- The Indianapolis Colts failed to make the playoffs by losing to the Jacksonville Jaguars.
- The Detroit Lions could have had the first overall pick in the draft, but won in Week 18.
- The Los Angeles Chargers blew a chance at the playoffs by calling a late timeout.
INDIANAPOLIS – The 18th and final week of the 2021 regular season was filled with controversy. A few teams were slightly worse than the field.
Indianapolis Colts Blowing Playoffs Vs. Jaguars
Going into the final week of the season, the Indianapolis Colts had a simple task. All the team needed to do was beat the 2-14 Jacksonville Jaguars and they would earn a spot in the playoffs. However, the team went on to lose, embarrassingly, by a score of 26-11 which ultimately resulted in them not making the postseason.
Despite having one of the best offensive players in the NFL in Jonathan Taylor, the team only gave him 15 carries in their biggest game of the season despite averaging over 5.1 yards per carry. It marked the fewest number of carries Taylor had had since Week 6. Indianapolis losing is bad, but losing in each of the final two weeks is worse and those who were betting on the NFL were surely costed by the Colts’ poor play.
Detroit Lions Not Tanking Correctly
Not only did the Jaguars win which knocked the Colts out of the playoffs, but it opened the door for the Detroit Lions to obtain the first overall pick in the draft. Despite having no wins heading into Week 13, the Lions somehow managed to fumble the No. 1 pick in the draft over to the Jaguars.
Detroit beat the Green Bay Packers in Week 18 which allowed the Jags to keep the first pick. What makes it worse is that the Lions still had the No. 1 pick with two minutes to go in the game but the team managed to score twice in the final two minutes to get the win and miss out on the top pick.
The team will still likely get either Kayvon Thibodeaux or Aidan Hutchinson, but now it’s not their decision to make.
Los Angeles Chargers Boneheaded Timeout
The last Sunday of the NFL season ended in what seemed to be scripted from a movie. The Los Angeles Chargers and Las Vegas Raiders seemed poised to tie and therefore earn each a spot in the playoff… but then Brandon Staley called a timeout.
The public may never know what exactly was going to happen if Staley didn’t call the timeout but it does seem more likely than not that it did ultimately cost the Chargers a spot in the playoffs which is quite truthfully embarrassing. Los Angeles finished the season as a top-five team in offensive yards and points per game. All of the top eight scoring teams made the playoffs, except for the Chargers.
NFL betting sites likely saved a lot of money by not having to pay out the Chargers to make the playoffs tickets.
