Week 17 is now complete in the National Football League. In the 16 games that were played, there were two upsets. Let’s take a look at the two teams that came out victorious that were not expected to win.
Las Vegas Raiders
The Raiders defeated the New Orleans Saints 25-10 as a 2.5 point underdog on Sunday. The Raiders entered the game last in the AFC West at three wins and 12 losses. The Saints were playing at home and were at five wins and 10 losses. One reason why the Raiders needed to be considered here for the upset was because the Saints were coming off a short week and were dreadful in a 34-0 loss to the Green Bay Packers on December 30.
The Raiders were led by kicker Daniel Carlson of Colorado Springs, Colorado and running back Ameer Abdullah of Homewood, Alabama. Carlson made four field goals from 25, 31, 39, and 54 yards. Abdullah had 147 total yards (115 yards rushing and 32 yards receiving).
New York Giants
The Giants were simply not given much of a chance on Sunday as a 7.5 point underdog. They entered the game on a 10 game losing streak and had only won two games all year. The Giants wins came over the Cleveland Browns by a score of 21-15 on September 22 and over the Seattle Seahawks by a score of 29-20 on October 6. One must realize, like the Saints, the Colts entered the game with minimal momentum on defense. In their last two games, Indianapolis lost 31-15 to the Denver Broncos and gave up 30 points to the Tennessee Titans in a 38-30 Colts win.
On Sunday, the Giants eliminated the Colts from the postseason with a 45-33 victory. One of the key plays in the game was a 100 yard kickoff return for a touchdown by wide receiver Ihmir Smith-Marsette of Newark, New Jersey. Giants quarterback Drew Lock of Columbia, Missouri contributed to five Giants touchdowns, and had 309 yards passing, while Giants rookie wide receiver Malik Nabers of Lafayette, Louisiana had seven catches for 171 receiving yards and two touchdowns.
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