The NFL was in a giving mood this festive season with plenty of teams wrapping up their divisions or playoff spots over the last few days.
In what was possibly the longest week of games in league history, there were blowouts aplenty as some teams suffered from waning motivation, while the Jets just suffered from being the Jets.
However there was plenty of quick thinking on display with Washington Commanders player Jeremy Reaves (we assume) covering for missing Christmas Day with this present for his now fiancé after his team locked up a playoff spot.
Check out our five big takeaways from Week 17 below.
1 – The Christmas Experiment Didn’t Work
Maybe it’s because we are spoiled for choice when it comes to sport at this time of year.
Perhaps we are just used to the NFL being confined to a couple of days out of the week.
But the efforts from Park Avenue to insert themselves into the Christmas Day conversation just felt a bit forced and it didn’t really work the way they were hoping.
It’s always the big issue when a new player, even one as big as the NFL, tries to make themselves an even bigger part, if not the dominant force of a day.
Here it is Boxing Day, where we already have NBA and EPL as established overseas options, not to mention the local selection of the Test, Sydney to Hobart or the NBL, A-League and Big Bash.
For over a decade now the NBA has been the Christmas Day event in the US and it sure sounds like they are not giving it up easily.
Plus the games were stretched out from very early Thursday morning to Tuesday afternoon and the quality of play was definitely impacted by the stretched out week.
At least next year Christmas Day falls on a Thursday (US time), so it won’t be adding a day to the schedule.
2 – Rust Will Be Kansas City’s Biggest Enemy
One big development to come from the Christmas games was Kansas City moving to 15-1 and securing the top seed in the AFC which includes an all important first round bye.
For a team that is chasing a historic three-peat of Super Bowl titles, having to play one less playoff game is a huge advantage given the cumulative wear and tear of constant playoff runs.
However it does create a big dilemma for coach Andy Reid heading into Week 18 with nothing on the line for the reigning champions.
If the likes of Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce do play, it’s hard to imagine them getting a full four quarters of action and when they are out there, they are probably not going to be at full intensity.
But it does also raise the concern that their next meaningful reps will come on either January 18 or 19, a total of 24 days after they celebrated their win in Pittsburgh.
While there is no hard and fast rule about which approach works better, history certainly points towards Reid giving Mahomes and company the day off when they travel to a desperate Denver side.
Resting their key players would be a huge favour to their division rivals, who need to win the game and lock up the AFC’s seventh and final playoff berth.
Either way, Reid is going to have to decide if three and a half weeks is too long to go between meaningful reps.
3 – Denver And Tampa Are In The Box Seat
At this time of year, you want to be in control of your destiny and the Broncos and Buccaneers are the two sides in control of their fate heading into Week 18.
Denver just needs to beat a potentially undermanned Kansas City to lock up the Wild Card spot in the AFC.
If they do lose, Miami and Cincinnati could be primed to pounce but you never want to count on other teams doing you a favour.
Meanwhile, Tampa Bay just has to win to successfully defend their NFC South crown thanks to Atlanta’s baffling loss in Washington on Sunday Night Football.
How do you let this much time come off the clock?
The Falcons were in position to win the game after that completion from Penix and give themselves a win and in scenario, but they froze in a critical spot (again).
Now Tampa just has to win and it’s another home playoff game for them.
4 – Now Or Never For Some Coaches
As we head into Week 18, there are plenty of players who will be looking to put their best foot forward for a job in 2025, but a number of coaches will be trying to ensure they are still gainfully employed in a month or so.
Chicago, New Orleans and the Jets have already fired their head coaches and will be making a change, but plenty of other guys will be fighting for their job, some perhaps a bit pointlessly.
Jerod Mayo in New England has overseen a disastrous season and in the midst of his side’s blowout loss to the Chargers on Sunday morning, the fans made their opinions heard.
Other coaches might be paying the price for underachieving in 2024, with the likes of Shane Steichen perhaps needing to justify his continued employment to Colts ownership.
There may even be a surprise sacking or two come Black Monday with some generally successful coaches like Zac Taylor and Mike McDaniel coming under scrutiny if their teams miss the playoffs.
5 – The Giants Had a Monumental Stuff Up
It has been a rough decade plus for the New York Giants.
Since winning Super Bowl XLVI in Indianapolis they have struggled with just two playoff appearances, ten losing seasons and all sorts of frustrating moves by the team.
Last year it looked like they were all set to find a way to draft their next quarterback before a three game winning streak in November and December cost them a top three draft pick.
That meant they had to try and trade up in the draft to get Drake Maye, but their inquiries were rebuffed by New England.
Malik Nabers is going to be a pretty solid fall back plan by the looks of it, but they still need someone at the most important position.
Heading into Week 17 they were in position to “win” the first overall pick, giving them a choice between Cam Ward and Shedur Sanders, who might not come in with the fanfare of the 2024 class, but still players that can and will excite the fan base.
Sanders had a clear preference on where he would like to go as well.
There was just one problem with that premature postulating, there are plenty of bad teams in the league this season and the Giants still had to lose to the Colts in Week 17 and the Eagles in Week 18.
People clearly forgot how bad the Colts were, with a complete no-show in the Meadowlands and Drew Lock was the star of the show.
Don’t tell the players they are supposed to lose, most of them are trying to audition for a job with the other 31 teams for 2025.
That win dropped the Giants down to the fourth overall pick and a loss to Philadelphia next week would ensure they go no lower than that.
New England won’t take a quarterback, we know that much, but Tennessee and Cleveland could use an upgrade there, which means that if this order holds, the Giants will once again need to put in a call to the front office in Foxborough and see what it would take to move up a few spots and get their guy.