We are all winners as fans since we are ramping up for what will be another great postseason in the NFL.
We’re also losers since we are about five weeks from football coming to an end.
Let’s keep it positive though as we take a look at the winners and losers from week 17. The regular season is done, and it wrapped up with some major playoff impacts.
NFL Grown Man of the Week: Kirk Cousins. How can you not be happy for this guy? He has played as well as any quarterback in the League for the past few weeks and finished the year with the top completion percentage in the NFL.
Cousins will get to face off with Aaron Rodgers in round one of the playoffs in a battle of one of the hottest passers versus the best QB over the past three years.
NFL Child of the Week: Jed York, owner of the drowning San Francisco 49ers, who could not figure out how to co-exist with Jim Harbaugh so the second best coach in the NFL was fired in 2014.
Now York just fired his replacement Jim Tomsula after just one season in which the team finished 5-11, which was actually better than I expected. This franchise is a mess and Harbaugh seems to be reveling in it.
Loser: Browns fans who are faced with another rebuilding process for 2016. The team fired Mike Pettine along with his boss GM Ray Farmer. It’s good to shake things up when it looks like a turnaround is unlikely, but a change of direction every three years isn’t the answer either.
Winner: Julio Jones had the most receiving yards among receivers in 2015. He also tied Antonio Brown for most receptions with 136.
Loser: The New York Jets did all that work last week against the Patriots for nothing. They go into Buffalo and get knocked off by their former head coach thus killing the Jets’ playoff aspirations with Pittsburgh winning against the Browns. I really feel for Ryan Fitzpatrick, who threw interceptions on his last two drives after playing like a Pro Bowler the past several weeks.
Brandon Marshall remains without a chance at a playoff game in his career. It looks like the guy is cursed at this point from a postseason viewpoint.
Winner: I guess the Titans are winners since another loss in week 17 didn’t really affect them negatively. No one expected much out of them, so a loss ensured the number one draft choice for 2016.
Good news for Marcus Mariota, who is the only recognizable name on this roster.
Loser: New England let Miami of all teams take away their home field advantage. They drop a ridiculous game to the Phins as Denver got the win over San Diego, giving the Broncos home field for the AFC playoffs.
Winner: The Broncos won home field advantage with the win over the Chargers as Peyton Manning did enough to help his team to the victory coming off the bench.
Loser: Brock Osweiler got benched in favor of Peyton Manning after the youngster turned the ball over three times though one was the result of a dropped pass. This may not be the end of the line for Osweiler this season since Gary Kubiak seems comfortable with going with a better option when the need arises. Osweiler was given the start in this pivotal game in which Manning was obviously healthy.
Winner: Marshawn Lynch. The bruising back looks ready to return to the field after his abdominal surgery. It may sound insane, but the Beast’s return could actually throw a monkey wrench into the Hawk’s new high powered passing game. It will an interesting watch when Seattle rolls into Minnesota in round one.
Loser: Minnesota had the worst win in franchise history on  Sunday night. They may have beaten Green Bay and won their division, but the reward is facing red hot Seattle in round one. Home field advantage will seem like an afterthought once Russell Wilson throws his third touchdown in the first half.
Winner: Cam Newton and company had little trouble with Tampa on their way to insuring they never have to leave Charlotte except for a trip to the Super Bowl should they be so fortunate.
Loser: The Cardinals threw in the towel after they got down to Seattle 30-6 in the first half and saw Carolina cruising in their game. So with no home field advantage likely, Arizona can take a tiny bit of solace in the fact that they never truly tried for a comeback in the second half. These two are likely to face off again.
Winner: Rex Ryan may have failed to deliver on playoff promises to his current team, but he sure wrecked the postseason hopes of the team that sent him packing in 2014. The Jets were playing very well the past few weeks and coming off a big overtime win against the Patriots. All that went out the window when they let Buffalo beat them on the final Sunday of the regular season.
Loser: New Orleans, who looks like they will be without Sean Payton going forward. According to the NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport it would take a second round draft pick in order to secure Payton’s services. It’s not easy to find a great NFL coach so the Saints should probably reconsider;  that is if Payton has any interest in staying put.
Loser: Johnny Manziel made himself look bad again this week when he missed his scheduled medical staff appointment Sunday morning for his reported concussion. Kid clearly wants out of Cleveland. I just don’t see how any interested teams can take his commitment to being an NFL quarterback seriously.
I know Dallas will give him a shot though. After the season they have had, what could it hurt to bring in Johnny Football. At the very least the former Aggie can bring in more Instagram followers for the Cowboys.