2022 NFL Week 17 Takeaways

By Jeff Stinger • January 3, 2023

The penultimate week of the 2022 NFL season crossed over into the new year and further painted a better picture of what to expect in the upcoming postseason. Playoff berths were clinched and several teams have been eliminated from playoff contention as well. Not only that, but an unprecedented development occurred on Monday night, which further muddies up the league’s schedule moving forward.

Nitrobetting is ready to equip its bettors with the latest news, NFL odds, and special features for the entire duration of the 2022 NFL season. Let’s briefly recap the most notable happenings from Week 17 with our three key takeaways from this week’s action.

Top Takeaways from 2022 NFL Week 17

After a crazy Week 17, the Eagles stay on top of the newest edition of NFL Power Rankings despite having lost their last two games. https://t.co/FvWOT2k4d5
— AS USA (@English_AS) January 3, 2023

Gigantic Achievement

For only the second time over the past decade and the first in five long years, the New York Giants are back in the postseason. The G-Men secured their spot into the playoffs after a convincing 38-10 thrashing of the Colts in Week 17.

Head coach Brian Daboll deserves to win the 2022 NFL Coach of the Year award after turning the struggling Big Apple Franchise around in his very first season at the helm of an NFL team. The Giants won no more than six games in each of the last five losing seasons through a revolving door of disappointing coaching hires, and this is a testament to the monumental turnaround that Daboll has pulled off.

Patriots, Packers Control Their Playoff Destinies

Not much has changed in the AFC’s playoff picture after Week 17’s action, but a couple of teams from the conference saw a boost in their chances to make the postseason. The Patriots defeated division rival Miami to leave the two teams with identical 8-8 records and with New England having the tiebreaker over the Dolphins.

Meanwhile, Pittsburgh won this past weekend to improve to 8-8 as well. The Steelers will now battle it out with the Pats and Fins for the final AFC wild-card spot in Week 18. The Steelers have the easiest matchup on tap with their rematch against the underperforming Browns, whereas the Patriots have the daunting task of needing to beat the Bills in their season finale, and the Dolphins facing a bitter rival of their own in the Jets, who had just been booted out of playoff contention this past week due to their loss to the Seahawks.

Over in the NFC, Green Bay suddenly finds itself in the driver’s seat with a total shellacking of the Vikings Sunday. The Packers and the Lions face off in Week 18’s primetime clash serving as the regular season’s grand finale, with an outright win for the Packers vaulting the team into the postseason as the seventh seed in the conference.

Meanwhile, Detroit would need a win over Green Bay and a loss by Seattle to make the postseason. Inversely, the Seahawks need to win in Week 18 against the Rams (not a tricky feat, all things considered), but need some help by way of a Lions win over the Packers to bump the two NFC North hopefuls out of the picture altogether.

Monday Night Fright

What should’ve been a great way to close Week 17’s slate sadly ended in a sad situation that put the entire NFL world at a standstill. The Bills and the Bengals had a blockbuster clash set up for Monday Night Football with huge playoff-seeding implications. However, the contest was cut short midway through the first quarter when Buffalo safety Damar Hamlin suffered one of the scariest injuries ever seen on the field.

In what appeared to be a typical play, Hamlin rose after making a routine tackle and suddenly fell back to the ground in a lifeless manner. Hamlin’s state was so dire that CPR was administered to the Bills’ sixth-round pick the previous season and that an ambulance had to be called to the field for the first time in league history. The injury caused a one-hour game delay before league officials postponed the entire contest.

As of this writing, there’s no word yet from the NFL as to when the Bills and Bengals will resume their feud. However, now’s not the time to be concerned about the playoffs or football in general, as the life of a promising 24-year-old is still at risk. We here at Nitrobetting send our prayers to Hamlin and his family, wishing the Pitt product a safe and speedy recovery from this unfortunate matter.

Where to Bet On NFL with Bitcoin

NFL odds are available all year round here at Nitrobetting. Create a Nitrobetting account now to win tons of Bitcoin from the 2022 NFL season with our up-to-date NFL futures odds, as well as our special Bitcoin Squares and Picks contests throughout the upcoming season!

Check out our latest bitcion betting guides for the 2022 NFL season. Stay tuned for more football previews and articles and don’t forget to check out the latest NFL betting odds at our online Bitcoin sportsbook.

*All stated odds are subject to change without prior notice.