Week 18 Top Dogs & Down and Out teams

Week 18 Top Dogs & Down and Out Teams

 By Josh Olson

 

Top Dogs

 

Jacksonville Jaguars- Ending the season on a the five-game winning streak is great! Making the playoffs since 2017 is a huge accomplishment since they were coming off a horrific season of 3-14. Now they are the division winners after beating the Tennessee Titans 20-16. Trevor Lawrence threw twenty completions for 212 yards and a touchdown. He also lost the ball for a fumble. Travis Etienne Jr. had a terrible game with seven carries for seventeen yards. Christian Kirk had six catches for ninety-nine yards and a touchdown. The Jaguar's defense is hitting its stride right before the playoff time. They got four sacks, eight tackles for loss, five pass deflections, and thirteen QB hits. Josh Allen recovered a fumble for them, and Tyson Campbell picked off Joshua Dobbs. Now the Jaguars enter the playoffs to host the Los Angeles Chargers in Super Wild Card Weekend. 

 

San Francisco 49ers- This team just keeps winning! Ending the season on a ten-game winning streak with a 38-13 victory against the Arizona Cardinals. Brock Purdy didn't put up huge yard numbers with only having fifteen completions for 178 yards but threw three touchdowns. Elijah Mitchell, who was making his return after last playing in week 13, had five carries for fifty-five yards and two touchdowns. Brandon Aiyuk had four catches for fifty-nine yards which got him to his first thousand-yard season. The defense once again started slow but finished strong. They had three sacks, four tackles for loss, three pass deflections, and seven QB hits. Michael Dwumfour got a fumble recovery, which Jordan Willis forced. The 49ers got three interceptions, two from Tashaun Gipson Sr. and one from George Odum.  The 49ers look to keep it rolling when they take on the Seattle Seahawks for a third time this season in Super Wild Card Weekend.

 

Washington Commanders- Having nothing to play for except spoiling their division and boy did they do that! The Commanders defeated the Dallas Cowboys 26-6. Sam Howell, making his first career start, threw eleven completions for 169 yards, one touchdown, and had an interception. Jaret Patterson led the team with seventeen carries for seventy-eight yards. Terry McLaurin had three catches for seventy-four yards and a touchdown. The defense played strong against the Cowboys, causing havoc for Dak Prescott. The defense got one sack, three tackles for loss, seven pass deflections, and four QB hits. They also got a pick from Kendall Fuller, which returns twenty-nine yards for a touchdown. Now the offseason is upon them and there are a lot of decisions to make, and it starts with the owner. They ended the season with an 8-8-1 record and will be drafting 16th overall. 

 

 

 

Down and Out

 

Indianapolis Colts- Wow. The Indianapolis Colts ended their season on a seven-game losing streak, with the latest loss coming at the hands of the Houston Texans 32-31. Sam Ehlinger threw for 209 yards, two touchdowns and two picks. Zach Moss had a good game when he rushed eighteen times for 114 yards and one touchdown. Deon Jackson had six catches for seventy-five yards. The offence also got lucky by having five fumbles but only losing one. This team had a chance to win it in the end but like their defense all year just could not hold up to the end of the game. They only got one sack but did get two interceptions with one return for a touchdown. This team is ready for the offseason to begin! Hopefully, they can find a new head coach and a new, young franchise quarterback to build around. They ended the season with a 4-12-1 record and will be drafting fourth overall in the upcoming draft. 

 

Dallas Cowboys- This team has not looked good the past three-four weeks and now before the playoff race begins, they ended the season with a loss to the Washington Commanders 26-6. That was without even resting star players. Dak Prescott threw fourteen completions for 128 yards, one touchdown and one interception which was returned for a touchdown. The running game fared no better with Tony Pollard getting seven carries for nineteen yards. Ceedee Lamb had five catches for fifty-two yards and a touchdown. The offence line gave up one sack. The defense gave up 309 total yards. The defense has not looked good for a while, and they had better get back in order or this team will keep their tradition going of being knocked out of the playoffs early. The Dallas Cowboys travel to Tampa to take on Tom Brady and the Buccaneers on Monday Night Football in Super Wild Card Weekend. 

 

Green Bay Packers- The Green Bay Packers had their fate in their hands, but the Detroit Lions decided they were tired of seeing the Packers in the playoffs, so they took that away from them with a 20-16 victory. Aaron Rogers threw seventeen completions for 205 yards, one touchdown, and one interception. He also got sacked twice. Aaron Jones rushed twelve times for forty-eight yards but also lost the ball once. Christian Watson had a good game, ending his rookie season with another five catches for 104 yards. The defense gave up 323 total yards and couldn't come up with a big stop when they needed it. Now this team goes into the offseason with one big question... Will Aaron Rogers play for the Packers, or another team, or retire? We are back on Roger's watch. The Packers ended the season with an 8-9 record and will be picked 15th overall in the upcoming draft.