NFL winners and losers: Aaron Rodgers and the Steelers are the ultimate cowards

What the Steelers did on Sunday was barely even football. Instead a game was turned into a three hour ego trip disguised as sport, curated coddling the precious ego of a legendary narcissist, and putting his needs above stamping a ticket to the postseason.

The Cleveland Browns are winners, Pittsburgh needs to beat the Ravens to make the playoffs — but hey, at least Aaron Rodgers didn’t risk being made fun of. That’s what the NFL is all about, right?

Rather than walking into Huntington Bank Field with an eye on winning, the Steelers’ entire ethos was about protecting Aaron Rodgers from Myles Garrett. Rallying around their QB in the worst way, the offense was designed to max protect Rodgers on every play, being careful never to risk a situation where Garrett could register his record-setting 23rd sack. It killed any potential offense, with Rodgers getting the ball out quickly, checking down as much as possible, and throw short, pointless passes to tight ends, rather than risk holding the ball too long and opening up the chance for Garrett to get in off the edge.

The Steelers will use the plausible deniability of D.K. Metcalf’s suspension as a shield, but they shouldn’t be allowed to. Their entire plan in this game was clear from the first whistle, and it was shameful.

It’s unclear who the order came from to ensure Garrett didn’t get the record at all costs. It would have been vaguely understandable if the Steelers had already locked up their playoff spot, or they’d been eliminated. It would have been petty, but petty is fine. What’s laughable is sacrificing the “win above everything” legacy of the Pittsburgh Steelers to ensure one player was protected from another getting an individual record. The end result was a game where Shedeur Sanders registered a win against the Steelers despite throwing two interceptions, because Pittsburgh determined that throwing the ball 39 times for 168 yards was appropriate.

Now the only path into the postseason is by beating the Ravens in Week 18, which is highly possible — but honestly, the Steelers don’t belong in the postseason if this is how they approach football. This was the kind of performance from the team that was concerning when Rodgers joined the team. This was an organization patently built around the notion that nobody was bigger than the team, and that putting No. 8 as their starting QB opened the organization up to the pressure of catering to one man. For the most part this has somehow worked, but a lot of that has been due to an imploding AFC North and a middling schedule, rather than any particular brilliance from under center. This is fundamentally the same team Kenny Pickett and Russell Wilson were able to lead to the playoffs, just with a new nameplate under center.

Time will tell whether or not this decision comes back to bite the Steelers. In some ways it doesn’t even matter anymore. This is a one-and-done playoff team, or they miss the postseason all together. At least they get a banner that reads “DIDN’T LET MYLES GARRETT GET HIS SACK RECORD.”

Winner: Drake Maye

19-for-21, 256 yards, 5 TDs

I’m not sure there’s much left to say here. Sure, it came against the Jets — the most hapless team in football who won’t wind up with the top draft pick. There was a very real chance Maye could have matched, or broken the single game TD record (which is seven), but ultimately the Patriots decided to bench their QB with the game in hand.

This game really opens up the MVP conversation. Matthew Stafford still might have the inside track on the award, but it’s getting a lot closer. This truly could come down to the final week to solidify who was the best QB in football.

Winner: Tyler Shough

This is going to be a fascinating offseason for the Saints, because Tyler Shough is becoming difficult to ignore. On Sunday he had a very solid game against the Titans, where he’s progressively gotten better and better with each passing week.

It remains unclear whether he’s the future at quarterback for New Orleans, but he’s done enough to avoid being replaced in this draft. In addition he’s played the Saints out of contention for a top QB, with the team now holding the No. 8 pick, which would require a trade up in order to land an appreciable upgrade over Shough, which isn’t going to happen. Saving your job is a massive win.

Winner: The Raiders, for once

Kudos to Las Vegas for knowing how to tank it out in style with a mammoth beatdown at the hands of the Giants, who were vying for the No. 1 pick in their own right. This ensures the Raiders now get their choice of which quarterback to ruin from the 2025 class, whether that’s Fernando Mendoza or Dante Moore.

Loser: Carolina Panthers

Well, they blew it. While it was expected that Carolina would lose to the Seahawks, it hurts so much more for fans knowing what could have been. The stage was set for the Panthers to seal the NFC South on Sunday with the Buccaneers crashing out vs. Miami, and for a good chunk of their game against Seattle it looked like they might actually pull it off.

The turning point was a horrible Jaycee Horn face mask penalty on 3rd and 20 in the third quarter. It took all the air out of Bank of America Stadium, killed any momentum gained, and sealed the loss for the Panthers. They didn’t have any business being in the game after being dominated by the Seahawks’ defense all afternoon — but there was a chance.

Now it’s a simple formula: Win and they’re in. Whoever wins the Week 18 game between the Panthers and Buccaneers wins the NFC South.

Loser: Whatever the hell that was from the Jets

It’s forgivable when a bad team loses, but the lack of defensive effort from New York was inexcusable. There’s just no pride or care for the craft from the Jets this season, and that’s a ridiculous shame. This team has the coach to put them back on the right track in Aaron Glenn, who has the knowledge as both a former player and an elite coordinator to do things right — but all that is for naught if they don’t take his leadership.

As it stands this feels like a lost, meandering team that doesn’t really care how bad it looks on the field, as long as people are getting paid. That level of apathy is alarming.