Week 17 of the 2023 NFL season is underway, and we already saw Cleveland Browns quarterback Joe Flacco -- it still looks funny to type that, since he is the Baltimore Ravens all-time passing yards and touchdowns leader -- make Browns history.
Flacco threw for 300 or more passing yards for a fourth game in a row in the Browns' 37-20 win over the New York Jets to set Cleveland's record for most consecutive games with at least 300 passing yards. Flacco also snapped the Jets' 33-game streak without allowing a 300-yard passer, which was a defense's longest since the 2005-2008 Indianapolis Colts.
Since anything can happen when it comes to the NFL, what's next, you ask? Well, here are five bold predictions for this weekend's Week 17 slate, which features a game on Saturday night -- the NFC North champion Detroit Lions at the Dallas Cowboys -- and the rest on Sunday.
Jordan Love throws for over 300 yards for second time in 2023, powers Packers to upset victory over Vikings
Week 17's final matchup between the 7-8 Green Bay Packers and the 7-8 Minnesota Vikings is essentially a playoff game, given the loser's chances to make the postseason will evaporate into thin air.
With the Packers down Pro Bowl cornerback Jaire Alexander thanks to a one-game suspension, first-year starting quarterback Jordan Love will need to bring his "A" game to "Sunday Night Football" on the road in Minnesota, and he will. Despite Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores' unit putting quarterbacks in a bind all season, blitzing at an NFL-high 48.3% rate, Love and the NFL's youngest offense will produce enough points to come away with a win.
His 27 passing touchdowns are tied for the third-most in the league this season, but he'll likely need to go score-for-score with the Vikings as 2022 NFL Offensive Player of the Year Justin Jefferson won't be shadowed by Alexander like he has been in the last few meetings. Love will step up and throw for over 300 yards for the second time in his career to compensate. The first only time he has done so was in Week 11 against the Los Angeles Chargers in a narrow 23-20 victory.
Love has thrown eight touchdowns and only one interception against the blitz, and he balls out against Flores' chaos defense in a big way to avenge Green Bay's 24-10 Week 8 loss against the Vikings, keeping the Packers squarely in the NFC playoff hunt entering Week 18.
Mason Rudolph leads Steelers to an upset win over Seattle Seahawks
Mason Rudolph exploded in his first start of the season after languishing on the bench as the Steelers' third quarterback, throwing for 290 yards and touchdowns in a 34-11 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 16. With him "scheduled to be the quarterback for the week" at the 8-7 Seattle Seahawks, he will ball out again and keep Pittsburgh in the AFC wild-card race entering the final week of the season.
Rudolph threw for 290 yards and two touchdowns against Cincy with receiver George Pickens coming to life and accounting for 195 of those yards and two scores, including an 86-yard touchdown to begin the game. The duo will connect for over 100 yards again as Rudolph throws for over 315 yards (his career-high), and NFL sacks leader T.J. Watt (17.0) and the Steelers defense does just enough despite injuries in the secondary for a key road win over Geno Smith, DK Metcalf, Tyler Lockett and company.
Buccaneers WR Chris Godwin finds the end zone against Saints' top 10 pass defense
The Buccaneers are rolling as winners of four in a row and needing to win just one of their final two games to clinch the NFC South division title. Quarterback Baker Mayfield has been thriving during the stretch with nine touchdowns and only one interception along with 1,010 passing yards on a 62.8% completion percentage, good for a 110.6 passer rating.
Wide receiver Chris Godwin's breakout the last two weeks has played a major role in the team scoring 30 or more points in each of those wins, which came at the Packers (34-20) and against the Jacksonville Jaguars (30-12). His 233 receiving yards (third-most in NFL in span) on 16 catches (tied for the second-most in span) are two of the most prolific totals in the league since Week 15.
However, the Pro Bowl wideout has just one receiving touchdown this season, currently tied for his lowest since his rookie year in 2017 when he also had just one. Godwin's targets have been in the double-digits in each of the last three weeks, and in a game in which Tampa Bay could clinch the division, he comes through with his second receiving touchdown of the season.
The Saints' seventh-ranked passing defense (194.7 passing yards allowed per game, seventh-most in the NFL) and 18 passing touchdowns allowed (also seventh-most in the NFL) will focus on the league's receiving touchdowns leader Mike Evans, who has 13, which will open up opportunity for Godwin to snap his scoring dry spell. His only receiving touchdown of the season came in a 24-18 Week 8 loss at the Buffalo Bills from three yards out. That changes on Sunday.
Falcons RB Bijan Robinson runs for over 80 yards at Bears
Falcons rookie running back Bijan Robinson, the eighth overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, is having a solid season despite some early-season ignorance from head coach and offensive play-caller Arthur Smith. His 1,246 yards from scrimmage are the seventh-most in the NFL among running backs, and 873 of those have come on the ground, tied for the 10th-most in the league.
Robinson will do something on Sunday at the Bears that he has only done in four games this season: Rush for 80 or more yards in a game. The host Bears have yet to allow an individual rusher to go for 80 or more on the ground this season, but Robinson will be the first. He went for 72 on the ground on just 12 carries, six yards per rush, in Atlanta's 29-10 win against the Indianapolis Colts, a game the Falcons had on cruise control for much of the afternoon.
Chicago plays Atlanta a little more tightly on Sunday, forcing Robinson to be more involved in the game, leading to him doing to the Bears defense what no individual rusher has done this season: run for at least 80 yards.
Carolina Panthers possess a lead in the fourth quarter vs. Jaguars
The Panthers are 2-13 this season and can clinch the NFL's worst record in 2023 with a loss and an Arizona Cardinals win. They've actually been historically bad this season.
How bad, you ask? Well, they have not held a lead in the fourth quarter this season, making them the first team to not hold a lead in the fourth quarter entering this late (entering Week 17) in a season in NFL history.
However, they will be ahead of the 8-7 Jaguars at some point in the fourth quarter on Sunday. The Panthers put up a season-high 30 points and 394 total yards in their 33-30 loss against the Packers in Week 16. The Jaguars are on a four-game losing streak in which they have allowed 30 or more points in three of those four consecutive defeats. Quarterback Trevor Lawrence has five turnovers in just the last two games.
Carolina rookie quarterback Bryce Young, the first overall pick from the 2023 NFL Draft, threw more yards in Week 16 (312) than he did in Weeks 14-15 combined (304) and threw multiple touchdowns (two) in a game for the first time since Week 5 at the Detroit Lions. The Panthers will have a lead in the game's final quarter for the first time this season after carrying over some positive momentum from Week 16.
