The final week of the 2023 NFL regular season often leads to moments of high drama. First place in several divisions is at stake, playoff berths are on the line and coaching performances are to be evaluated. In the latter category, Matt LaFleur of the Green Bay Packers has his team peaking at the most crucial moment, Mike Tomlin of the Pittsburgh Steelers has found his quarterback in Mason Rudolph, and John Harbaugh of the Baltimore Ravens has made his case as the best head coach in the NFL.
LaFleur and his Packers had what appeared to be one of the most difficult assignments in Week 17. The Packers had to go to Minnesota with the inside track on the final Wild Card spot on the line. Both teams had received a break when the Steelers beat the Seattle Seahawks prior to their prime time meeting at U.S. Bank Stadium, but the Packers had much to overcome.
In their earlier meeting, the Vikings defense had punished Jordan Love with four sacks and an interception, and Minnesota had asserted itself on the not-yet Frozen Tundra. The Vikings should have had even more of an advantage at U.S. Bank Stadium, but it turns out it was Love who had the advantage.
Jordan Love steps up when it matters most for the Packers
Love dominated the Vikings in Week 17 from start to finish, and he gave the Packers precisely what they needed. Love was neither sacked nor intercepted, and while he played great, much of the credit belongs to LaFleur for coming up with a strategy to defeat the Vikings with ease. The final score was 33-10, and it could have been worse.
LaFleur’s work with Love has been impactful. Both men knew the Vikings would come at them with a heavy blitz scheme designed by defensive coordinator Brian Flores, but this time Love was able to read where the Vikings were coming from and he knew how to deliver the ball to the defense's soft spots. He completed 24 of his 33 passes for 256 yards and three touchdowns, as he spent the entire night carving up Minnesota's defense.
The Packers had open receivers for 60 minutes, and the Green Bay offensive line neutralized the blitz. As a result, the quarterback took advantage.
“Love was just a hit or miss guy in the first half of the season as he struggled to read defenses and execute,” said one AFC executive. “Look at him now. He is confident and he executes extremely well. You want your quarterback and your head coach to have a good working relationship, and it’s clear that these two do.”
The Packers will make the playoffs if they can beat the Chicago Bears in their season finale. Chicago has been a much-improved team in recent weeks, and there is little doubt that Justin Fields can be dangerous. However, if there is one thing that the Packers have proved over the decades, it’s that they can beat the Bears any time they see them.
The Packers still own the Bears
The Packers are 27-4 against the Bears in their last 31 meetings and the NFL's flagship franchise from the Windy City has not beaten Green Bay since the first meeting between the two teams all the way back in 2018. Chicago has not won in Green Bay since 2015.
The Packers dominated the season opener at Soldier Field by a 38-20 margin. LaFleur and the Packers were ready to play in that game while Matt Eberflus and the Bears were unprepared. It appears that Chicago is in a much better position this time around, but the Packers clearly have their own impetus and it's called the postseason.
A motivated Packers team vs. a hopeful and improved Bears team? No point in going against the Packers in this rivalry until the Bears prove differently.
Mason Rudolph is the man for the Steelers
The Steelers have their own shot at finding their way into the playoffs, and that’s more than any Pittsburgh fan had the right to hope for after the team lost back-to-back home games against the Arizona Cardinals and New England Patriots in Weeks 13 and 14. Losing to two of the worst teams in the league at home when the playoffs seemed to be within their grasp appeared to be the death knell for the season.
However, once Tomlin decided he had seen enough of Mitch Trubisky and that Mason Rudolph was a better alternative, the Steelers returned to the land of the living.
They dominated the Cincinnati Bengals in registering a 34-11 triumph in Week 16 and then went on the road against a dangerous Seahawks team that was in control of its own playoff destiny and picked up a 30-23 victory.
Rudolph threw for 290 yards and two touchdowns without an interception against the Bengals and then followed that up with a 274-yard effort against the Seahawks, also throwing no interceptions in this game. Rudolph made the correct decisions with the ball, getting rid of it quickly and hitting big-play specialist George Pickens with 7 passes for 131 yards.
Kenny Pickett's future to be determined by the Steelers
Does any of this mean that the Steelers are done with presumed starter Kenny Pickett? Very doubtful. He still has two years left on his rookie contract, plus the ensuing fifth-year option. Pickett struggled through the majority of the 2023 season before he went down with a high ankle sprain.
Pickett is very competitive and always wants to play, but he will be the backup to Rudolph in Saturday’s season finale against the Baltimore Ravens. The Steelers are not planning to get rid of Pickett any time soon, but he has not done anything to assure he will be the team’s starting quarterback next season.
The Steelers could go in another direction, or at least open the job up next summer. Whether Rudolph can fight for the starter’s position in the future is up for debate, but he deserves to start against the Ravens, and Tomlin has confirmed he will do just that.
As far as the Steelers are concerned, they can make the playoffs if they beat the Ravens and the Buffalo Bills lose to the Miami Dolphins on Sunday night.
Other scenarios also exist, including the Steelers winning and the Jacksonville Jaguars losing to the Tennessee Titans, but the Steelers need help to get in. (They can also get in with a loss.)
John Harbaugh's success with the Ravens catapults him to a level of his own
The Ravens are the top dogs in the AFC, and they clinched that post with their overwhelming victory over the Miami Dolphins.
Since dropping a 33-31 decision to the Cleveland Browns back in Week 10, the Ravens have won six games in a row, and five of them have been by double digit margins. The only close game was a 37-31 overtime win over the Los Angeles Rams in Week 14. Kudos to the Rams for keeping it that close.
Since that victory, the Ravens beat the Jaguars on the road by 16 points, the San Francisco 49ers on the road by 14 points, and the Dolphins by 37 points. They have five other victories this season by 14 points or more.
Harbaugh and Lamar Jackson have built a great working relationship while offensive coordinator Todd Monken has turned an ordinary offense that ranked 16th in yards per game last season to a unit that is 4th in that category this year and 2nd in points per game.
The defense is in a similarly good spot. The Ravens rank 4th in yards allowed per game and are 1st in points allowed per game.
They go into the playoffs as the clear favorite to win the Super Bowl. Harbaugh has once again demonstrated as he concludes his 16th season as the Ravens’ head coach that he is a brilliant leader who has withstood the test of time.
It would appear to be foolish to bet against them.
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