense on the road on some chilly evening and lurch toward the right.

Late-season, cold-weather games can be tough on even veteran quarterbacks. Ask Russell Wilson or Ben Roethlisberger, neither of whom will hear talk of benching this week.

At 11-2, the Cowboys are still in excellent position to clinch home-field advantage throughout the playoffs with a game or two to spare. They can then get Romo some work in case he is needed in the playoffs.

Sincerely,

A sportswriter who isn't addicted to hot takes.

What Happens Next

Prescott and the Cowboys face the Buccaneers. Meanwhile, the MVP race is a soggy mess. Matt Ryan leaps to the front of the chase after a convincing win over the Rams without Julio Jones.

Since one bad game now immediately disqualifies candidates forever, maybe we should cancel the MVP award completely and just send a fruit basket to Travis Kelce.

Player Spotlight: Le'Veon Bell, Running Back, Steelers

Tom Szczerbowski/Getty Images

What He Did

Le'Veon Bell set a Steelers franchise rushing record with 236 yards, adding 62 receiving yards and three touchdowns.

On a day when Ben Roethlisberger was throwing interceptions as if he were Blake Bortles with a high fever and the Buffalo grounds crew nearly prepped the field for an alfalfa harvest while plowing snow at halftime, Bell almost single-handedly beat the Bills 27-20.

What It Means

Bell is so often praised for his "patience" that you can almost hear Axl Rose whistling every time he takes a handoff. Yet Sunday's game was a perfect example of what patience means for a running back.

On handoff after handoff, Bell throttled down to half speed after receiving the ball, waited for blocks to develop and defenders to commit to gaps, then picked his way through the Bills' run defense (that, admittedly, is disgraceful).

It was the perfect style of rushing for a flurry-covered field: more four-wheel drive than NASCAR-tuned suspension.

Bell's value as a bad-weather/bad-field rusher will help the Steelers in the trio of cold-weather games (at Cincy, home versus the Ravens and Browns) that end their season. More importantly, Bell demonstrated the Steelers can beat a pretty good opponent on the road even with Roethlisberger playing like a turnover dispensary.

As usual, the Steelers will probably be trouble in the postseason. A month ago, they appeared unlikely to make it.

What's Next

Beware the Bengals. They have nothing left to play for these days but old grudges.

Game Spotlight: Texans 22, Colts 17

Andy Lyons/Getty Images

What Happened

The Colts wanted to play one of those typical Colts games where they embarrass themselves for the entire first half and then come roaring back in the second half.

The Texans wanted to play one of those typical Texans games where Brock Osweiler (pictured) looks like a stumblebum for 60 minutes, but the defense plays well enough to keep things close until the offense manufactures a scoring drive or two.

So we got a little of each flavor of AFC South mediocrity. Andrew Luck was 9-of-22 in the first half, allowing the Texans to mount a 13-3 lead. Osweiler tried to give it back, but his third-quarter attempt to throw a goal-line interception went through a defender's hands. Early in the fourth quarter, his knee touched the ground just before he coughed up the football deep in Texans territory.

With the Texans incapable of making enough mistakes to surrender the lead, the Colts' comeback bid ended in a barrage of 12-defenders-on-the-field penalties, short Texans field goals and terrible play calls on 4th-and-1.

What It Means

The Titans are the best team in the AFC South. They probably won't win the division because they are 0-3 against the Texans and Colts, so we are stuck rounding up the usual Texans-Colts suspects and determining who gets the stuffing pummeled out of them by some AFC West wild-card team in the postseason.

At this point, the Texans look like they will be the division champions thanks to their sweep of the Colts and a manageable Jaguars-Bengals-Titans stretch schedule. Hooray.

What Happens Next

The Texans host the Jaguars, while the Colts travel to Minnesota. Remember, folks, Chuck Pagano says there are no participation trophies in real life, per Zak Keefer of the Indy Star. But the AFC South title is pretty close.

Unsung Heroes of the Week: The Bills Groundskeepers

Michael Adamucci/Getty Images

What Happened

Throughout the first half of the Steelers-Bills game, the grounds crew kept yard lines and hashmarks clear during a steady, moderate snowfall.

The crew then tried to plow the field during halftime. All hell did not break loose, but the "crumb rubber" that cushions the A-Turf Titan artificial surface did.

Suddenly, mounds of black pebbles were all over the end zones, as if Mount Vesuvius had just erupted nearby. Groundskeepers and civilians attacked the problem with blowers, shovels and enough heavy machinery to fill a John Deere expo. Some folks resorted to just kicking the pellets off the field, the way my 10-year-old kicks fallen leaves to the curb to announce that he is done being a good sport about raking.

The game resumed after a brief delay, and the field appeared no more dangerous or slippery without the crumbs. That may be because of the A-Turf Titan's "blended parallel-long slit film XP and premium monofilament polyethylene fibers in same stitch." No, I'm not just cutting and pasting from the A-Turf Titan website! I'm some sort of turf wizard!

What It Means

Look, the Bills grounds crew screwed up. And that's bad, because they are upstate New Yorkers who should be fourth-degree black belts with shovels and Fast and Furious-worthy plow operators. It's not like it was Tampa, where the plow might be rusting in a barn somewhere and the operator might skid into a goal post in a quarter-inch of the white stuff.

But grounds crews around the NFL keep complicated turf systems safe and good-looking through all kinds of conditions. Usually, they do a great job. The grass field in Miami stayed playable despite a game-long deluge, for example. And the Bills crew got the situation under control quickly enough so the field was not a factor in a playoff-important game.

What's Next

The Bills crew has just one week to get all that crumb rubber back where it belongs. Everybody grab a shovel! You will also need it for Rex Ryan's next press conference!

Awards Digest

Evan Habeeb/Getty Images

Defender of the Week: The Packers secondary gets to divide this award. Quinten Rollins, Micah Hyde and Morgan Burnett each intercepted one Russell Wilson pass. Damarious Randall intercepted two, but since one of them was tipped into his hand by LaDarius Gunter, it only seems fair to give Gunter a piece of the action.

Honorable Mention Defender of the Week: Vic Beasley of the Falcons recorded three sacks against the Rams, including a strip-six touchdown. Defensive accomplishments still count against the Rams. For now.

Offensive Line of the Week: The final score (13-10) may not show it, but the Titans line overpowered the mighty Broncos defense for the entire first half. DeMarco Murray, Derrick Henry and Marcus Mariota combined for 172 rushing yards, while Mariota was sacked just twice. Let's hear it for Taylor Lewan, Quinton Spain, Ben Jones, Josh Kline and Jack Conklin.

Special Teamers of the Week: Nick Novak kicked five field goals for the Texans against the Colts, including a 52-yarder. Johnny Hekker booted six more punts inside the 20-yard line and single-handedly kept Falcons-Rams semi-competitive in the first half. The Rams should really consider punting on third down for the rest of the year.

Mystery Snapper of the Week: Eagles tight end Trey Burton (pictured) earns a special teams honorable mention for his work as a third-string emergency long snapper after Jon Dorenbos and Brent Celek got hurt. Burton's fourth-quarter field-goal snap floated like a Tim Wakefield knuckleball, but Donnie Jones was able to handle it for a Caleb Sturgis field goal. Burton also caught seven passes for 65 yards and would have been this week's Unsung Hero if the Eagles had won.

Mystery Touch of the Week: Rookie Broncos punter Riley Dixon completed a sweet 16-yard fake-punt pass to Cody Latimer. It was a momentum-changer for the Broncos, who trailed 13-0 at the time. At Syracuse, Dixon rushed five times for 54 yards and completed two passes (one for a touchdown) on fakes, earning him the highest honor an NCAA player can receive short of the Heisman Trophy: his own beat-thumping YouTube highlight cutup!

Anemic Stat Line of the Week: The Falcons somehow scored 42 points with Julio Jones injured and Devonta Freeman rushing six times for six yards. And by "somehow," we mean "two defensive touchdowns," because the Rams are better off punting on third downs.

Fantasy Digest: Last Exit to Bustville

Harry How/Getty Images

If you are lucky, you will be prepping for your fantasy playoffs this week. But you may also still be dragging one of this year's fantasy busts behind your roster like an anchor. Will you get any mileage out of these big-name disappointments down the stretch run? Let's break things down:

Todd Gurley (16 carries, 61 yards, one touchdown versus the Falcons): The Rams face the 49ers in Week 16, and the 49ers' run defense can be counted upon to surrender sometime midway through the third quarter. But Gurley (pictured) faces the Seahawks next week and the Cardinals in the finale, if that's relevant in your league: Bench him in those games if you have any other options. You're basically hoping for random short-yardage touchdowns from Gurley at this point—not a wise strategy against quality defenses.

Cam Newton (160 passing yards, one touchdown, one interception, 31 rushing yards versus the Chargers): Newton's occasional rushing touchdowns might have kept him in your lineup. If that's the case, he might as well stay there down the stretch. The Panthers still give him goal-line carries (he had an eight-yard run from the 9-yard line against the Chargers), the Redskins' run defense is vulnerable to options in Week 15, and that Week 16 stat-generating shootout against the Falcons should go off as you planned it when you drafted Newton, assuming he doesn't forget his team-mandated cufflinks or something.

Allen Robinson (one catch, 17 yards versus the Vikings): Robinson has been plagued by drops all season, and his numbers have tanked for four weeks (9-90-1 total) as the once-buzzy Jaguars passing game has become a national punchline. The Jaguars face all three other AFC Southies down the stretch, so bounce-back potential appears moderately high, even as Blake Bortles increasingly looks to other targets for his fluttery passes. Be on the lookout for Chad Henne in the final weeks: Receivers sometimes get their hands back when they regain faith in their quarterback.

DeAndre Hopkins (two catches, 33 yards versus the Colts): Hopkins appears to fall under the "too talented to bench" category. But he has had one touchdown and zero 75-plus-yard receiving games in eight weeks. Despite their records, the Jaguars and Bengals have pretty good secondaries, and the Jaguars held him to 5-48-0 on 13 targets a few weeks ago. Frankly, you are better off right now with some Cameron Meredith-type whose coach has said "screw it, let's throw deep."

BONUS: Keep Your Eye on the Farrow. Melvin Gordon left Sunday's Chargers game with a hip injury, forcing undrafted rookie Kenneth Farrow into the lineup for 16-55 rushing and 6-23 catching. If waivers are still allowed in your league, Farrow could be the ultimate playoff insurance policy: a running back guaranteed to get the ball in a pretty good offense because it is all out of alternatives.

Final Thoughts: Abandon All Hope, Ye Who Watch Jets-Niners

Ezra Shaw/Getty Images

When the Jets are on the road, CBS is obligated to telecast its games in the New York media market. And when the Eagles, Giants, Patriots, Ravens and Redskins are playing at different times than the Jets, what the lords of television consider the "New York media market" makes up a substantial percentage of Earth's population.

So millions of Americans along the I-95 corridor were treated to a Jets-49ers despair-o-thon afternoon game. Unable to resist the football equivalent of a turtle steeplechase, I DVR'd that sucker and watched it in its entirety. My notes:

• The game starts off with a Bryce Petty interception on the second play from scrimmage, a Carlos Hyde touchdown on the third and a kick out of bounds on the ensuing kickoff. It is like watching a cheap slasher movie and seeing the boom microphone drop into frame in the opening scene.

• The 49ers have one consistently successful offensive play: Hyde on the inside zone from the pistol. The Jets were incapable of stopping this play for much of the afternoon as Hyde finished with 17 carries for 193 yards.

• Midway through the second quarter, Jeremy Kerley bumps into running back Shaun Draughn while going in motion, then catches a swing pass for no gain. This is that "Chip Kelly innovation" you have heard so much about. This being a Jets-49ers game, Kerley was just happy he wasn't forced to play for both teams.

• With 31-year-old Matt Forte suffering a knee injury, 28-year-old Bilal Powell (pictured, No. 29, with Petty) receives the bulk of the carries. This is what passes for "giving younger guys a look" on the Jets roster.

• Early in the third quarter, Petty finally picks the lock on Ryan Fitzpatrick's top-secret playbook. It turns out to be 200 pages with "HEAVE PROJECTILE IN GENERAL DIRECTION OF BRANDON MARSHALL, GET PAID" typed over and over again. Petty obliges.

• Petty doesn't just have trouble with outside blitzes; he denies their existence like some kind of outside-blitz Flat Earther. So naturally, the 49ers stop using them altogether in the fourth quarter and overtime.

• Having made several clutch catches during the game, Robby Anderson makes another in overtime. Anderson is probably doomed to a life as the hard-working, all-purpose receiver stuck on a series of bad Jets offenses. "It gets worse," Kerley says to himself.

• Powell scores a touchdown in overtime to give the Jets a 23-17 victory. Nation is forced to admit that this game was actually more fun to watch than Seahawks-Packers.