We select some of the winners and losers from Week 17 in the NFL as the playoff race heads to the final weekend of the regular season…Winner – Vic FangioThe Philadelphia Eagles offense may continue to sputter, but Vic Fangio’s Super Bowl-calibre defense remains in tact, and it remains a defining pest in the face of Championship-chasing quarterbacks. The unit that suffocated Patrick Mahomes in New Orleans last February just stifled reigning MVP Josh Allen as the defending champions held off a late assault to beat the Buffalo Bills 13-12, in doing so compensating for a second-half performance in which the Eagles managed just 17 yards from 17 plays. Kevin Patullo ought to hold Fangio’s luggage at the airport.
It was Fangio’s defense that set the ball rolling when Jaelan Phillips knocked the ball loose from a scrambling Allen, allowing Jihaad Campbell to recover in Bills territory. It was Fangio’s coverage that lured Allen into spiralling into no man’s land for a sack and a loss of 19 while trying to make magic on third-and-eight in the fourth quarter. It was Fangio’s unit that forced the Bills and its second-ranked EPA/play offense to punt on six possessions. It is for this defense that the Eagles can still go back-to-back as Super Bowl champions, despite their major flaws on the other side of the ball.
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Highlights from the Week 17 matchup between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Buffalo Bills during the 2025 NFL season.
Loser – Pittsburgh SteelersIt is all set up perfectly for a final day winner-take-all playoff decider in the AFC North, exactly how the NFL script writers planned it. The Pittsburgh Steelers squandered their opportunity to win the division on Sunday night as they were beaten 13-6 by the Cleveland Browns, a day after a Derrick Henry-inspired Baltimore Ravens had kept their season alive in a 41-24 win over the Green Bay Packers. It means Pittsburgh and Baltimore will now face off in Week 18 for the right to advance to the playoffs as AFC North champions, a scenario that probably should have been dead in the water such have been the Ravens’ struggles this season. Mike Tomlin’s side felt the absence of…
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2025-12-29 12:30:00
