MoeJackson

In a season full of surprising results, week 17 actually provided some stability from the top tier teams around the league. Aside from the Panthers, every team that was supposed to dominate went out took care of business. The Seahawks, Broncos, Patriots, Bengals, Saints were favored by plenty of points and went out on the field, performing like a good team should heading into the playoffs. I don’t count the 49ers close win over the Cardinals as surprising because Arizona is a playoff caliber team that was expected to keep the game close. Same doesn’t go for the Panthers, who got off to a slow start against a Falcons that didn’t have anything to play for other than Tony Gonzalez’s final game. It’s sad to see Gonzalez go but he’s a guaranteed HOF’er and the undisputed greatest tight end of all time. Despite some order around the league, the NFL still provided it’s fans with plenty of close games and plenty of drama. Things broke well for the Chargers, so well that Ryan Succop’s missed field goal (would put the Steelers in) is now a controversial field goal that should have been replayed due to an officiating error that was missed. Despite the amount of breaks the Chargers have received, San Diego won four straight games in the most important part of the season and deserves a spot in the playoffs. So do the Packers because despite missing their star QB for most the second half of this season, Green Bay still went into Chicago and became “kings of the north” for this season. Some of the blame should go to the Lions, who were the healthiest team in the division but still managed to collapse in the second part of the season. Let’s get to the stocks for this week:

Stock UP: Peyton Manning and any offensive play he’s involved with; Matt Forte’s running style despite being on the losing side; the Steelers, for taking care of business despite having a slim chance for the postseason that nearly panned out; Seattle’s bounce back victory after getting knocked down last week; the Bengals offense despite Dalton’s four picks; Justin Tucker cementing his post as the best kicker in the league; LeSean McCoy’s running style and ball protection; the Saints offense all of sudden looking scary again; the Patriots continuing to win despite key injuries.

Stock DOWN: the Cowboys, for the third straight year, in do-or-die games in week 17; Baltimore and Miami for not taking advantage of controlling their own destiny; Jim Shwartz and his tenure in Detroit that is now over; the Oakland Raiders in the first half of yesterday’s game against the Broncos; Joe Flacco’s mega contract reflecting on to this season; the Redskins who don’t own their top 2 pick this year; Chicago’s defensive inability to make a stop when it mattered most against the Packers; trying to figure out the Rams at all this season.

One last mini-rant about my Cowboys: i’m tired of the same old story. I gotta give some props to Kyle Orton, who played well despite the fact that everyone, including myself, had written off the Cowboys since the star of the week. But despite the defense playing well for once. Despite Jason Witten’s sneaky good game. Despite Dez and Escobar’s great touchdown catch and runs. Despite having the ball with enough time to drive down the field, the Cowboys manage to break hearts. Was there a more fitting way to end the season for Dallas last night? Another 8-8 season and another heartbreaking roller coaster ride.