Lessons Learned from Week 17 in the N.F.L.

With only two weeks remaining in the season, the pressure is on. Some teams stepped up on Sunday, while others faltered.

The struggling Buccaneers rallied to defeat the Panthers, securing the division title. Meanwhile, the Jets and Commanders saw their playoff dreams crushed with crucial losses.

The Jets’ second-half collapse is complete

An NFL season isn’t complete without a team falling apart in the latter half of the year. Last season, it was the Ravens, who went from 8-3 to missing the playoffs. This year, it’s the Jets, whose strong defense and skilled players couldn’t compensate for their quarterback issues.

The Jets’ season can be divided at their Week 10 bye. Before the break, they were 6-3. Two of those losses came with Joe Flacco filling in for the injured Zach Wilson, and the third was a close defeat to the Patriots.

Despite their quarterback struggles, the Jets were winning and positioned well in the AFC playoff race. It seemed unlikely they would squander it all, right?

But they did. Wilson had his worst game after the bye, a 10-3 loss to the Patriots, and was benched due to both his performance and his poor handling of the postgame press conference. Mike White replaced him, leading the Jets to a win, but the team then lost two games before White suffered cracked ribs.

White returned on Sunday, but proved not to be the solution, as their loss to the Seahawks demonstrated. White excels as an in-structure rhythm thrower, relying on pre-snap reads to make quick decisions.

However, he’s not on the level of a Drew Brees and becomes predictable with enough film. The Seahawks exploited this, intercepting him twice with no touchdowns.

This highlights the crucial role of a quarterback in the NFL. The Jets have a top-10 roster aside from the quarterback position, but their inconsistency there led to their downfall. Wilson couldn’t sustain their success, and White wasn’t dynamic enough to stop the slide. Without finding a balance, the Jets will be spectators during the playoffs.