Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Backup QBs will have major impact in AFC
him on injured reserve, so he’s eligible to come back if healthy enough.
“I don’t know where the doctors have him right now or how he feels. I haven’t really asked,” Gase said Monday. “I just tell them, once you guys got something different, then come talk to me.”
The Texans, meanwhile, changed quarterbacks by choice. Coach Bill O’Brien benched the struggling Brock Osweiler, even though Houston signed the former Denver backup to a deal worth $18 million a season. Tom Savage made his first career start Saturday in Houston’s 12-10 victory over Cincinnati, with the Texans clinching their second consecutive AFC South title.
Savage completed only two passes for 13 yards in the first half, but started to click in the second. He finished with 176 yards, and did his job well enough to not get in the way of a victory.
“It was just taking a deep breath and realizing what we have on defense, what they’re doing for us,” Savage Tom Savage had a stronger second half Saturday against Cincinnati after a poor first half. said. “All week it’s just protect the ball and find a way to win, and that’s what we did. The guys really rallied around me and made some huge plays for me.”
Writing off teams is a risky proposition, even with all the quarterback problems. Lots of teams that are either in the playoffs or on the bubble looked like flops earlier this season.
Washington started 0-2, Miami 1-4, Detroit and Tampa 1-3. The Green Bay Packers, who will play at the Lions on Sunday with the NFC North up for grabs, lost six of their first 10.
Sunday, the Steelers proved they too can rebound.
They had lost four in a row earlier this season and looked nothing like a franchise headed back to the playoffs.
The enduring message: In the NFL, it’s not who can start strong, but who can finish.
For instance, the Broncos started 4-0, then lost seven of their next 11.
It was hardly a breeze for the Steelers on Sunday, as Ben Roethlisberger was picked off twice in the third quarter, deep in Pittsburgh territory.
“I kind of dug ourselves a hole,” the Steelers quarterback said. “I take all that blame.”
Roethlisberger atoned for his mistakes with a pair of late touchdowns, the clincher a four-yard toss to Antonio Brown who just stretched the ball across the goal line with nine seconds to play. That ended a fourgame losing streak to the Ravens and gave Pittsburgh its second division crown in three years.
“It’s pretty special the way we won it,” Roethlisberger said. “Especially after feeling the way I felt at a certain point in that game and feeling like you let guys down and you blew it.”
Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said his players have a “no-blink mentality” that has helped them recover from setbacks.
Redemption has been an overarching theme this season. Only a handful of teams have consistently kept their foot on the gas week after week.
The Chiefs have been solid, but they have yet to prove they have anything more than warning-track power when it comes to carrying regular-season excellence into the postseason.
New England has stayed strong, winning all but two games despite Tom Brady’s four-game suspension to start the season. The Patriots can secure home-field advantage throughout the playoffs by winning their finale at Miami on Sunday.
Dallas has been remarkable this season, powered by an elite offensive line and a pair of superstar rookies in quarterback Dak Prescott and running back Ezekiel Elliott. The Cowboys, who play host to Detroit on Monday and already have the NFC’s No. 1 seed, have incurred just two losses — both to the New York Giants.
Atlanta is on track for the No. 2 seed, but from midOctober to early December lost four of seven.
Seattle has been all over the map, losing a 9-3 stinker to the Rams in Week 2, and alternating wins and losses in the last six games. Fortunately for the Seahawks, they play in a bad division, so they had locked up a home playoff game before Sunday’s 34-31 loss to Arizona at CenturyLink Field.
“We have a lot of work to do this season,” Seattle coach Pete Carroll said. “We have a lot of stuff coming.”
The Seahawks have their issues. But in this particularly imperfect playoff field, they are far from alone.