NFL Week 17: This is the end

And by most accounts, it was an erratic one. Pryor only completed 13 of his 28 passing attempts for 150 yards but he did have three touchdowns (two passing, one rushing) against one interception. After the Raiders’ 24-21 loss, Pryor apologized for his mistakes and shared that the defeat falls on his shoulders, according to Levi Damien of Silver and Black Pride.

But once he was done being extra-critical of his play, Pryor added this:

Denver is the only team in the division that will enjoy postseason play, and it will do so relatively healthy. Nobody suffered any serious injury against the Chiefs, and anyone with bumps and bruises will have a few weeks to recover before the AFC Divisional round.

Kansas City ended it’s miserable campaign as it started, being blown out. However, nobody was hurt outside of Donald Stephenson, who exited in the first half with a shoulder injury.

The loss runs Detroit’s losing streak to eight games.

Sean Yuille of SB Nation’s Detroit Lions blog, Pride of Detroit, writes that Sunday’s performance was nothing more than a microcosm of the entire season.

Chris Pokorny of SB Nation’s Cleveland Browns blog, Dawgs by Nature, writes that turnovers and unforced errors wasted what was otherwise a well played game for the Browns.

The loss drops the Browns to 5-11 and gives them the 6th pick in the upcoming NFL Draft, which will highlight an offseason that is sure to contain plenty of player and personnel changes. The Browns have finished in last place of the AFC North in four of the last five seasons.

Add a fierce divisional rivalry into that mix, and the result was a game as hyped up as any regular season matchup this year.

Gates’ shock and jubilation perfectly reflects the thoughts of a fanbase only one year removed from an atrocious 3-13 season.

Fantasy studs and duds

Alfred Morris was unstoppable for the Redskins, finding the end zone three times and finishing with 200 yards. Washington would give him the ball over and over again - on the team’s third-quarter scoring drive, he got the ball five straight times, running for 49 yards - and Dallas had no answer. A great game from Morris on a day fellow rookie Robert Griffin III didn’t have it going through the air.

Rocca did get flagged for a 15-yard penalty. It’s hard to imagine that he’s not going to get a fine too.

The NFC playoff picture was far hazier than the AFC’s, but we finally know who will be playing who next weekend with the conference looking to win the Super Bowl for the fifth consecutive season.

NFC Playoff Schedule

“Nine yards, nine yards what?” Peterson asked Oliver.

Check it out in the video below:

The Seahawks (11-5) had already wrapped up a playoff spot, and Sunday’s win guaranteed them the No. 5 seed in the NFC. The Rams (7-8-1) entered the game having already been eliminated from playoff contention.

Best/worst stat of the game

Along with wrapping up their second consecutive NFC West championship, the 49ers also put their best foot forward in an effort to earn one of the conference’s two first-round byes. Depending on the outcome of Chicago’s late afternoon rivalry game with Green Bay, San Francisco will soon land either the No. 2 or No. 3 seed in the NFC and should benefit from kicking off the postseason at Candlestick Park.

Fantasy studs and duds

Coaches are not allowed to challenge plays that are automatically reviewed by NFL officials, like fumbles. Throwing a challenge flag results in a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct and, if the flag is thrown before the booth buzzes down, the challenge is nullified.

It didn’t work. The play was still challenged, because the booth buzzed before the flag was thrown, but McCarthy was penalized 15 yards as a result.

Butt fumble was all the rage, but that crowning national achievement has been topped. World, we present the butt interception.

Aside from one hilarious mishap, Jennings has been magnificent today.

Jennings rewarded fantasy owners patient enough to stick with him at the end of the season. Regardless of where he plays in 2013, he remains an elite fantasy option.

At long last, video of the monkey riding a dog during halftime of the Colts-Texans game has surfaced. And yes, the footage is as incredible as it sounds. Thanks to the magic of television, we have a GIF of this amazing halftime show.

Notice that the monkey is wearing an Andrew Luck jersey, too. Probably the most adorable thing ever.

Winners

The entire Carolina Panthers organization, which recovered from a 2-8 start to win five of its last six games. Obviously, the Panthers wish they could’ve competed for a spot in the postseason, but the strong finish has to be encouraging going into next season.

There isn’t a better story in the NFL this season than Chuck Pagano. Diagnosed with leukemia a few months ago, Pagano has spent the season fighting -- not on the sidelines, but in a hospital bed. He beat cancer -- he beat the hell out of cancer -- and was back on the sidelines on Sunday, leading his Colts in Week 17 against the Texans.

The Colts showed up in a big way, downing the Texans 28-16 in the final game of the regular season. For Pagano, it was a perfect way to put a bow on the regular season as his team heads into the playoffs, capping a remarkable turnaround from 2011.

Here’s how it breaks down:

Due to the fact that the Patriots are heavily favored to defeat the Dolphins, it’s looking like the Bengals will play the Texans on the road in the first round of the playoffs for the second year in a row. After winning seven of their last eight games, this is a vastly different Bengals team than who was knocked out of the playoffs in the first round of last year’s playoffs in Houston.

The Bucs led 16-3 late in the third quarter before the Falcons would score a touchdown on a Turner 17-yard touchdown run. Martin would answer with a 40-yard touchdown run of his own and the Bucs would hold on late after the Falcons would add another touchdown with 7:07 remaining to make it interesting.

The Falcons finished 13-3 and head to the NFC playoffs while the Bucs finish a disappointing 7-9.

As the Tampa Bay Times’ Rick Stroud says in this tweet, “let the scrutiny begin’” as the league’s coaches and organizations always go back and forth about playing their regulars in games that don’t matter as much late in season or resting them for the playoffs. Both sides have arguments, but when players the magnitude of Abraham go down for a team like the Falcons, who are already comfortable in their playoff position, resting players gets more ammo as the right thing to do.

Abraham has 33 tackles and 10 sacks this season, but only one sack in his last five games. He has 122 sacks for his career and is a major cog in the Atlanta defense. If he is lost for any portion of the playoffs, it will be a major blow to the Falcons.

That’s Henry “The Rhino” Hynoski, doing just about the best imitation of a rhino a human person can do. Breathtaking really. Like we’re in the tall grass of the Serengeti, and there are tsetse flies buzzing everywhere, spreading disease.

While the 2013 NFL playoff field won’t be finalized until late Sunday night, there are two teams fighting to stay in the picture that can hope for help as the final day of the regular season progresses.

Early Week 17 Scores

On the other sideline, the Chargers are sitting a handful of guys, albeit none of their stars. Lucky them, they might win this super important game!