We're All Week-to-Week

Just like that, the team nobody wanted to face in the playoffs isn't in the playoffs any more.

Of course that could change again next week.

Despite the loss to the Jets, nothing has really changed for the Patriots. They're still the #1 seed in the AFC and they're still riddled with injuries. Without a return to health of Julian Edelman, Danny Amendola, Sebastian Vollmer, Devin McCourty, Patrick Chung and Dont'a Hightower, it probably won't make any difference where New England plays its playoff games so slipping to the #2 seed isn't nearly as big a concern as risking not having the semblance of a healthy roster heading into the playoffs. So much for the obvious.

I doubt there are any more former starting offensive tackles available so I would expect the Patriots will need to get creative with Vollmer and his replacement, LaAdrian Waddle both hurt. One possibility is to move Bryan Stork to right tackle (which he played as an emergency backup earlier in the season) and return David Andrews to the center position; left to right with Marcus Cannon, Shaq Mason, Andrews, Tre Jackson and Stork. One backup, a starter playing out of position and three rookies. And that's probably the best case scenario for Week 17.

Let's hope Vollmer's injury won't keep him out of the playoffs and Josh Kline can get off the injury report next week.

I still think the Patriots can be careful with their injured players next Sunday. The Miami Dolphins are not the New York Jets.

It was a bad weekend for New England but it could've been worse. They could've been the Pittsburgh Steelers. Or the Philadelphia Eagles. Or the Carolina Panthers. Or the Seattle Seahawks. Or the Green Bay Packers. Or Peyton Manning.

Despite being swept by the Deflategate-Cursed Ravens, the Steelers can still get back into the Wild Card round if they beat the Browns and Rex Ryan can convince his Bills that the Jets said something bad about their mothers. It would be so totally Jets for them to come up with the big win against the Patriots only to lose to the Bills and miss the playoffs by a tiebreaker. I suppose I shouldn't assume a Pittsburgh win in Cleveland. They did just lose to the Ryan Mallett-led Ravens in Baltimore and what is Ryan Mallett but a much taller version of bad-boy QB Johnny Manziel?

How does the Philadelphia team that rolled the Patriots in Foxborough not come up with the win – at home, with the NFC East on the line – against Washington? Seriously, if you know, please contact Chip Kelly.

The Panther's loss to the Falcons is probably little more than one bad day at the office. Better to have a game like that now than in January. Cue the stories about how this loss will be better for Carolina in the long run. And maybe so. Pressure's off, can just focus on football now, put that baseball bat karma in the rear view, etc. More importantly (perhaps) the Panthers can no longer rest starters in a meaningless Week 17 game; they need to win to keep from losing the #1 seed to the Cardinals. How was it good for the Panthers to lose that game?

I look at the Seahawks loss to the Rams in the same light. Regardless of the two teams' records over the last few years, the Seahawks have struggled against the Rams in St. Louis so this wasn't that big of an upset. Of course, the Seahawks have struggled on the road in general, not exactly good news when your ticket has been punched for the Wild Card round. So, maybe I shouldn't look at the Seahawks loss to the Rams in the same light as the Panthers loss to the Falcons. Yeah. Definitely shouldn't. We can forget that Seahawks-Patriots rematch in SB50.

That Green Bay Packer's offense sure looks different now that Head Coach Mike McCarthy has taken over the play calling duties. Or was that doodies? The Packers didn't just lose to the Arizona Cardinals, they were scarred psychologically in a way that will come back to haunt them in the playoffs. Or not. Come on, people! It was just one game! The Packers will beat the Vikings on the semi-frozen tundra of Lambeau Field next week and everyone will jump back onto the Discount Double-Check bandwagon. Yes, that same bandwagon will be left in a ditch in a couple of weeks, covered in mid-January snow but the Cheeseheads should get that one win at home before it's all over.

I believe Peyton Manning's denial regarding the story that he used HGH following neck surgery back in 2011. So he actually went to the Guyer Institute (placing him at the scene of the crime). So what if he had motive (recovering from neck surgery). And so what if he's all of a sudden absolutely falling to pieces (in the classic pattern of other users of PEDs). I absolutely, unequivocally believe Manning when he says he's not a cheater. Still, I'm curious as to whether the League will spend as much money investigating this ridiculous accusation as they did investigating the ridiculous accusation that Tom Brady was masterminding a conspiracy to tamper with the air pressure in footballs. This is also about the integrity of the game, isn't it? I'm pretty sure the NFL compared Brady's alleged crimes to PED use. It's Roger Goodell's job to take these things seriously, isn't it? It will look like preferential treatment if Manning is given a free pass, won't it? Not that everyone east of the Connecticut River doesn't already think Deflategate was a hit job on Brady, of course. So, okay, whatever. We're all good with Peyton. Moving on.