Jaguars' sad collapse and Belichick’s last game? NFL Week 18 disappointments

The NFL regular season has concluded, and some didn’t quite finish the campaign the way they had hoped. There was no shortage of untimely injuries, mind boggling choices, and lack of execution to close out the campaign. We’ll summarize the items that will leave NFL fans disappointed heading into the playoffs.

The Detroit Lions and Pittsburgh Steelers had hopes of improving their seeding or making the playoffs, respectively, so they played their starters in Week 18. The Lions didn’t get the two seed, and may be without emerging star tight end Sam LaPorta for their first playoff game. The Steelers may be without T.J. Watt for their opening postseason contest. Both suffered knee injuries in Week 18.

Saturday night served as a de facto AFC South title game, which the Houston Texans triumphed in. However, Indianapolis had their chances, and will think about a costly fourth down play that they couldn’t convert. Quarterback Gardner Minshew threw a swing pass slightly behind running back Tyler Goodson, who arguably still should’ve caught the pass, but dropped it. It ended the game.

Want to see more like this? Follow us here!

The New England Patriots played their season finale in snowy conditions at Gilette Stadium, and couldn’t come away with a win in Week 18. There was a chance that it was head coach Bill Belichick’s last with the franchise, and potentially his last contest in a storied career. It is disappointing that the Patriots couldn’t muster more than three points on the scoreboard.

The Saints and Atlanta Falcons still had an outside chance to win the NFC South on Sunday afternoon, and New Orleans put the pedal to the metal in a 48-17 drubbing. The game ended with some controversy, as the Saints scored their final touchdown out of the victory formation. Falcons head coach Arthur Smith was displeased with the decision, yelling at Dennis Allen after the game.

Jacksonville was in the driver’s seat in the AFC South heading into Week 18 despite stumbling to the finish line. The Jaguars had an easy matchup on paper against the Tennessee Titans but couldn’t outlast their division rivals. It seems like quarterback Trevor Lawrence may not have been fully healthy, but the way the season ended in Jacksonville has to be displeasing for their fans.

Philadelphia has not looked like the same team that ran circles around the NFL in the last month, and lost another game on Sunday to close out their sputtering regular season. The Eagles pulled their starters midway through the game, but their headline players didn’t look that impressive before that decision was made.

The Dolphins seemed guaranteed to win the AFC East a month ago, with a comfortable lead over the Buffalo Bills. Miami still could’ve captured the division in Week 18 with a home victory, but couldn’t take advantage of three Josh Allen turnovers in a 21-14 defeat. Now Miami must travel to Arrowhead Stadium to face the Kansas City Chiefs in the first round of the playoffs.

The Chiefs probably did the right thing by sitting most of their starters in a meaningless Week 18 game against the Los Angeles Chargers, but their decision ended an impressive streak for their tight end. Kelce had posted 1,000 yards receiving in seven straight seasons, and was only 16 yards short of doing it for an eighth consecutive year.