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Monday’s Quick Hitters (Week 18)

January 5, 2025

Steelers vs. Ravens

A matchup that was led by the defenses and was kind of boring until we got down to the final quarter. Both offenses were firing back and forth. Right when you thought the Steelers had it, Zay Flowers would be wide open down the middle of the field. Once the Ravens led, Calvin Austin helped the Steelers retake the lead. If you thought it was finished at the end, a missed extra point left the door for a Lamar Jackson moment. Lamar absolutely came through when his team needed him the most, but a missed field goal that would’ve given the Ravens the victory sealed their fate. There was so much fire from Mike Tomlin. The camera caught him passionately yelling at his guys all over the bench. Not in an angry way, but in a motivational way to get them going, to seize the moment, and they absolutely did. However, they’ll have a lot to clean up should they want to advance beyond round 1.

Jets vs. Bills

This one was actually not exciting at all but a few interesting things came out of it. For one, Josh Allen took one snap to extend his regular season start streak to 122 games and let Mitchell Trubisky get the rest of the game. Trubisky looked like an NFL All Pro against a miserable Jets defense throwing for 259 yards and 4 touchdowns. Aaron Glenn was thought to be a defensive mastermind after what he put together in Detroit. However, his defense officially ended the season without a single interception and only 4 total turnovers created on the season. Not creating a single interception is almost an impossible stat to achieve. It would be impossible but the Jets found a way to do something amazing in 2025 after all.

Seahawks vs. 49ers

Sam Darnold finally stopped seeing ghosts in big games! .. Kind of. He didn’t light the world on fire statistically  but he did not turn the ball over and managed the game masterfully. The 49ers defense has no answer for the run game which allowed Walker and Charbonnet to run wild on them. The Seahawks defense were tasked were making Christian McCaffrey look human and they managed to hold him to just 23 yards on the ground, his worst total since 2018. The lack of passing weapons at Purdy’s disposal was more than evident. Despite all of the injuries and turmoil surrounding San Francisco, they still finish the season at 12-5 and will be a tough out for the Eagles next Sunday.

Giants vs. Cowboys

The Giants and Raiders were fighting it out and it’s the Giants who blow their chance at the first overall pick for the 2026 NFL Draft. Dak Prescott and a few other starters were removed early in this one, and the Giants took advantage with some amazing plays. Dallas gave on last glimpse at just how poor their defense is before calling it a season. The Eberflus group will finish:

• Last in passing defense
• 23rd in rushing defense
• Last in scoring defense (PA)
• 29th in Red Zone defense
• Last in third down defense

You get it, it was bad. If the Cowboys are going to come into next season serious at all about winning, a change with the defense will need to occur. They’re loaded with draft picks and have a real shot to put something together for the first time since Zeke was around.

Broncos vs. Chargers

The Chargers traveled to Denver to wrap up the season, took the loss and will now have to travel to New England for round 1 of the playoffs. The loss also secured the 1 seed for the Broncos which you can imagine only furthers the pain of the defeat. Herbert has been struggling with his hand injury and the hits have clearly taken a toll. Hopefully taking the week off, along with some other starters, will give them a chance to reset and take on the Patriots as healthy as possible. Meanwhile, the Broncos finished 14-3 and secured the AFC 1 seed for the first time since their 2015 Super Bowl year.

Keith, Author

Keith runs youth flag football leagues by day, and by night he hosts the podcast and writes articles with the confidence of a man who’s been rushing quarterbacks since dial-up. A longtime flag football DE and lifelong Falcons fan, he’s no stranger to heartbreak and enjoys watching the bears get slaughtered each week. Equal parts coach, critic, and chaos, Keith calls it like he sees it… even if it hurts.