NFL '17 Dread News - Week 17

It was so unlikely and unbelievable that you would have thought it was something that only my crystal ball could have cooked up. As CB2 would have put it ......

With Ravens clinging to 3-point lead over Bengals in Week 17 nail-biter at Baltimore, Andy Dalton passes to Tyler Boyd for 49-yard TD on 4th and 12 with 44 seconds to play to give Bengals victory that knocks Ravens out of playoffs and allows Bills to clinch first playoff berth in 18 years.

I mean, that's a scenario worthy of inclusion in one of my NFL previews posts, right alongside all the other crazy and impossible Week 17 finishes that CB2 predicts every year that never ever happen. But unfortunately for Ravens fans and as you've probably heard, the impossible actually happened last Sunday (I saw it with my own eyes). Boyd really did score a 49-yard TD on 4th and 12, with the Bengals' 31-27 victory sending veteran LB Terrell Suggs (photo above), DT Michael Pierce (photo below on left), and all of Ravens Nation into devastation, and all of Western New York into jubilation. No doubt all the New Year's Eve parties in Buffalo and everywhere else that Bills fans were gathered together had a little more juice to them than normal after their favorite team clinched their first playoff appearance of the 21st century.

In most years I don't care one way or another about how the Ravens do. But this year? Well ..... at first I thought CB2 was just picking teams out of a hat when it picked the Ravens to win the Super Bowl this season (in my post titled "For the Birds"), but I went along with it anyway. And after struggling during the first half of the season, they finally got their act together. Coming in to Week 17 they had won 5 of 6, with their best performance during that span arguably being the one game they lost - the Week 14 game at Pittsburgh in which they led the mighty Steelers 31-20 in the 4th quarter before falling 39-38. That result convinced me the Ravens might be able to do some damage in the playoffs if they got there. All they had to do to was beat the 6-9 Bengals (whom they had beaten 20-0 in their first meeting this season at Cincinnati in Week 1) and they'd be going into the playoffs with a full head of steam.

The Ravens' game was one of four that would determine the final two AFC playoff teams and also one of three that would give my crystal ball a chance to save face a little bit. At the start of the day we already knew CB2 was going to be correct on only 3 of its 8 picks for the division winners. But if the Ravens, Los Angeles Chargers, and Atlanta Falcons all could nab playoff berths, CB2 would be correct on more than half of the teams it predicted to reach the playoffs (7 of 12).  

The Ravens played so poorly in the 1st half that you'd have thought it was the Bengals, not them, with a playoff spot on the line. Inaccurate passes, dropped passes, bad defense - they were the main reasons the Bengals had a ridiculous 268-61 advantage in total yards in the 1st half and led 17-3 at halftime. Only it wasn't 17-3. I was so disgusted after a FG with 23 seconds remaining upped the lead to 17-3 that I changed channels to a different game. Immediately after I did that was when the Ravens' three players with the longest dreads started to become a big factor in the outcome of the game - for both better and worse.

Only when I later saw highlights of the game did I find out what happened at the end of the half. First, WR Chris Moore returned the kickoff following the FG 87 yards all the way to the 6-yard line. And on the next play Moore finished what he started, fighting off LB Vincent Rey's attempt to knock the ball out of his hands (photos above) and hanging on for the 6-yard catch for his 4th TD of the season with :04 on the clock to bring the Ravens to within 17-10.

I was tuned back in for the start of the 2nd half, and it looked like the Ravens were going to tie the game right away on their opening possession. After driving from their 23-yard line to the Bengals' 22 in 8 plays, QB Joe Flacco hit Moore in stride on a short crossing route on 2nd and 5. Had Moore made the catch he probably wouldn't have scored, but he surely would have picked up the 1st down and likely would have gotten inside the 10-yard line. But as we all know he didn't make the catch. Instead the ball deflected off his hands (upper photo on left) at the 15-yard line then quickly bounced off various parts of his body 5 or 6 times before it finally got away from him and landed in the hands of CB Darqueze Dennard for an interception (lower photo on left). Worse yet, Dennard went 89 yards on the return and just like that, instead of a tie game it was 24-10: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3gtI-QSQMSY

Despite that punch to the gut, the Ravens' offense came right back out and drove deep into Bengals' territory again. They got to 17-yard line before facing a 4th and 3. I wasn't quite yelling at the television, but I was certainly in a louder than normal voice while imploring Coach Harbaugh to kick the field goal. It was midway through the 3rd quarter, still plenty of time remaining, and you don't want to come away empty again.

But no, no FG attempt. And sure enough, they tried a sweep to the left, and the Bengals' D had RB Alex Collins stopped cold, a sure 5-yard loss. But Collins, bless his heart, was not going to take no for an answer. Seeing a sea of defenders in front of him, he stopped, reversed his field to the right and found a lot of open space, then picked up a couple of blocks (including a big one on CB Dre Kirkpatrick by RB Javorius Allen (upper photo on right) and weaved his way into the end zone! (lower photo on right)
http://www.baltimoreravens.com/videos/videos/Highlight-Alex-Collins-Shows-Sheer-Will-on-Touchdown-Run/bc8f71d2-692a-488d-8039-8a347db73fc0
An incredible play; and considering it was on 4th down while trailing by 14, a big-time clutch play too.

The Ravens kept the momentum, settling for a FG on their next drive to make it 24-20 before driving 55 yards in 7 plays on their next possession to finally take the lead. WR Mike Wallace beat Kirkpatrick on an out route on 3rd and 5 for the 6-yard TD catch, and it was 27-24 Ravens with 8:48 remaining in the game. The Ravens had a chance to put the game away on their next drive but could only pick up 2 first downs and ended up punting to the 10-yard line with 2:43 to play. To that point the Ravens' D had held the Bengals to just 1 first down in the 2nd half and forced them to punt on all three of their possessions. But with the game - and the season - on the line, they crumbled like a cookie.

On the first 12 snaps of the drive there were a couple of penalties that gave the Bengals a 1st down, one of which nullified an interception. On another play there was a dropped interception. Even so, the Bengals still had just barely crossed midfield. And now that it was 4th and 12, the Ravens were one play away.

CB Maurice Canady, the player with the longest dreads on the Ravens' D, had a team high 8 tackles (7-1) in the game, but unfortunately the Ravens needed him to make one more. Even when Boyd, who somehow was wide open 25 yards downfield, made the catch at the 23-yard line, I thought, "That's OK, they're only going to be in FG range." No way did I have any idea he was about to score. On a pass that deep down the middle of the field, somebody has to be close enough to make the tackle immediately. But Canady had dropped so deep that he was a good 3 yards away when Boyd made the catch (upper photo on left). Boyd ran to the right and easily broke tackle attempts by Canady and CB Brandon Carr (lower photo on left) at the 7 as well as the hearts of Ravens fans everywhere. The video of the play is on the first link below. And on the second link there's an article about this disastrous defeat and about the Ravens' season in general - one in which they had no business missing the playoffs.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bECuPlKegaY
https://www.baltimorebeatdown.com/2017/12/31/16836038/cohens-corner-what-just-happened-part-two-ravens

Canady and Moore are both in their 2nd season in the NFL after being drafted by the Ravens in 2016; but youth is no excuse for making the kind of mistakes they made on these particular plays. Somehow you've got to do better. Actually if the Ravens had had a few less injuries, maybe Moore and Canady aren't even on the field in these crucial situations. In particular the Ravens were so shorthanded at the WR position that not only did Moore start, rookie WR Quincy Adeboyejo was in uniform for his first NFL game and was even on the field for 21 snaps on offense (with no passes being thrown to him).

Other than fumbling too much - and having his dreads reduced every game - Collins was a pleasant surprise. I guess it shouldn't have been a surprise because he was outstanding in college. But after doing nothing in his 2016 rookie season with the Seattle Seahawks, it made you wonder if he was good enough for the NFL. It turned out that getting released by the Seahawks (and their horrible offensive line) was the best thing that could happen to him. He showed without any doubt that he can run the ball at this level if you give him some decent blocking. It wasn't until Week 6 that Alex moved into the starting lineup (after the injury to Terrance West). After rushing for nearly 1,000 yards, it'll be interesting to see if he's still the starter when next season begins.
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If they could get into the playoffs, the Chargers would go in with even a fuller head of steam than the Ravens. They too, like the Ravens, had won 5 of their last 6 games, improving their record to 8-7. The one loss during that span, in Week 15 at Kansas City, had knocked them out of the race for the AFC West title, leaving the wild card route as their only option for the playoffs. But just winning their home game vs. the Oakland Raiders was not going to be enough. They also needed the Tennessee Titans to lose (and fall to 8-8) to the Jacksonville Jaguars; and - to avoid a 3-way tie with the Ravens and the Bills - they needed either the Ravens to win or the Bills to lose at Miami. Well, there was bad news for Chargers fans on all three of those fronts. The Chargers got absolutely none of the help they needed elsewhere, so their 30-10 whipping of the Raiders left them on the outside looking in and wondering what might have been had they not gotten off to that awful 0-4 start.

Although they didn't see the Chargers make the playoffs, at least the fans in attendance got to see Week 17's game with the best dreads. But of course, that was nothing new. For the past few years the game with the best dreads is usually the one between the Chargers and whomever they're playing. With RB Melvin Gordon and WR Travis Benjamin on the field on offense, and with Tre Boston and Jahleel Addae starting in the secondary, the Chargers are a must see for anyone looking for great dreads.

Gordon has cured the fumbling problem he had during his 2015 rookie season, having gone from 6 fumbles that season to 2 last season to none through the first 15 games of this season. Unfortunately he failed in his attempt to get through the whole season without a fumble; but I'll tell you, the fumble he had against the Raiders early in the 2nd quarter last Sunday was undoubtedly the best fumble he's ever had. Hit by LB Marquel Lee and S Reggie Nelson after an 11-yard run, Melvin lost the ball (Nelson got credit for the FF) (upper photo on left above), but it popped into the air and straight into the hands of WR Keenan Allen (lower photo on left above), who was trailing the play like you're supposed to. Allen took off for the end zone and, with no defenders in position to stop him, went 27 yards untouched to give the Chargers the lead with 13:09 remaining until halftime. Those were the first 7 of 30 points that would be scored in the 2nd quarter.
http://www.chargers.com/video/2017/12/31/cant-miss-play-keenan-allen-takes-gordons-fumble-house

Trailing 14-10, the Raiders went deep on the first play after the 2-minute warning, only to have Boston intercept the pass in the end zone and return it 25 yards. The Chargers promptly went 77 yards in 8 plays to make it 20-10 at the half. Late in the 3rd quarter Benjamin got open deep and made a 62-yard reception (photo on right) for a 30-10 lead and the Chargers' final TD of the season. Travis gained just enough yards to make the dread stars list, joining Gordon, who made the list for the 3rd week in a row and the 7th time this season .....

..... And Raiders RB Marshawn Lynch made it three players on the dread stars list from the same game. Lynch had a profitable, if not victorious afternoon. Midway through the 1st quarter, on his 3rd carry of the day, he reached the 800-yard rushing mark for the season, and that was the number needed to cash in on a $600,000 bonus in his contract. Nice. Then on an 11-yard run late in the game he reached the 10,000-yard mark for yards rushing in his career. Back in action and playing for his hometown team this season after taking 2016 off, Lynch (photo on left) was on the field with his dreads reduced for every game this season. Just as with Alex Collins, Marshawn's dreads have gotten so long that they're too easy to grab when they're flowing full blast. The Raiders' other two players with long dreads on offense didn't do much this week. WR Seth Roberts had 5 catches for 48 yards. He finished the season with only 1 TD catch. And WR Cordarrelle Patterson was no factor with 1 catch for 4 yards (on 25 snaps) and 1 kickoff return for 29 yards.
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The victories by the Bills and Titans and the loss by the Ravens left them, along with the Chargers, all with 9-7 records and in a 4-way for the two wild card spots, with the Bills and Titans getting in thanks to the NFL's tiebreaker rules. The Ravens were done in mostly because they're in the same division as Cleveland. Their strength of victory didn't get any help at all with their two wins over the 0-16 Browns.
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If you had told me before the game began that RB Devonta Freeman's 19-yard TD reception (photo on right), which capped a game-opening 10-play, 75-yard drive, would be the Falcons' only touchdown of the game, I would have bet they would lose. But these ain't last year's Falcons anymore. On this year's Falcons the defense is more reliable than the offense. The Falcons never scored another TD last Sunday, but they moved the ball well enough to be in position to kick 5 field goals; and the defense made the 22 points stand up for a huge 22-10 home victory over the Carolina Panthers that clinched the final NFC playoff spot and put a big smile on my face. Bouncing back after last week's poor game, Freeman gained enough yards to get on the dread stars list for the 4th time this season. The Falcons (10-6) edged out the Seahawks, Dallas Cowboys, and Detroit Lions (all 9-7) for the final berth, making them the only NFC team that played in last season's playoffs to get back to the playoffs in 2017.
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The Philadelphia Eagles' 6-0 home loss to the Cowboys was meaningless as far as the playoff picture was concerned. The Eagles had already clinched the top seed in the NFC, and the Cowboys had already been eliminated. But the game was hardly meaningless for a couple of their players with dreads. RB LeGarrette Blount's bank account, like Marshawn Lynch's, also is significantly fatter thanks to his performance in Week 17. Blount, whose dreads have disappeared the last two weeks underneath the balaclava he's been wearing on his head to combat the frigid weather, didn't do a whole lot against the Cowboys, but his 37 yards rushing on 9 carries upped his season total to 766 yards rushing, surpassing the 750 he needed to collect an extra $300,000. Cha-Ching!

The final game of the regular season also meant a lot to one Sidney Jones. What hopefully will be a long, illustrious NFL career for Jones began last Sunday - unnoticed by everyone except Eagles fans. Jones, as you may remember, dropped from the first to the second round of the 2017 Draft after suffering a serious injury (torn Achilles) during his pro day workout back in early March. With him finally fully recovered and in a game without any pressure, the Eagles decided to test him out. He was on the field with his dreads reduced (of course) (photo on left above) for 29 snaps at CB on defense, finishing with 2 tackles (2-0) and a missed tackle on a play on which he took a bad angle in a ho-hum debut that left his fellow DBs understandably with nothing but good things to say: http://www.pennlive.com/philadelphiaeagles/index.ssf/2018/01/philadelphia_eagles_sidney_jon_5.html
We'll see, but with Jones and Ronald Darby on the roster, the Eagles hopefully will be a team with two starting CBs with dreads for many seasons to come.
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DG 

1. On the 5th play of the Chiefs' opening drive at Denver, and on his 1st carry of the game, rookie RB Kareem Hunt goes up the middle on a draw play on 2nd and 10 and leaves LB Brandon Marshall grasping at air at the 29-yard line (photo above) then says see ya later to S Darian Stewart at the 20 (photo on right) as he takes it 35 yards to the house for a 7-0 lead after just 57 seconds.
Hunt then took the rest of the day off, but with this one carry (and with Todd Gurley also taking the day off), he boosted his season total to 1,327 yards rushing, surpassing Gurley for the most in the league.

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2. It was a different Chiefs LB with dreads who should have gotten the interception on this play late in the 1st half; but after a pass on 2nd and 10 goes right through the hands of Ramik Wilson, it lands in the lap of Terrance Smith (photo above) for his 1st career INT. Smith then went 7 yards on the return (right photo) before being tackled by TE Jeff Heuerman at the KC 21-yard line.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H8TWxA6LhTI
With the Chiefs resting all of the starters on defense, Smith and Wilson were on the field for almost every snap. Smith finished with 6 tackles (5-1) and 1 PBU in addition to his interception.

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3. This time the shoe is on the other foot, as it is Ramik Wilson who benefits from the butterfingers of Terrance Smith. On the 2nd play after the Chiefs upped their lead to 17-10 with a FG late in the 3rd quarter, QB Paxton Lynch is sacked at the 20-yard line and fumbles the ball. Two Chiefs try to recover the ball but fail, including Smith. But that turns out to be a good thing because Smith is on the ground and wouldn't have been able to get up in time to return it had he gotten the FR. Instead Wilson scoops it up at the 11-yard line (photo above) and takes it to the house (photo on right) to make it 24-10. In addition to scoring his 2nd career TD, Smith led the Chiefs with 8 tackles (7-1). The Broncos scored 2 TD in the 4th quarter to tie the game, but the Chiefs kicked a FG on the last play of the game to win it 27-24. 

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4.Colts S Clayton Geathers brings the forward progress of Texans RB Alfred Blue to an end with enough force to cause Blue to close his eyes on a 4-yard run to the Colts' 35-yard line during the 2nd quarter. It was the first of 3 tackles (2-1) Geathers had in the game. The drive ended 6 plays later with a 2-yard TD run by Blue, giving Houston a 10-7 lead.

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5. LB Jabaal Sheard finishes his 1st season with the Colts with 5.5 sacks, the last one coming here as he drops T.J. Yates for a 5-yard loss on 3rd and 6 midway through the 4th quarter with the Texans trailing by 6. Sheard had 3 tackles (2-1) in the game. The Texans punted on the next play and didn't get the ball back until there were 31 seconds to play and they were down by 9.

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6. Although the Texans-Colts game did not affect the playoff picture, it was still worth watching because it was a rare game in which LB Jadeveon Clowney turned his dreads completely loose. Here late in the 1st quarter Clowney loses a chance for a solo sack as QB Jacoby Brissett somehow is able to break out of his grasp and temporarily pull away from him. DT Chunky Clements then came over to help him get Brissett on the ground for a 10-yard loss, with both of them getting credit for a half sack - the Texans' only sack of the game .....

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7. Then in the 3rd quarter Clowney misses out on a chance to get a TFL, as RB Marlon Mack stiff-arms him to the ground in the backfield on 1st and 10 and breaks outside around right end all the way to the 1-yard line for a 12-yard gain. Mack got the TD two plays later to put the Colts in front 14-13. Clowney finished the game with 7 tackles (3-4), with that half sack his only TFL. Colts went on to win 22-13 to knock the Texans into last place in the AFC South.




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8. Saints DT Tyeler Davison stops RB Doug Martin at the Buccaneers' 37-yard lime, getting credit for a half tackle along with DE George Johnson (#90), on a 1-yard run late in the 1st quarter at Tampa. It was the only one of Martin's 3 carries - all on this drive - on which he gained positive yards. After being tackled for a 3-yard loss on 3rd and 1 two plays later, he was benched for the rest of the game. This was the first of 2 tackles (1-1) for Davison in the game.
Trailing 24-23, the Buccaneers scored a 39-yard TD with 9 seconds to play to upset the Saints 31-24. The loss could have cost the Saints the NFC South title, but it didn't .....

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9. ..... because the Panthers also lost ...... On their 2nd offensive snap of the game the Panthers try to fool the Falcons, handing the ball to WR Kaelin Clay on a reverse. But it doesn't work, as CB Desmond Trufant (#21), after standing up Clay for a 2-yard loss, gets help from his long-haired friends - DE Brooks Reed (#50) and LB De'Vondre Campbell (#59). Trufant got credit for a solo tackle on the play, but it was Reed who blew up the play, staying at home and forcing Clay off his desired path. The Panthers punted two plays later. Clay got positive yards the other 4 times he touched the ball - 1 reception for 15 yards, 2 punt returns for 15 yards, and 1 kickoff return for 19 yards. Trufant finished with 2 tackles (2-0) and 1 PBU. Campbell had 4 tackles (3-1).
It was a very good day for the Falcons' D, holding the Panthers to just 248 total yards. The Falcons got the home win 22-10 to clinch a playoff berth for the 2nd straight year as well as deny the Panthers the division crown.


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10. Eagles DE Steven Means gets his 1st sack of the season, tackling Cowboys QB Dak Prescott at the 6-yard line for a 7-yard loss on 2nd and 9 midway through the 2nd quarter at Philadelphia. Cowboys punted two plays later. Means, in his 5th NFL season, was on the field for a career high 39 snaps on defense in the game and finished with 3 tackles (3-0), including 2 TFL.
In a game in the which the only thing that really mattered was that hopefully nobody would get injured, the Cowboys scored a TD early in the 4th quarter to defeat the Eagles 6-0.

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11. I couldn't find any photos of him actually getting the interception; so you'll have to settle for this one of Giants LB Kelvin Sheppard after his INT, celebrating with LB Ray-Ray Armstrong, with 2:40 remaining in the game and the Giants leading the Redskins by 8. The Giants picked up a 1st down on the ensuing drive and then ran out the clock. Sheppard picked off QB Kirk Cousins' 1st pass of the game too, way back in the 1st quarter, returning it 12 yards to set up a 19-yard TD drive that upped the Giants' lead to 12-0. The 2 INT were the first two of his career for Sheppard, who has been in the league since 2011. Kelvin also had 6 tackles in the game and made the dread stars list. Armstrong finished with 4 tackles (1-3). CB Brandon Dixon (#25) tied for the team lead with 7 tackles (5-2). Despite winning 18-10, the Giants (3-13 in 2017 after going 11-5 last season) clinched the 2nd pick in the 2018 Draft.

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12. Vikings CB Trae Waynes grabs onto the foot of Bears RB Tarik Cohen behind the line of scrimmage and doesn't let go on 1st and 10 during the 3rd quarter at Minneapolis. The play went for a 3-yard loss to the Chicago 14-yard line, and the Bears punted 3 plays later. Facing the Bears' mediocre receiving corps, Waynes had an easier afternoon than usual. He finished with 2 tackles (1-1) and 2 PBU in a 23-10 victory, and the Vikings finished with a 13-3 record, 4 games ahead of the 2nd place Lions in the NFC North.

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13. On the first play after the Packers took a 3-0 lead in the 1st quarter at Detroit, the Lions fake handoffs up the middle and on a reverse to fool the safety, and WR Marvin Jones beats CB Davon House deep on a post route and makes the catch for a 56-yard gain before House makes the tackle at the 18-yard line. The Lions kicked a FG 5 plays later to tie the game. This was House's only tackle (1-0) in 28 snaps.
You can include Davon's name as a candidate for 2017's bad timing award. After going 8-24 while playing for the Jaguars the previous two seasons, he comes back home to the Packers, and what happens? The Jaguars make the playoffs, and the Packers miss the playoffs for the first time in 9 years. The Lions (9-7) whipped the Packers 35-11, finishing ahead of the Packers (7-9) in the standings for the first time in 12 years and sweeping the season series with the Packers for the first time in 26 years.

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14. After making his 1st catch of the day early in the 2nd quarter, Steelers WR Martavis Bryant can't quite get the 1st down, picking up 14 yards on 2nd and 16 before CB Briean Boddy-Calhoun tackles him out of bounds at the Browns 20-yard line. On the next play the Steelers upped their lead to 14-0 on a JuJu Smith-Schuster TD catch. Bryant had 6 catches (on 7 targets) for 65 yards as the Steelers won 28-24 to end the regular season at 13-3, finishing 4 games ahead of the Ravens in the AFC North. And if you thought things couldn't get any worse for the Browns after they went 1-15 in 2016, you were wrong! Incredibly they ran the table this year, losing all 16 games, just the second team in league history to go 0-16 (the 2008 Lions were the other).


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15. Having your dreads reduced certainly lowers the chance that somebody will grab them, but it doesn't eliminate it, as Raiders RB Marshawn Lynch finds out on his 3rd rushing attempt of the game against the Chargers. At first Lynch was using his left hand to stiff-arm S Tre Boston on a run to the right side on 1st and 10 midway through the 1st quarter; but the next thing he knew he's using it to try to get Boston to let go after Tre latches onto one of his locks at the 35-yard line. After being knocked back by Lynch's stiff-arm, Boston grabbed on to keep Marshawn from getting away, then let go and was able to get him on the ground at the 44-yard line for a gain of 18. This was the play on which Lynch surpassed the 800-yard rushing mark on the season to cash in on a $600,000 bonus in his contract.

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16. RB Melvin Gordon is all smiles as WR Keenan Allen hands him the ball back while they celebrate Allen's TD early in the 2nd quarter. On a play that began with Gordon carrying for 11 yards from the Raiders' 40-yard line to the 29 and then fumbling, it ended with Allen recovering Gordon's 1st fumble of the season and advancing it 27 yards to the house to give the Chargers a 7-0 lead.

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17. On the first play of the Raiders' next drive it looks like DT Darius Philon is going to have the sack all to himself (photo above) but then LB Melvin Ingram comes in and they both tackle QB Derek Carr (photo on right) for a 6-yard loss. They both got credit for a half sack. The drive ended three plays later with an 87-yard TD catch by WR Amari Cooper on 3rd and 22, tying the game at 7.
I haven't got totals of all of the teams yet, so I don't know for sure; but the Chargers' 20.5 sacks by players with dreads (led by Ingram's 10.5) has got to be the most of any team this season.

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18. The turning point of the game comes here on the first play after the 2-minute warning before halftime. With the Chargers leading 14-10, Carr tries to give the Raiders the lead, thinking he has a mismatch with WR Johnny Holton being covered by LB Korey Toomer. But Tre Boston comes over and picks off the deep pass in the end zone for his 5th INT of the season .....

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19. ..... Not settling for a touchback, Boston races up the sideline with Holton in pursuit for a 25-yard return before going out of bounds at the 23-yard line. The Chargers then cashed in the turnover with a 77-yard drive, scoring the TD with 24 seconds remaining to make it 20-10 at halftime.

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20. On the first play after the Raiders were stopped on 4th and 2 at the LA 18-yard line in the 3rd quarter, Melvin Gordon is wrapped up by S Reggie Nelson after catching a pass in the left flat. Nelson hung on until help arrived in the form of LB James Conner, and they tackled Gordon after a 2-yard gain. The drive ended 8 plays later with a 62-yard TD reception by WR Travis Benjamin on 3rd and 13, as the Chargers had 3 3rd down conversions on the drive and upped their lead to 30-10. 
Nelson, in what probably was his final game in a Raiders uniform, had 7 tackles (4-3) and 1 FF, and also blew a coverage on a long TD pass in the 2nd quarter. Gordon, in what probably won't be his last game with the Chargers, made the dread stars list.

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21. After taking the handoff on 3rd and 1 and breaking through the line, Marshawn Lynch makes S Jahleel Addae (#37) miss 6 yards downfield at the Oakland 40-yard line and keeps on going until he finally is tackled by Tre Boston (#33) at the LA 47. The 19-yard run was Lynch's biggest gain of the day. But the Raiders' came away empty on their first possession of the 2nd half 6 plays later, when Lynch was stopped for no gain on 4th and 2.
In addition to his INT, Boston had 7 tackles (4-3), while Addae finished with 4 tackles (2-2). Lynch made the dread stars list for the 3rd time this season. The Chargers won 30-10 to finish 9-7 but just barely missed the playoffs. Marshawn says he's interested in playing again next season. We'll see if the Raiders are interested in having him back.

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22. On the 10th play of the game-opening drive at Seattle, with QB Drew Stanton scrambling and doing his best Russell Wilson impersonation, CB Shaquill Griffin can't stay with Cardinals WR Jaron Brown crossing all the way across the field, and Brown is open as he makes the 25-yard TD catch to give the Cardinals the early lead. But you have to cut Shaquill a little slack. The pass was thrown a full 10 seconds after the snap, and it's very difficult to cover your man for that long.

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23. It was a different story on the Cardinals' first possession of the 2nd half. On 1st and 15, after fighting with teammate Earl Thomas (#29) for the ball on a deep pass intended for Jaron Brown, Shaquill Griffin hangs on as he hits the ground after colliding with Thomas and gets his 1st career INT at the Seattle 29-yard line. But the Seahawks went three-and-out on the ensuing possession and punted back to the Cardinals. In addition to his pick Griffin finished with 6 tackles (4-2) and 1 PBU as the Seahawks lost 26-24 when they missed a FG with 32 seconds remaining in the game.
Griffin started 11 games in his rookie season, but the Seahawks (9-7) missed the playoffs for the first time in 6 years.

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24. You win some .......
With the Bengals leading 7-0 early in the 2nd quarter, the Ravens try to beat CB Dre Kirkpatrick deep on 3rd and 9, but Kirkpatrick is up to the task, breaking up the pass intended for WR Mike Wallace. The Ravens punted on the next play.
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25. ..... and you lose some.
This time Dre Kirkpatrick can't get the job done, as Mike Wallace makes the catch on an out route on 3rd and 5 for a 6-yard TD, as the Ravens come all the way back from a 24-10 deficit to take a 27-24 lead with 8:48 to play in the game. It looked like this would be the TD that would get the Ravens into the playoffs; but the Bengals had other ideas, scoring a TD from midfield on 4th and 12 with :44 on the clock to defeat the Ravens 31-27 and knock them out of the playoffs.

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26. Service with a smile .....
After finishing the game with 3 tackles (3-0) and 2 PBU, Dre Kirkpatrick hands his gloves to a Bengals fan before leaving the field. This wraps up Dre's 6th season in the league; and they've all been with the Bengals, so you know what that means. Right, no playoff victories. And this year, not even a playoff game. After finishing at 7-9, the Bengals miss the playoffs for the 2nd year in a row.

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DREAD STARS

• Devonta Freeman - Falcons - 23 yards rushing on 11 carries and 85 yards and 1 TD on 9 receptions in 22-10 home W over Panthers
• Melvin Gordon - Chargers - 93 yards rushing on 17 carries, and 6 receptions for 31 yards in 30-10 home W over Raiders 

• Travis Benjamin - Chargers - 2 carries for 4 yards rushing, and 4 receptions for 96 yards and 1 TD as players with dreads accounted for 232 of team's 495 total yards
• Ziggy Ansah - Lions - named NFC defensive player of the week - 4 tackles (4-0), including 3 sacks, in 35-11 home W over Packers
• Kelvin Sheppard - Giants - 6 tackles (5-1), including 1 TFL, and had 2 key INT, in 18-10 home W over Redskins
• Alvin Kamara - Saints - 44 yards and 1 TD rushing on 9 carries, 6 receptions for 84 yards, and 106-yard kickoff return for TD in 31-24 road L to Buccaneers

• Marshawn Lynch - Raiders - 19 carries for 101 yards rushing, and 2 receptions for 18 yards in 30-10 road L to Chargers

 HOUSE OF DREAD

There are three houses of dread for Week 17, each where 2 TD were scored by players with dreads. As mentioned earlier, in the end zone at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore, WR Chris Moore had a 6-yard TD reception and RB Alex Collins a sensational 17-yard TD run for the Ravens in their disastrous 31-27 loss to the Bengals. At Sports Authority Field at Mile High in Denver, as seen in the DG section, RB Kareem Hunt scored on a 35-yard run on his only carry of the game, and LB Ramik Wilson scooped up a fumble and returned it 11 yards to the house for the Chiefs in their 27-24 win over the Broncos. And at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa the 2 TD were scored by one player, offensive rookie of the year favorite Alvin Kamara, who scored twice standing up for the Saints in their 31-24 loss to the Buccaneers - on a 106-yard kickoff return (the longest KR in Saints history) and a 7-yard run (photo above), both in the 1st quarter.

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HEAD DREAD

Going by the numbers, Alvin Kamara obviously had a better Week 17 performance than any other player with dreads. But as you know by now, I hardly ever give the player of the week award to someone whose team didn't win. So, I'm sorry, Alvin. It wasn't your fault the Saints didn't win last Sunday; but they didn't win. Of the players whose teams did win nobody really stands out that much; so I'm going with a bit of a sympathy choice in naming Derrick Henry as the head dread for the final week of the regular season.

I actually felt sorry for Henry, the Tennessee Titans' 2nd year RB, because the coaching staff decided to wait until the Titans were facing the nasty Jaguars' defense to give him his career high number of carries. A speedster at 247 pounds, Henry usually dishes out just as much punishment as he takes while carrying the ball. But still, to get the ball 29 times (his previous high was 19 carries) knowing that on every carry the blocking was either going to be crummy or just plain non-existent and still be able to survive? That alone is worthy of an honor.

Henry's rushing numbers were hideous. The 76 yards he gained on the 19 carries he got positive yards was OK; but there were also 9 carries that went for no gain or lost yardage - 25 yards lost, to be exact. The final total came to just 51 yards rushing on 28 carries (1 carry didn't count due to a penalty), just 1.8 per carry. On only 3 carries did he pick up a 1st down, and only 2 of the 28 carries went for more than 5 yards (a 13-yarder and a 12-yarder). Of course, if that's all he had done, Derrick would have won this week's award. But he also made the best play of the game for the Titans' offense, pretty much winning the game by scoring the game's only offensive touchdown. No doubt noticing how much success that L.A. Rams RB Todd Gurley had on screen passes against them on the same field a week earlier, the Titans decided to try one for themselves on 2nd and 14 early in the 2nd quarter, and Henry, after making the catch, raced 66 yards to the house (photo on right above) on what would be his only reception of the game. That put the Titans ahead 6-0 - and ahead to stay.

Going for the most part this season with his long dreads all clumped together into one - making them almost invisible, Henry also helped the Titans preserve their 5-point late lead, rushing for 4, 4, 1, 4, 3, and 1 yards as the Titans picked up 2 big 1st downs on their final possession of the game to take the clock down from 3:57 to just :24 before punting. The Titans held on to win 15-10 and clinched their first playoff berth in 9 years. If you like, you can read more about Henry's afternoon in this article (first link  below) from the Tennessean and/or take a look at the few productive plays he had on this highlight video (second link).

http://www.tennessean.com/story/sports/nfl/titans/2017/12/31/titans-win-over-jaguars-mixed-bag-derrick-henry-nfl-playoffs/987391001/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gKGAMqYHvCo
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DREADS FOCUS?

I was so tired after I finished last week's report that I didn't bother to mention that ..... Yes, I am planning to once again do a dreads focus section, in which I'll list the full roster of each NFL team's players with dreads and then grade each team on their dreads. But due to time constraints, I'm not going to get started until my Week 18 (or even possibly 19) report. Sorry to keep you waiting; but I'm just not ready yet.