Week 17 Podium: Biggest Winners From Playoff Clinching Weekend

I know there's no breaks in this business; it's a 24/7 type of grind gig. But holidays come at you fast, and 15+ hours of travel and a week and a half worth of daily irish coffees later, it's been too long since we've spoke. That's on me. But it's the new year, and with that comes meaningful football. Which means no more breaks.

Week 17 was the start of it. Although the 12 days of football were debatably too much, getting me confused when one week started and the other finished, the weekend finished with some high pressure playoff atmosphere games that gave me the tickling of playoff football I needed. And in a week full of big performances, let's rank the top three, in a gambling show style for the Fundamentally Unsound OGs.

Gold Medal – Sam Darnold and the Vikings

How many times can this team and Darnold in particular get their flowers? I guess as much as people continue to expect their magical mystery tour to end Jon Lennon style (RIP legend). Now winners of 9 in a row, the Vikings will travel to Detroit for a chance at the one-seed. It’s fucking crazy. My partner in crime Jackie Chalks called Sam Darnold’s year 7 bump in our NFC preview, to which I and the rest of the listeners laughed at him, but no one would’ve seen this kind of bump (expect Dan Orlovsky of course. Give me a break dude). It’s one of the great comeback stories in the NFL in as long as I can remember. A guy completely disregarded and considered a bust, on his fourth team, finding his Chi and becoming the Dragon Warrior for the Great North.

And none of it looks like a fluke. Sure he has arguably the best set of weapons in the league, and benefits from one of the more creative offensive schemes to get those weapons open, but this offense is reliant on him. This isn’t a run-first team that asks him to throw on third and short twice per drive to get in field goal range. No knock to Aaron Jones, but this offense is riding Sam’s coattails to a potential franchise high wins. He throws the ball 35-40 times a game. He throws on first down, second down, third down, don’t matter. They trust him with the ball in his hands in high pressure situations, and he’s orchestrated one of the better downfield passing attacks in the league. He’s top 5 in yards, yards per attempt, TDs, and passer rating. In the whole NFL. Sam Darnold!

I can’t tell you how stoked I am for Sammy, and how wrong I was about him. Granted I had far more reason to doubt than believe, but this is the first time in his career he’s been placed in an entirely good situation. From the organization, to the coaches, to the weapons and his personal situation (meaning he’s a backup that got a chance and playing like he has nothing to lose), the stars that shine bright in the North Star state have perfectly aligned.

If I wasn’t already rooting so hard for the Lions this season I would be all in on this team. I love a good underdog story, and Darnold is giving us one for the ages.

I didn’t even talk about the defense, shoutout my guy Brian Flores. This team rocks.

Silver Medal: Jayden Daniels and the Commanders

All year Jayden has showed he should've been the first pick in the draft - taking on the biggest moments, being as shifty and untackleable as he was in college, and changing the course of a dying franchise in his first year. And on Sunday, with playoff hopes on the line and lights the brightest on SNF, this rook with the game on the line said fuck it I'll do it myself. And did. Down the stretch of regulation and in OT, Jayden ran the ball as many times as he threw it (eight). He was responsible, either through the air or ground, for 69 of Washington's 70 OT yards. And after their defense allowed multiple fourth down conversions to bring the game to OT, never gave Penix and the Falcons another shot. And the Commanders are playoff bound.

This team is getting big time playoff reps too. Last week vs the Eagles and this week against the Falcons, both massive spots, JD and the offense has come up with late-game heroics to jolt them into the postseason. With young teams and specifically young QBs, playoff atmospheres are unpredictable, and the concerns that come with trusting a 22 year old in those spots are valid. But with several opportunities to feel that type of pressure, that type of environment, under his belt, and successfully taking advantage of those opportunities, this won't be a typical rookie behind center come Wild Card weekend.

That isn't to say I don't have concerns. There's a reason they didn't get the gold medal honor.

Sunday reminded me of early Lamar Jackson. Virtually no passing attack down the stretch, making plays with his feet, dazzling the country at every turn. But as Lamar knows better than most, playoff success requires more well roundedness. You need to have a rushing threat outside of you as QB. You need to get your playmakers involved (one catch for Scary Terry??). Defenses are smart, and they'll quickly be able to scheme up something to slow down an all-QB ground attack.

Jayden has been the team's leading rusher in four of the last five games - also early Lamar/Josh Allen-esque. We've seen time and again teams that are too QB reliant struggle against top tier defenses in the playoffs, and that concern looms large for this team in my mind.

My concerns loom larger for this defense, who's been giving up 26 PPG since daylight savings, against six mediocre to bad offenses and the Eagles twice. MIchael Penix, who would've made this list if he got the ball in OT, shredded this defense for three quarters Sunday night in just his second start in the league. They're a bottom five rush defense in football, which doesn't bode well when they face the cream of the NFC. I'm not going out on a limb saying I don't see them as Super Bowl threats, but I'll be sure to tune in when they play.

Bronze Medal: Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs

I've avoided Chiefs talk for too long, dismissing any complimentary moment to say we all know how great they are, blah blah blah. But after clinching the one seed at 15-1, and now starting to beat teams with some conviction, I need to make sure I give some props to the likely three-peat champs before it's too late.

Much like I thought the Eagles would do last year, the Chiefs escaped the first half of their schedule by the skin of their teeth. Not really playing well, but winning ugly, with the thought that they'll figure it out come December and start looking like a Super Bowl favorite. But unlike last year's Eagles, they did exactly that.

Their last three wins have been three of their five largest point differential wins this season (including the two largest). All of their offensive starters are recovered from injury, and they still have Nuke Hopkins who was brought there to help while said injured players were sidelined. Speed demon Hollywood Brown isn't even the speed guy on this offense. Isiah Pacheco is back bulldozing LBs for an extra two yards per run, and Jawaan Taylor is committing slightly less penalties. All in time for January.

Iron Man Mahomes somehow played two games in ten days after a high ankle sprain, but now gets two and a half weeks to rest before suiting up in the Divisional round. Chris Jones, who was banged up against Pittsburgh, gets the same.

It will be the longest break we've ever seen between a team's last meaningful regular season game and first playoff game, but if any team will overcome it it's this one. In a year full of doubt, uncertainty and frankly poor play, the Chiefs are right back where we expected them, with the road to the Super Bowl going through Arrowhead, the healthiest they've been all year.

Great.....