00:00 We got 31 games left in the 2023 regular season.
00:03 I'm here to give you five things to look for in week 17.
00:06 And the first thing is right inside the biggest matchup of the week.
00:10 And that's Ravens Dolphins.
00:11 And I want to see if what Miami showed in week 16 carries over now.
00:16 What we saw at the end of that game,
00:18 what the Dolphins did to the Cowboys at the end of that game is they out-toughed them.
00:21 And I'm not sure that's something we would have seen last year,
00:23 Mike McDaniel's first year as head coach.
00:27 They won that game with defense, yes.
00:28 Maybe not at the very end, but through the game and controlling the Cowboys
00:32 offense with big fan Geo's defense.
00:34 And then at the very end, the offense showed an edge.
00:37 There's a third and two at the very end of that game.
00:39 You go back and you look. If they fail to convert that,
00:42 then they kick the go-ahead field goal. Dallas gets another shot.
00:45 If they convert it, then they're in position to run the clock out,
00:49 kick the game winner, and walk away with a win. The latter wound up happening.
00:52 And not only did it happen, it happened when the Dolphins hit in the Cowboys
00:55 between the eyes. There's a gap run behind a pulling guard with a third-string tailback.
01:01 We saw toughness there. We saw resolve.
01:03 We saw an edge that maybe the Dolphins didn't have last year.
01:06 And it'll be interesting to see if that carries over against maybe the edgiest,
01:11 toughest team in the league, in the Ravens. The second thing to look for,
01:14 we'll stay in the AFC East. Now the Dolphins have a chance to win the AFC East with a win
01:19 if they can beat the Baltimore Ravens. But if they fail to do that
01:23 and the Bills beat the Patriots on Sunday, all of a sudden the Week 18 game
01:26 between Miami and Buffalo is for the division title.
01:29 And that's why the Patriots-Bills game is a big one.
01:32 What I want to see from Buffalo now is whether or not they can get back into that gear
01:37 that we've seen at times this year, but not consistently.
01:39 We didn't see it against the Chargers last week.
01:42 They go up against Giff Smith and Easton Stick on the road,
01:46 and they kind of fumbled around a little bit,
01:47 and they weren't able to take control until the very end of the game.
01:50 Can they put their foot on the throat of an inferior opponent?
01:53 And an inferior opponent in the Patriots that they beat, that beat them earlier in the year,
01:57 I think we're going to learn a little something about Buffalo there.
02:00 And then for the Patriots, it's interesting. If they can win this one,
02:03 then they get the Jets in Week 18. They could finish the season with four wins in five games.
02:08 Does that change the equation for Bill Belichick and his staff going forward
02:12 and what the football operation, the way it's set up going forward?
02:16 Certainly something to think about. My third thing to look for is
02:20 inside that Cowboys-Lions game. Can we see the Cowboys bounce back from that loss to the Dolphins?
02:25 And this has the makings of a big one for Dallas,
02:29 if we're trying to project this three or four weeks forward.
02:32 They play the Commanders in Week 18.
02:33 I don't think anybody's going to take much from a win over Washington in Week 18,
02:38 and that Washington team will be playing out the strength.
02:42 What happens is the Cowboys lose this one,
02:44 and then they lose in the first round of the playoffs or the second round of the playoffs.
02:48 I think how they measure up against the Lions team that's looked really good,
02:52 that's looked revived, that has taken three years to really hit its stride under Dan Campbell,
02:58 could color the way that Jerry Jones looks at some of the decisions he's going to have to make after the year,
03:03 and maybe primarily with how he handles Mike McCarthy and his coaching staff.
03:07 So that Cowboys-Lions game on Saturday night is pretty important.
03:10 And the Lions, of course, have a chance to improve their positioning in the NFC.
03:15 If the Niners were to slip up, if the Eagles were to slip up,
03:17 of course, they can force the Cowboys to slip up in this spot.
03:20 Maybe they can improve their seed.
03:22 My fourth thing to watch, the Chiefs.
03:25 Where are the Chiefs coming out of that Christmas Day loss to the Raiders?
03:30 And can the Chiefs muster enough at the skill positions to go on a run similar to the ones they've gone on over the last few years?
03:37 Of course, every year that Patrick Mahomes has been the starter, that's five years now.
03:41 They've been in the AFC Championship game.
03:43 Can they get to a sixth straight AFC Championship game as presently constituted?
03:48 I think this is going to be an interesting one that Lule Anarumo, defense in Cincinnati,
03:51 has given the Chiefs offense problems in the past.
03:54 And Travis Kelsey doesn't look quite the same.
03:57 Can he find his footing against the Cincinnati Bengals in a big spot?
04:01 The young receivers still have a ways to go.
04:04 And if Kelsey isn't your number one anymore, can Rashi Rice elevate?
04:09 You're asking more of him than maybe you'd hoped to, but he has gotten better over time.
04:13 These are all things I think we can look for answers for when the Chiefs play the Bengals in that late window on Sunday.
04:19 And then finally, the fifth thing to look for, Packers-Vikings is super interesting.
04:24 Because this is two rivals, they're sort of in different spots.
04:27 The Vikings are playing with house money right now.
04:29 They're going to be starting rookie Jaron Hall.
04:31 This context of their season all along has been this is a reset year.
04:34 They've taken on dead money. Kirk Cousins gets hurt.
04:37 This was the year they were supposed to reset.
04:38 They're sitting there with the same record as the Packers at 7-8.
04:41 The Packers come into this game with a young quarterback in Jordan Love,
04:45 who has been a little up and down this year, but who has shown a lot of promise.
04:48 The defense has been very up and down this year.
04:51 So can the Packers really put their foot on the throat of a rival
04:55 and show that they are that ascending team with the ascending young quarterback?
04:58 How does Jordan Love play? I think how we look at the Packers coming out of this year
05:02 could be affected by how they look on Sunday night.
05:04 Are they still that ascending team? Is Jordan Love that ascending quarterback?
05:09 We'll see.
05:09 (dramatic music)
05:12 [BLANK_AUDIO]
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