Dec 31, 2023 - 22:53
By espn.com

NFL 2023 Week 17: Biggest questions, risers and takeaways - ESPN

Week 17 of the NFL season started Thursday night with Cleveland Browns quarterback Joe Flacco continuing his hot streak in another Browns win. The Dallas Cowboys held on after some controversy for a key win over the Detroit Lions in a battle of two of the NFC's best Saturday night.

On Sunday, the San Francisco 49ers clinched the NFC's No. 1 seed, the Baltimore Ravens clinched the AFC's No. 1 seed and the Chicago Bears clinched the No. 1 overall pick (from Carolina) in the 2024 NFL draft.

Our NFL Nation reporters reacted to all the action, answering lingering questions coming out of each game and picking out who — or what — is rising and falling for every team. Let's get to it.

Why can't the Bears put teams away? Chicago carried a 21-7 lead into halftime, then thundered out of the gate in the third quarter when Justin Fields hit DJ Moore for a 28-yard gain (one of five catches he made over 20 yards) and Khalil Herbert ripped off a big run, only for Chicago to end the drive with a field goal. The offense struggled to get in a rhythm and the Bears let a listless Falcons team hang around until late in the game. Fields said the issues with the offense starting fast and stalling stem from a lack of execution and «a little bit of complacency.» That's been a theme, even in wins, for Chicago, which found out late in the fourth quarter that it had clinched the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 NFL draft.

Stock up after the win: WR DJ Moore. Every catch the Bears' No. 1 wide receiver made