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Anthony Gharib, ESPN
Week 17 of the 2023 NFL season had many surprises.
The Baltimore Ravens dominated the Miami Dolphins for a 56-19 win to secure the AFC’s No. 1 seed. In a Saturday night matchup, the Dallas Cowboys defeated the Detroit Lions in controversial fashion. The 4-12 Arizona Cardinals had arguably the upset of the week, beating the Philadelphia Eagles 35-31.
A.J. Brown’s straightforward comment after the Eagles’ loss leads Week 17’s top quotes from around the NFL.
Philadelphia Eagles WR A.J. Brown
In its fourth loss in the past five games, Philadelphia’s defense struggled, allowing 29 points in the second half and 449 total yards, a season-high for Arizona. The Eagles’ offense didn’t provide much help, either — it had just 275 yards.
Brown declined to speak after the game, instead offering a blunt response to reporters before exiting the locker room:
“There’s nothing to say.”
The Steelers are still alive in the playoff hunt at 9-7 and aren’t pulling any punches. Up by a touchdown with two minutes left in its game against the Seahawks, all Pittsburgh had to do was run the clock out. But instead of running the ball, Mason Rudolph hit George Pickens for 24 yards on first-and-10, icing the Steelers’ second straight win. Tomlin had a simple answer about how you need to make decisions without living in fear:
“Scared money don’t make money.”
Detroit Lions coach Dan Campbell
The Lions’ 2-point conversion to take a 21-20 lead late in the fourth quarter was nixed by a controversial penalty. There were contradictory reports after the game from officials and Lions quarterback Jared Goff, but one thing was clear — Campbell’s emotions:
“Would you be frustrated right now? I don’t like losing, and that’s what happened.”
There’s no shortage of history between the Bengals and Kansas City Chiefs, who have faced off in each of the past two postseasons. The rivalry renewed with an escalating beef between Chase and Chiefs cornerback L’Jarius Sneed. Chase didn’t hide his assessment of Sneed:
“I just be under people skin sometimes. MFer won’t fight me.”
The Ravens are rolling, with their win over the Dolphins extending their streak to six straight. Lamar Jackson‘s MVP case is heating up after a five-touchdown performance. But there may not be a happier man on the Ravens than Beckham, who missed last season because of an injury. He had a strong claim about his squad:
“This is the best team I’ve been on in the NFL ever in my life.”
One of the most surprising resurgences this season has been Joe Flacco, who joined the Browns in early December. Since then, he has thrown for 1,616 yards and 13 touchdowns, including at least two touchdowns in five straight games, a career high.
Former Ravens teammate Mosley had high praise for Flacco:
“Everybody always joked, even in Baltimore, was he elite? He’s showing it. Not a lot of guys, especially veterans like him and his age, just coming from home, hanging with his kids, do what he’s done.”
A quarterback change in Denver stole the headlines as Russell Wilson was benched for Stidham. Making his first start of the season on Sunday against the Chargers, Stidham threw for 224 yards and one touchdown in a 16-9 win. Stidham credited Wilson for helping him leading up to the game:
“[I] can’t speak highly enough about him — I said that earlier this week. Great teammate, great person. He was super helpful throughout the week.”
The 49ers needed a Cardinals win over the Eagles to clinch the NFC’s No. 1 seed, and their division rivals came through. It’s the 10th time in franchise history and first time since 2019 that San Francisco has the top seed. The road to the Super Bowl in the NFC runs through Levi’s Stadium, and Ward loves it:
“Everybody’s got to come to Levi’s, and we’re trying to spank everybody that comes to Levi’s.”
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