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The Sunday Evening Post: Week 17

Jan 4, 2010, 12:55 AM UTC

I have thought, at various intervals this season, that the best team in the NFL was the Saints, Colts, Vikings, Chargers, and Eagles. And now I think it’s the Dallas Cowboys. But what do I know? â†µâ†µI think that Chris Johnson is almost certainly the best skill position player in the league. He crested 2,000 yards rushing on the season today, becoming the fifth runner in league history to do that. He also broke Marshall Faulk’s record for yards from scrimmage, which I think is more impressive, indicative as it is of his multifaceted game. â†µ

â†µâ†µBut Johnson might just be second banana to Swiss Army receiver Wes Welker, if value to a team is any indicator. His injury makes it unlikely, in my mind, for the Patriots to advance past Wild Card Weekend, because his role with the Pats’ attack is almost like a running back, split wide, running the underneath routes for short gains and taking abuse with nearly every reception.â†µ

â†µâ†µThese are the conundrums the NFL creates.â†µ

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â†µâ†µI thought the Steelers’ mid-season swoon may have been the worst stretch from a good team this year, but then I look at the Denver Broncos. Those Broncos, for the second year in a row, lost their last three games to finish 8-8 and miss the playoffs. But this year, the degree of difficulty for failure was even higher: They would have had a chance with a win over the 3-12 Chiefs, but gave up 44 points, and 17 in the fourth quarter, in their loss.â†µ

â†µâ†µI think there are five or six terrible teams in the NFL, but I couldn’t tell you which of the Lions, Seahawks, Chiefs, Redskins, or Bucs is worst. Of those teams, the Chiefs were the only one that managed to be bad at being bad today: Their win provides hope, with Jamaal Charles going for 259 yards and Derrick Johnson keying a good defensive effort, but it moves their pick from third to fifth in next year’s draft.â†µ

â†µâ†µI suppose I do know that the Rams transcend terrible. They went 1-15 and compiled a point differential of -261 this year. The winless Lions from last year only produced a -245 differential, and scored more than 100 points more than the Rams. St. Louis scored the fewest points in the league, and were the only team to lose every home game.â†µ

â†µâ†µI think there’s some “hot” team that will make it from next weekend to its conference championship, but I can’t be sure if it’s the Packers or Cowboys. (I would have said the Eagles last week, but, boy, didn’t the Cowboys cool them off today?) Then again, the truly hot team has a bye through next week: The Chargers are riding an 11-game winning streak, and have wins over the Titans, Bengals, Cowboys, or Eagles in that stretch.â†µ

â†µâ†µAnd, of course, I don’t know that trends trump talent. New Orleans and Indianapolis didn’t win 14 games each by luck alone, and each team’s offense will be especially potent on their fast tracks at home.â†µ

â†µâ†µI know that there are little bits of solace to take from this weekend: The Texans’ nine wins may not get them into the playoffs, but it’s a franchise record, as is the Falcons putting together two winning seasons for the first time in franchise history. But I know they’re cold comfort for fanbases that saw their destinies slip into other teams’ hands with late-season losses.â†µ

â†µâ†µI also know that the NFL will find some way to turn my thinking on its ear. It always does.â†µ

â†µâ†µWatch out for those Jets?â†µ

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This post originally appeared on the Sporting Blog. For more, see The Sporting Blog Archives.

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