NFL Week 17 takeaways - What we learned, big questions for every game and future team outlooks

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4:35 PM ET

NFL NationESPN

Week 17 of the 2021 NFL season featured blowouts by the Bears and Patriots, a three-touchdown game by Bengals rookie Ja’Marr Chase that fueled an AFC North-clinching win over the Chiefs and a comeback by the Bucs during which Antonio Brown took off his uniform and left the field during the third quarter. Yes, you read that correctly.

Elsewhere in the 1 p.m. ET games, the Titans clinched the AFC South title, the Rams came back to beat the Ravens, the Bills used a stellar second half to stop the Falcons, the Raiders upset the Colts and the Eagles topped Washington, boosting their NFC playoff hopes.

Our NFL Nation reporters react with their takeaways and lingering questions. Plus, they each look at the bigger picture with their current team confidence rating — a 0-10 grade of how they feel about a team’s outlook coming out of the week. Let’s get to it.

Bengals

What to know: There’s no question Cincinnati’s offensive showing in a last-second win against the Chiefs was the best of the Bengals’ season. This was not the decimated Baltimore defense the Bengals rolled against as quarterback Joe Burrow threw for a franchise-record 525 yards. No, Kansas City was in form and playing like one of the best defenses in the NFL. And when Cincinnati needed points to avoid a blowout, it delivered, highlighted by 266 receiving yards and three touchdowns from Ja’Marr Chase. After several inconsistent weeks throughout the season, Cincinnati’s offense is living up to the preseason hype of being one of the most potent in the NFL. — Ben Baby

What’s the biggest difference with the offense? It has to be Burrow. The second-year quarterback has been masterful the past couple of weeks and made several big-time throws against Kansas City. And just as importantly, he was able to evade pressure or make small gains to keep drives rolling. The No. 1 pick in the 2020 draft has been…

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Source : espn