SEATTLE -- As the guttural screams of the San Francisco 49ers coaching staff echoed through the press box and general manager John Lynch rushed on the field and scooped up the game ball with Niners players celebrating wildly around him, coach Kyle Shanahan stood stoic, holding his breath and waiting for a final verdict.

San Francisco rookie linebacker Dre Greenlaw had just tackled Seattle Seahawks tight end Jacob Hollister an inch or two short of the goal line on fourth down, apparently cementing the biggest 49ers win since the 2013 NFC Championship Game.

Not far from Shanahan's mind was what took place on Dec. 15, when a similar play initially went San Francisco's way before a review overturned the call on the field and gave the Atlanta Falcons the winning points for an upset.

"I wasn't ready to celebrate anything," Shanahan said. "[The Atlanta game] kind of ruined my celebration, to tell you the truth. I wanted to wait until I saw it on the scoreboard."

Sure enough, the scoreboard revealed what Shanahan had hoped and a lengthy review confirmed it for the officials: Hollister was short, Greenlaw had made the most important tackle in recent 49ers memory, and the Niners had escaped with a 26-21 victory in the place that had been their own, personal house of horrors for most of the past decade.

"I just made sure that I kept my feet on the goal line ... and just made a tackle that my coaches and teammates will be proud of," Greenlaw said. "I'm just thankful to be able to make the play."

With Greenlaw's tackle came a bevy of riches: the NFC West division crown, a first-round bye, the No. 1 seed and home-field advantage throughout the NFC playoffs. All of that just 248 days after using the No. 2 pick in the NFL draft, a selection gained through a brutal 4-12 season in 2018.

Sunday night's game was the 49ers' fifth straight in which the outcome was determined in the closing seconds. The Niners lost to Baltimore and Atlanta but beat New Orleans and the Rams.

"We worked for this all year," Shanahan said. "That's always the goal going in, just to get in the tournament. To get in there with the No. 1 seed feels very good. We were going to be ready to deal with whatever we had to tomorrow, whether if we had to go play three games, but I know we're much happier that we can stay at home now when you're two games away from the big one. We're going to enjoy this bye week, but very proud of the guys.

"We've had to win a lot of different ways this year. I keep feeling like we've done it every way possible and then we find a way to do it."

It was the Niners' first win in Seattle since Dec. 24, 2011, and moved them to 13-3 on the season, their best record since 2011. That nine-win improvement makes them the eighth team in league history to improve their win total by at least nine games from the previous season, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

The division crown is San Francisco's 20th, the top seed in the NFC is their first since 1997, and their 7-1 road record is their best mark since 1992. This is the fifth time the 49ers have earned the No. 1 seed, advancing to the NFC championship in three of the previous four instances and winning the Super Bowl the other.

With the loss, Seattle dropped to 11-5 and claimed the No. 5 seed in the NFC playoffs. The Seahawks will visit the Philadelphia Eagles next Sunday in a 4:40 p.m. ET wild-card game.

The 49ers will host their first playoff game at Levi's Stadium since it opened in 2014 on Jan. 11 or Jan. 12 in a divisional-round matchup.

"It's a great feeling just to get the 1 seed, to be NFC West champs," cornerback Richard Sherman said. "That's your goal coming into the year. That's the first thing that you have got to accomplish so that you get a home game in the playoffs ... Our team believed In each other. That's what makes it special."

As the clock ticked down Sunday night, it appeared Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson was again going to conjure enough magic to give Seattle its own special moment. That came after the Niners controlled the game from kickoff.

San Francisco held Seattle scoreless in the opening half, the first time since Week 15 of 2017 that's happened and only the third time Seattle has been shut out at the half of a home game since Wilson became the starter.

When the Seahawks' offense finally got rolling in the second half, Niners quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo & Co. repeatedly mustered strong responses. After Seattle's first two touchdowns in the second half, the Niners responded with a touchdown of their own.

Garoppolo finished 18-of-22 for 285 yards with no touchdowns and no interceptions for a passer rating of 118.8. Rookie receiver Deebo Samuel did a lot of that damage, posting five catches for 102 yards with a 30-yard rushing touchdown.

"This whole season has been complementary football between our offense, defense and special teams, and tonight was no different," Garoppolo said. "They'd step up and make a huge play, we'd step up and make a huge play. It was just everyone stepping up when their number was called."

Now, the Niners can look ahead to a much-needed bye week, something they haven't had since Week 4. It offers a chance to get defensive end Dee Ford (quadriceps and hamstring), safety Jaquiski Tartt (ribs) and guard Mike Person (neck) back closer to full strength and on the field. It also creaks the door open just a bit more for a potential return by linebacker Kwon Alexander from a torn left pectoral.

When they return from that time off, the Niners could find themselves in a rubber match with the Seahawks in Santa Clara. Seattle beat San Francisco there on Nov. 11 in a tense, overtime thriller.

If New Orleans beats Minnesota in the wild-card round and the Seahawks advance past the Eagles, Seattle and the 49ers would meet again. Given how the first two meetings went, that would surely provide plenty of drama and help reignite what not long ago was football's fiercest rivalry.

For now, the Niners, wearing their "The West is Not Enough" T-shirts and division champion hats, were content to celebrate a win that not only put them in prime playoff position but, at least temporarily, erased a lot of bad memories.

"Honestly, it's been a hard place to play here," left tackle Joe Staley said. "Everybody knows about our record here since 2011. I've been a part of all those games and it feels good to win this one."

The NFL regular season came to a close on Sunday. What's next for the teams that didn't make the playoffs? NFL Nation digs in.

AFC EAST | AFC NORTH | AFC SOUTH | AFC WEST

NFC EAST | NFC NORTH | NFC SOUTH | NFC WEST

AFC EAST

Miami Dolphins (5-11, 4th AFC East)

What went wrong: The Dolphins' season was doomed from the start in terms of competing for a playoff spot. Miami had arguably the NFL's least talented roster thanks to an offseason full of shipping away veterans and choosing not to adequately replace them. The trade of tackle Laremy Tunsil and receiver Kenny Stills a week before the season and safety Minkah Fitzpatrick a week later put out a message the Dolphins were planning for 2020 and beyond. But coach Brian Flores' bunch refused to quit, somehow winning five of their last nine games after being one of the worst teams in NFL history in terms of point differential. Wins over the AFC East champion Patriots and NFC East leading Philadelphia Eagles are signs of the team's growth. Gaping talent holes were too much to make more progress in 2019, and there will be plenty of work to do in the offseason, but they have the money and draft capital to take a significant step in 2020.

Biggest offseason question: How will they utilize their three first-round picks, and will one be on a franchise quarterback? Dolphins general manager Chris Grier will be the most important decision-maker in April's draft with the power to make a significant push toward reshaping his team closer to being a contender.The Dolphins are the only team with three first-round picks with the first of those selections will be No. 5 overall. Quarterback, offensive tackle and edge rusher are clearly the Dolphins' biggest needs, and they should address those spots at least once in the first two rounds. If LSU quarterback Joe Burrow is off the board, Grier will have to decide whether they feel strongly enough about injured Tua Tagovailoa of Alabama or Justin Herbert of Oregon to take them or punt their search for a franchise quarterback to 2021. Culture appears to be set. Now they have to find the players. Though quarterback is the most notable hole for Miami, the Dolphins are likely to spend most of their significant resources to solidify the lines. -- Cameron Wolfe

New York Jets (7-9, 3rd AFC East)

What went wrong: Adam Gase's first season was weird. The Jets won six of their last eight to finish 7-9, averting total disaster, but they did it against the NFL's easiest schedule. Beware of fool's gold. The team, unable to cope with Sam Darnold's three-game illness, was out of contention by Halloween. The offense, under Gase's direction, was non-competitive until it perked up in November. Injuries were a factor on both sides of the ball. The defense adjusted, the offense not as much. Somehow, Gase held the team together when it sank to 1-7, but he must do a better job in several areas. Darnold improved, but he didn't make the big, second-year leap that was expected. The pressure will be on him and Gase in 2020.

Biggest offseason question: Can first-year GM Joe Douglas save the Jets? Yeah, it's a broad question, but the hopes of this moribund franchise rest on him. His first order of business is making decisions on running back Le'Veon Bell (possible trade), wide receiver Robby Anderson (free agent) and safety Jamal Adams (possible trade or contract extension). Ideally, you'd like to keep all three, but economics play a big role. Predictions: Adams stays, Bell and Anderson do not. Douglas must focus heavily on the offensive line decimated by injuries and age. The Jets never will get an accurate read on Darnold until they put a capable line in front of him. Don't be surprised if they have four new starters in 2020. -- Rich Cimini

AFC NORTH

Cincinnati Bengals (2-14, 4th AFC North)

What went wrong: Everything went south when wide receiver A.J. Green suffered a season-ending ankle injury during the first practice of the preseason. The combination of a relatively green coaching staff, aging veterans and unproductive years from recent draft picks led to the worst season in franchise history. The two good things to come from this season: establishing the culture first-year coach Zac Taylor wanted and the No. 1 overall pick in the 2020 draft.

Biggest offseason question: Last offseason, the Bengals made their first coaching change since 2002 but kept the rest of the roster relatively intact. Now the question will be how much the front office will overhaul the team now that Taylor has been on the job for a full season. The Bengals have a key decision to make with Green, an unrestricted free agent who will be eligible for the franchise tag. And running back Joe Mixon could be looking for a new deal after back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons. -- Ben Baby

Cleveland Browns (6-10, 3rd AFC North)

What went wrong: Where to even begin? Freddie Kitchens struggled to adapt as first-year head coach. Quarterback Baker Mayfield took a step back after solid rookie season. Receiver Odell Beckham Jr. was injured all year, and the Browns couldn't get him the ball. The offensive line was a mess. Myles Garrett swung a helmet at Steelers quarterback Mason Rudolph and got suspended indefinitely. An overhyped offense never found its footing with Kitchens calling plays, other than handing off to running back Nick Chubb. And a depleted defense capitulated down the stretch.

Biggest offseason question: The Browns have to decide who will take over for Kitchens, who is reportedly out. The Browns should be able to attract a big-name head coach; despite its underachieving season, Cleveland has playoff-caliber talent. Beyond that, the Browns will have to address a limited offensive line that did its part to handcuff the downfield passing game, and they'll have to add some desperately needed depth along the defensive line and at safety. -- Jake Trotter

Pittsburgh Steelers (8-8, 2nd AFC North)

What went wrong: The offense. The Steelers had a full complement of healthy offensive players only the first two weeks, and the wheels quickly came off with quarterback Ben Roethlisberger's elbow injury and subsequent move to injured reserve. The offense struggled to put points on the board with Mason Rudolph and Devlin Hodges at quarterback, and it didn't help that the top two offensive threats in JuJu Smith-Schuster and James Conner missed four and five games, respectively. Conner also didn't make it to halftime in two others. While the Steelers put together a defense capable of contending for championships, the offense barely scraped by. Some of that should be remedied when Roethlisberger returns in 2020 from a surgery that reportedly reattached three tendons in his right elbow.

Biggest offseason question: Outside of Roethlisberger's journey back, the biggest question facing the Steelers is the future of Bud Dupree. The other half of the fierce outside linebacker tandem with T.J. Watt, Dupree emerged as a force in his contract year with 10.5 sacks entering Week 17. Now the Steelers have to decide if he's worth the money that would come with a tag and new contract. Though the salary cap could top $200 million and Antonio Brown's contract is coming off the books, the Steelers still don't have much wiggle room with about $5 million in cap space. That's partly thanks to Roethlisberger's $33.5 million cap hit. It would take some creative accounting to keep Dupree around -- but Pittsburgh is known for getting the most out of its cap situation. -- Brooke Pryor

AFC SOUTH

Indianapolis Colts (7-9, 3rd AFC South)

What went wrong: The Colts were rocked when quarterback Andrew Luck announced his retirement two weeks before the start of the regular season. The Colts weathered the storm early, starting 5-2, which included victories over playoff-bound Kansas City and Houston. But then injuries, lack of depth and quarterback issues caught up with the Colts. Tight end Eric Ebron was lost for the season after 11 games, Devin Funchess played less than a full game, while fellow receivers Parris Campbell and T.Y. Hilton missed games. And that's just on offense. On defense, All-Pro linebacker Darius Leonard, cornerbacks Kenny Moore and Pierre Desir and safety Malik Hooker all missed three games. The Colts didn't have much depth to make up for the injuries. Combine that with regressed play by Luck's replacement, Jacoby Brissett, as the season progressed and the Colts went into a downward spiral they couldn't overcome. They went from being in first place in the division to losing six out of seven games, missing the playoffs for the fourth time in five seasons.

Biggest offseason question: The Colts gave Brissett a two-year, $30 million contract extension a week after Luck's retirement, but there are legitimate questions about Brissett's ability to be the franchise's starter going forward. Nobody expected Brissett to be Luck. With the help of a top-five rushing attack, Brissett ran the offense well early in the season. He even made the Houston Texans pay for daring him to throw the ball when he threw for 326 yards and four touchdowns with no interceptions against them. Brissett, who missed a game because of a knee injury, got worse later in the season because of his lack of accuracy. Brissett went into Week 17 ranked 30th in the NFL in passing yards per game (198.6) and 25th in completion percentage (61.6). The door isn't shut on Brissett as the Colts' starting quarterback, but you can expect GM Chris Ballard to add competition to that position during the offseason. -- Mike Wells

Jacksonville Jaguars (6-10, 4th AFC South)

What went wrong: Where to start? Linebacker Telvin Smith deciding in April he wasn't playing this year. Quarterback Nick Foles suffering a broken collarbone in the season opener. Cornerback Jalen Ramsey demanding, and forcing, a trade. The atmosphere inside the building that, per league sources, was caused by executive vice president of football operations Tom Coughlin. Even with that, the Jaguars were 4-4 heading into the London game against Houston with rookie quarterback Gardner Minshew. They were in the hunt for the division title before the season fell apart with a five-game losing streak. Injuries to defensive tackle Marcell Dareus and linebacker Myles Jack hurt the defense. The lack of a dependable tight end limited the offense. The offense averaged 11.4 points and the defense gave up 34.8 points per game during the losing streak. It was made perfectly clear during that streak that the Jaguars' talent level, especially on defense, had dropped significantly since 2017.

Biggest offseason question: Regardless of which regime is in charge -- there reportedly is a good chance GM Dave Caldwell and coach Doug Marrone will be back -- the Jaguars have to figure out what they're going to do at quarterback in 2020. Will they let Foles and Minshew battle throughout the offseason? Will they name Foles the starter? They're picking in the top 10 in the draft, so the opportunity to grab one of the quarterbacks (Justin Herbert, Tua Tagovailoa or Jake Fromm) will be there. That would be an interesting move because there are so many needs elsewhere (interior defensive line, tight end and offensive line) and there's no guarantee the rookie would get on the field. -- Mike DiRocco

AFC WEST

Denver Broncos (7-9, T-2nd AFC West)

What went wrong: Start 10 snaps into the season opener when the Broncos' biggest signing in free agency -- right tackle Ja'Wuan James -- suffered a knee injury that largely ended his season (he played 63 snaps). Then add linebacker Bradley Chubb tearing an ACL in Week 4, the Broncos using three starting quarterbacks and losing three games in the final 22 seconds. In short, very little went according to plan for the Broncos, as they never recovered from an 0-4 start and missed the playoffs for the fourth consecutive season. By the time December rolled around, rookie quarterback Drew Lock was behind center and the Broncos had the third-youngest active roster in the league. So the makeover is largely underway.

Biggest offseason question: Is Lock finally the answer at quarterback? He is the seventh different starting quarterback since Week 8 of the 2017 season -- a span of 40 games, or a different starting quarterback every 5.7 games -- so that doesn't help. But the Broncos went into the final week of the season with the No. 27-ranked scoring offense, No. 28 overall, and scored 16 or fewer points seven times. Lock is on the front burner of the fixes to come and he'll almost certainly be the starter in 2020, but the Broncos need to discuss Joe Flacco's future. If Flacco, who has two years left on his contract, isn't on the roster, Lock is the only quarterback under contract for next season. So, the Broncos need to look in the draft and free agency to address their offensive line and the depth chart overall at quarterback. -- Jeff Legwold

Los Angeles Chargers (5-11, 4th AFC West)

What went wrong: Entering Week 17, the Chargers had a minus-16 turnover differential, tied with the Cincinnati Bengals for worst in the NFL. Quarterback Philip Rivers must do a better job of taking care of the football if he returns in 2020. His 23 turnovers, including 18 interceptions, are the most Rivers has had in a single season since 2016.

Biggest offseason question: Rivers is 38 years old and in the final year of his deal. Although Rivers has said he wants to continue playing, the Chargers' brass has not said it wants him back. The Chargers also move into SoFi Stadium next season, and they could be looking for star power at the quarterback position to help build the fan base in Los Angeles. -- Eric D. Williams

Oakland Raiders (T-2nd 7-9, 2nd AFC West)

What went wrong: Injuries caught up to the rebuilding Raiders and, as veteran left guard Richie Incognito said of a Week 12 blowout loss at the New York Jets, they were "exposed." A four-game losing streak saw Oakland drop from 6-4 to 6-8, but a feel-good victory at the Los Angeles Chargers shockingly kept the Raiders alive in the playoff race entering the season finale at Denver. All things considered, going 7-9/8-8 was a massive improvement from 4-12 in Jon Gruden's first season back as coach. And if you had said in training camp the Raiders would be in the hunt come Week 17, you would have taken it. And then some. It's unfortunate that the final game in Oakland, when the Raiders blew a 10-point lead in the last five-plus minutes, ended with fans showering the field with boos and trash.

Biggest offseason question: Is Derek Carr the quarterback to lead the franchise to Las Vegas and can GM Mike Mayock and Gruden nail another draft class and, finally, get a front-line receiver? Before injuries to Johnathan Abram, Isaiah Johnson, Hunter Renfrow, Foster Moreau, Trayvon Mullen and Josh Jacobs, the Raiders had the most immediately productive rookie class in franchise history. Mayock and Gruden have two first-round picks next year and, as Gruden notes, the Raiders have five picks in the top 90 selections. The failed Antonio Brown experiment cost the Raiders dearly, too, as Gruden had built the offense around the temperamental wideout's skill set. Alas, Carr, for all his strengths and weaknesses, truly did not have an elite group at receiver, and it showed. Gruden said it would not be hard to assess Carr's play this offseason, despite all of the turnover around him at receiver, running back and on the offensive line. Stay tuned. -- Paul Gutierrez

NFC EAST

Dallas Cowboys (8-8, 2nd NFC East)

What went wrong: How about everything. The Cowboys were disjointed the entire season. This was a team that was built on a highly paid offensive line with Tyron Smith, Travis Frederick, Zack Martin and La'el Collins and the highest paid running back in Ezekiel Elliott, but they never really excelled in the running game. Quarterback Dak Prescott had career highs in passing yards and touchdown passes and had two 1,000-yard receivers in Amari Cooper and Michael Gallup but the numbers were mostly empty. On defense, they could not affect the quarterback enough, did not take the ball away enough and could not make enough big plays. And it's difficult to leave out the special teams with 10 missed field goal attempts by Brett Maher before his release, the lowest gross- and net-yard punting numbers and poor coverage and return units. The Cowboys talked about complementary football and never really played it. That's why they will be home when the playoffs start next week.

Biggest offseason question: There are plenty of questions for this team but at the top of this list is: Who will be the next coach? It certainly won't be Jason Garrett. He entered the season without a contract extension and needed to win. He didn't, so the Cowboys are likely to thank him for nine years, remember how they rebuilt with him on the fly from 2011-13 and made the playoffs four times from 2014-19. Owner Jerry Jones believes he has a roster that can win big, so he has to get this hire right. Will he take a step back and attempt to hire a big-name coach, as he did in 2003 when Bill Parcells came to the Cowboys? Will he go the college route, as he did with Jimmy Johnson and Barry Switzer, with somebody such as Lincoln Riley, Urban Meyer or Matt Rhule? Jones has said folks would be embarrassed at the size of the check he would write to win another Super Bowl. Maybe he will attempt to prove that in his next coaching hire. -- Todd Archer

New York Giants (4-12, 3rd NFC East)

What went wrong: Everything. Even Saquon Barkley had a down year. But the Giants never had a chance defensively with the talent level on that side of the ball. If they wanted to have any chance of winning games this season, it had to be on the strength of their offense. But they struggled, benched quarterback Eli Manning for rookie Daniel Jones in Week 3, turned over the ball at an alarming rate and were in the bottom half of the league in scoring. The Giants actually finished in the bottom half of the league in offense and defense. It's hard to win that way. At least there were positive signs with Jones, who produced at least four touchdowns in four different starts.

Biggest offseason question: Who stays and who goes at the top of the totem pole? The Giants went 5-11 in the first year of GM Dave Gettleman and coach Pat Shurmur. They couldn't top that in Year 2. That's a lot of losing. Will ownership scrap it and start over with the team possibly being in worse shape than when they arrived, with the exception of having Jones? At least they drafted and developed Jones. That is their best argument for another year. -- Jordan Raanan

Washington Redskins (3-13, 4th NFC East)

What went wrong: Everything went wrong. Perennial Pro Bowl tackle Trent Williams held out because of medical and contractual reasons, eventually ripping the franchise for how it handled the situation. Tight end Jordan Reed never played because of a concussion. Running back Derrius Guice hurt his knee twice and played in five games. The three quarterbacks weren't in position to help much because of combination of injury, newness and inexperience. And the defense underachieved once again. The Redskins have tried to build a run-stopping unit, yet they were one of the worst in the NFL in this area, hovering in the bottom third all season. It quickly added up to trouble and led to the firing of coach Jay Gruden after on 0-5 start. Rookie quarterback Dwayne Haskins looked real bad in his first couple appearances, but gradually improved as a starter, providing hope for the future.

Biggest offseason question: Who's in charge? Redskins owner Dan Snyder must decide who he wants to run football operations -- Bruce Allen is expected to be limited to the business side if he remains. But after a 62-98-1 record the past 10 years, the Redskins need new blood on the football side. Several names have been mentioned, including former Ohio State coach Urban Meyer (though one source called that move for Meyer doubtful) and former Houston Texans general manager Rick Smith. The Indianapolis Colts' director of college scouting Morocco Brown also served as the Redskins' director of pro personnel for six years. They could also promote from within. And then it's about who will be the next coach. Ron Rivera, who will interview with the Redskins on Monday, and Marvin Lewis have been mentioned, as the Redskins appear to want someone with NFL head-coaching experience. This will be Snyder's seventh full-time hire since buying the team in 1999. None of the previous six exited Washington with a winning record. The Redskins can offer a solid young base of talent, but there's a history of losing and non-football people making football decisions that could steer some candidates away. With plummeting attendance and an angry fan base, Snyder must get these decisions right. -- John Keim

NFC NORTH

Chicago Bears (8-8, 3rd NFC North)

What went wrong: Quarterback Mitchell Trubisky regressed in Year 2 under coach Matt Nagy, who struggled to find any rhythm calling plays. The offensive line went through spells when it blocked poorly. Highly paid and/or highly drafted tight ends Trey Burton and Adam Shaheen were complete busts. The Bears never truly committed to running the ball with rookie David Montgomery. Outside of team MVP Allen Robinson and the late emergence of wide receiver Anthony Miller, the offense was a total disaster.

Biggest offseason question: Trubisky. The Bears have to figure out the next step with the disappointing former second overall pick. Do they move on? Do they exercise Trubisky's fifth-year option and bring in real competition for him in the offseason? Chase Daniel, whom Chicago paid $6 million in 2019, is not real competition. It seems highly unlikely the Bears sign Trubisky to any sort of extension -- he hasn't earned it. Until the Bears fix quarterback -- where have you heard that before -- they will never be a perennial playoff team. The quarterback wasn't the only issue, but Trubisky's limitations were a big reason the Bears missed the playoffs for the eighth time in nine seasons. -- Jeff Dickerson

Detroit Lions (3-12-1, 4th NFC North)

What went wrong: The Lions' defense struggled all year long on defense, allowing quarterback after quarterback to shred them. The defense has been almost historically awful, giving up an average 400 yards per game -- close to the average Detroit allowed in its winless 2008 season. Offensively, the Lions found something until quarterback Matthew Stafford suffered a season-ending back injury against Oakland on Nov. 3. Detroit, which had hovered around .500 with Stafford playing at a Pro Bowl level, gradually fell apart and didn't win a game in November or December. Coach Matt Patricia and general manager Bob Quinn will return for 2020, but expect other staff changes to be coming as early as this week.

Biggest offseason question: There are a few, starting with who will be running Detroit's defense, but the underlying pressing question is where does cornerback Darius Slay play in 2020? Slay had been a possible trade candidate earlier this season. With one year left on his contract, do the Lions try to move him or keep him with a new deal? What makes this more intriguing is the reality Patricia and Quinn have of needing to win in 2020 -- Lions ownership said Detroit must be a playoff contender next season -- and Slay, a three-time Pro Bowler, is one of the better corners in the league. There's much to be sorted between now and the draft in April, and what the Lions choose to do with Slay could dictate a lot of Detroit's offseason. -- Michael Rothstein

NFC SOUTH

Atlanta Falcons (7-9, T-2nd NFC South)

What went wrong: The Falcons got off to a bad start at 1-7 and couldn't recover. There were holes on both both sides of the ball, with the offensive line failing to do it's part to protect Matt Ryan or open holes in the run game, and the defense struggling to stop opponents and create turnovers. Coach Dan Quinn made significant changes going into the season by appointing himself the defensive coordinator, Dirk Koetter the offensive coordinator and Bob Kotwica the special teams coordinators. Those changes, however, weren't enough to spark a turnaround. Quinn even surrendered the defensive playcalling to focus on head-coaching duties, and it seemed to help later in the season. Moving assistant head coach Raheem Morris from wide receivers coach to defense to work with the defensive backs provided the biggest spark. But by that time, it was too late. Yes, the Falcons played much better in second half of the schedule, including road wins over New Orleans and San Francisco after the bye. Maybe that will create some momentum for next season.

Biggest offseason question: Owner Arthur Blank made a commitment to Quinn and general manager Thomas Dimitroff for 2020 by retaining both, but will the Falcons make the necessary adjustments to be contenders next season? One of the most significant changes is having Quinn and Dimitroff report to team president Rich McKay, who will monitor matters four times a week at the team's practice facility. Both McKay and Dimitroff expressed no concern about the team's salary-cap situation despite so many high-dollar contracts awarded to top players. The Falcons started the process of creating cap room by restructuring the contract of quarterback Matt Ryan and defensive tackle Grady Jarrett. Blank told ESPN the team needs to continue to prioritize addressing the offensive and defensive lines, the same areas that were the main focus last offseason. -- Vaughn McClure

Carolina Panthers (5-11, 4th NFC South)

What went wrong: It began when quarterback Cam Newton suffered a foot injury in the third preseason game and then aggravated it in a Week 2 loss to Tampa Bay, ultimately resulting in him being shut down for the season. Backup Kyle Allen held things together after the 0-2 start to get Carolina to 5-3, but then he began turning the ball over and costing the Panthers shots at winning close games. What was consistent with Newton and Allen was the inability to score potential winning or tying touchdowns inside the 5-yard line in the closing minutes with arguably the league's best offensive weapon in running back Christian McCaffrey. Injuries also were a factor. Pro Bowl defensive end/tackle Kawann Short (rotator cuff) played two games. Tackle Dontari Poe (quad) went on injured reserve. The defensive pressure that had Carolina leading the league in sacks midway through the season went away and led to breakdowns across the board, particularly in the run defense. All this cost coach Ron Rivera his job. Tight end Greg Olsen summed it up best after the team's seventh straight loss, saying it was a "collective failure'' from players to management to coaches.

Biggest offseason question: What to do with Cam Newton? If healthy, do you keep him for the final year of his contract in a prove-it year? Do you release or trade him to clear $19.1 million under the cap, room that could be used to extend McCaffrey and help rebuild the roster? Ultimately, this will be up to the new coach and if he wants Newton or a fresh start. There are no guarantees the answer is with Kyle Allen or third-round pick Will Grier. After the quarterback dilemma, solidifying the offensive and defensive fronts has to be a priority, particularly the left tackle spot that has been a disaster. Whether to stick with tight end Greg Olsen, 34, also is a factor because of his age and salary-cap figure ($11.8 million) for 2020. The skill positions with McCaffrey and wide receivers DJ Moore and Curtis Samuel are solid. But it all begins with figuring out the quarterback spot. -- David Newton

Tampa Bay Buccaneers (7-9, T-2nd NFC South)

What went wrong: In his first year in coach Bruce Arians' offense, quarterback Jameis Winston threw for career-high 5,109 passing yards and 33 touchdowns. But Winston struggled with turnovers, throwing a league-high 30 interceptions and turning the ball over a total of 39 times. Opponents scored 112 points off Winston's turnovers this year -- more than any player in the league, according to Elias. On defense, Arians infamously proclaimed "the secondary is fixed" in training camp, before seeing his young group surrender a league-leading 298.9 passing yards and 31 points per game in Weeks 1-10. They struggled to hold leads and close out games, blowing an 18-point lead against the Giants and a 14-point lead at Seattle. They showed significant improvement in Weeks 11-17, though (some of it due to a lower level of competition), allowing 224.3 passing yards and 23.67 points a game, but it wasn't enough to offset the losses of receivers Mike Evans and Chris Godwin against the Texans in Week 16.

Biggest offseason question: Will the Bucs bring back Winston, and if so, what will be their level of commitment? A franchise tag? Transition tag? A multiyear contract extension? And if the Bucs bring him back, will Winston reward their faith in him with substantial improvement in the turnover department or is this truly who he is as a player? "It's about 50-50. The corrections have been made, but the results aren't happening," Arians said, adding he thinks a full offseason of studying his own cut-ups might help. "That's the best lesson you can have. You've been watching someone else. You've been watching Carson [Palmer] run the offense or whatever, but [now] you see yourself do it." -- Jenna Laine

NFC WEST

Arizona Cardinals (5-10-1, 4th NFC West)

What went wrong: The season was all about growth -- and included a lot of growing pains. Arizona paired a rookie quarterback with a first-time NFL head coach, so a rough season was to be expected. Kliff Kingsbury was learning how to coach in the NFL and how his offense would adapt to the pro game, while Kyler Murray was a rookie quarterback who at times played that way. Both showed signs of growth. There were games in which the Cardinals' offense looked like the high-powered, high-scoring scheme that many expected when Kingsbury was hired in January. Murray, meanwhile, looked like the Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback who's in the mix for Rookie of the Year.

Biggest offseason question: Can general manager Steve Keim build this roster to fit Kingsbury's offense? Keim has bungled the Cardinals' roster over the past few years, leaving holes and major questions on both sides of the ball, especially at wide receiver, running back, defensive line and cornerback. For the Cardinals to take the next step under Kingsbury in 2020, he needs the right players to properly execute his up-tempo, no-huddle offense. And that's all up to Keim getting him the right players. -- Josh Weinfuss

Los Angeles Rams (9-7, 3rd NFC West)

What went wrong: The Rams never returned to form after their dominant run to Super Bowl LIII. The offense lacked identity as it moved away from utilizing running back Todd Gurley II. Quarterback Jared Goff, playing behind an inexperienced and injured offensive line, was inconsistent throughout the season. The defense played dominant at times but otherwise lacked the game-saving ability it demonstrated a season ago when the Rams finished 6-1 in one-score games. In Week 16, the defense allowed the 49ers to twice convert on third-and-16 on a game-winning drive, and in three losses this season the defense allowed more than 40 points.

Biggest offseason question: How can the Rams fit all their needs under the salary cap? The Rams signed mega-extensions to several players, including Goff, Gurley and defensive tackle Aaron Donald. Plus, the Rams traded 2020 and 2021 first-round picks and a 2021 fourth-round pick to the Jaguars in exchange for cornerback Jalen Ramsey, who also is looking for a record-breaking payday. The Rams will have minimal funds to replace the production of key defensive players Michael Brockers, Dante Fowler Jr. and Cory Littleton, who are pending free agents. Plus, the team must solve its issues on the offensive line -- without a first-round pick -- and with left tackle Andrew Whitworth and offensive guard Austin Blythe both pending free agents. -- Lindsey Thiry

NEW ORLEANS -- For the first two months of the season, the New Orleans Pelicans seemed to have little direction.

Their season started with hopes of postseason play that seemed to get dashed early when Zion Williamson went down with a knee injury that has kept him out the entire season. Early on, injuries piled up and rotations were a bit all over the place.

By their 20th game, the Pelicans hadn't had a player appear in every game. In their 28th game, the Pelicans fell to 6-22 in an overtime heartbreaker to the Brooklyn Nets in what was a franchise-high 13th consecutive loss.

Pelicans coach Alvin Gentry and his coaching staff responded by changing some of the team's defensive schemes. Since then? The Pelicans have won five of six games and won their fourth consecutive game on Sunday night with a come-from-behind 127-112 victory over the short-handed Houston Rockets.

In the past six games, New Orleans has the league's third-best defensive rating. Some of that can be attributed to having center Derrick Favors back to full strength. The Pelicans also started dropping their bigs in pick-and-roll situations and have started forcing teams into tougher shots.

"We were just overly aggressive, I think, at the start, and it gave guards in this league who are really good players an opportunity to get downhill against our defense," Gentry said on Sunday night.

"Everybody makes adjustments over the course of the season and it's something that we felt like it may work better for us, and we also got Fave back too. Having him back and having him involved where he can play 25 or 28 minutes has been a world of a difference for us."

Favors missed five games with back spasms and then missed another seven games after the death of his mother, Deandra, just before Thanksgiving. He returned to the lineup on Dec. 13 and had his minutes restriction dropped by the team on Dec. 20. Since the restriction was dropped, Favors is averaging 10.4 points and 13.6 rebounds per game, and he finished with 12 points and 16 rebounds against the Rockets.

While Favors has been a factor defensively for the Pelicans, a healthy Lonzo Ball has been critical for the pace of play Gentry prefers.

Ball has had some of his best overall games with New Orleans in the past five games, finishing with one of the best performances of his career against Houston. Ball finished with 27 points -- just two off his career high -- while hitting a career-best seven 3-pointers. He also chipped in 10 rebounds for just his second career 25-point, 10-rebound game and finished the night off with eight assists and two steals.

In the past five games, Ball is 16-of-34 from deep and ranks first on the team in made 3s and third in 3-point percentage (47.1) over that span.

"I'm just getting my legs back," said Ball, who wasn't cleared until September from an ankle injury that ended his 2018-19 season with the Lakers. "I've been out for pretty much nine months before I got here, so I'm just trying to do what I can do to help my team out, and the defense is picking up as well."

Gentry, who said before the season he wanted to play at the fastest pace in the league, praised Ball for picking the pace up to where the team wanted it.

"He managed to push it and create open shots," Gentry said. "I think he's been playing well for us. He played exceptionally well tonight. He's put in a lot of work on his 3-point shooting: before practice, after practice, he's spent a lot of time doing that, and you saw the results tonight."

Another key part to the Pelicans' quasi turnaround has been Gentry shortening and tightening up his rotations. New Orleans has tried to settle in on solid eight- or nine-man rotations in the second half of games.

Gentry also has started to lean more on the Pelicans' veterans -- such as Favors and E'Twaun Moore -- over rookies Jaxson Hayes and Nickeil Alexander-Walker, opting to give the younger players fewer minutes.

In Moore's case, it's been paying off, but perhaps never more so than against the Rockets on Sunday, when he finished with a season-high 25 points and hit five 3-pointers. Moore, who has 12 coaches' decision-DNPs on the season, played a big part in erasing a nine-point deficit in the fourth quarter as the Pelicans outscored the Rockets 41-19 in the final frame.

"I've been through a lot harder," Moore said. "That's easy for me to keep focus and stay mentally strong, keep working on my game. One thing I say is 'If you stay ready, you ain't gotta get ready' so I just keep going forward. That's all it is."

The Pelicans have caught some breaks in the past two weeks or so. They played Minnesota without Karl-Anthony Towns on Dec. 18, caught Portland on Damian Lillard's career-worst shooting night from deep on Dec. 23, and have wins over Indiana and Houston in the past two nights while each team was playing on a back-to-back.

Houston was without James Harden, Russell Westbrook and Clint Capela on Sunday.

But none of that means much to Gentry.

"We don't have a pretty good guy either, and we haven't had him for the whole year," Gentry joked about not having Williamson. "You're going to always miss guys. You can't judge anything on anything other than how you play and how you approach the game. We could use that for the last 30 games. But I think the guy we're going to get back is pretty good.

"Not having Harden, Westbrook and Capela out there is a factor but we can't worry about that. We have to control what we can control and that's how we play with the five guys we have on the floor."

LOS ANGELES -- Dallas Mavericks star guard Luka Doncic briefly entered the concussion protocol during Sunday's loss to the Los Angeles Lakers after suffering a hard fall to the court during a first-half drive to the hoop.

Doncic was fouled on the drive and stayed in to sink a pair of free throws, but he checked out of the game late in the second quarter and went to the locker room.

Doncic was deemed healthy enough to return to action, and he came back in the second half. He finished with 19 points, seven assists and four rebounds in the 108-95 loss to the Lakers.

"It was scary," said Doncic, who entered the game averaging 29.1 points, 9.7 rebounds and 9.1 assists. "I fell on my back, hit my head and my elbow. I was OK."

Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle said they didn't have any kind of update on Doncic's status moving forward, noting only that Doncic did return to Sunday's game in the second half.

"For now, that's all I have," Carlisle said.

The Mavericks also lost another member of their backcourt in the first half when starting guard Tim Hardaway Jr. suffered what the team said was a left hamstring injury. Carlisle said after the game the team didn't expect Hardaway Jr.'s injury to be serious.

"We're very optimistic that this can be a short-term thing," Carlisle said. "We'll see. It's going to most likely be day-to-day."

Hardaway Jr. said he didn't feel anything "pop" in his leg or feel anything similar.

"I'm walking fine," he said. "Time will tell, but right now I feel OK."

The Mavericks scored a season-low 95 points in the loss that dropped them to 21-11.

"We didn't play like us," Doncic said.

Said Mavericks forward Kristaps Porzingis, who tallied 11 points and seven rebounds, "These kinds of nights happen. It's not a tragedy."

When the Elmira Enforcers took the ice against the Danbury Hat Tricks in a Federal Prospects Hockey League game Friday night, they had an unusual veteran player in their lineup. Unusual because he was 55 years old. Unusual because he was also the team's owner.

With several players out of the lineup, Elmira owner Robbie Nichols -- drafted 181st overall by the Philadelphia Flyers in 1983 -- suited up for the Enforcers, 25 years after his last season of active professional play.

"As you get older, you get slower. I couldn't keep up with these kids. My mind can go. My legs can't," Nichols told ESPN on Sunday. "But it was exciting to be there. You get competitive again."

His comeback started on Friday morning, when Elmira coach Brent Clarke walked into his owner's office after practice. The Enforcers are 9-10-2 on the season but had been short-handed recently.

"How's it looking?" Nichols asked.

"Not good," responded Clarke.

The Enforcers were going to be six players short for their game against Danbury that night: Four injured players wouldn't suit up; another would dress but not skate a shift, due to a groin injury; and another player had flown to California for a personal matter. Clarke knew he'd have to suit up for the game on an emergency basis -- not exactly a stunner, considering the 33-year-old had played in 27 games since his last full season, in 2016. In fact, he played against Battle Creek the previous weekend, and scored a hat trick.

"He's had 10 points in the last three games he had to play in. He's been the best player on the team in the games he played," Nichols said.

It was around 11 a.m. on a game day. Finding another player could prove difficult. Clarke told his owner, "If I'm playing, you're playing."

Nichols was drafted in 1983 by the Flyers but never made it to the NHL. His minor league career saw him play 420 games in the IHL and 122 in the AHL, winning a Calder Cup with the Adirondack Red Wings in 1989. He last played regularly for the San Diego Gulls of the International Hockey League in 1992-93. He suited up for one playoff game for the Flint Generals of the UHL in 1998. But since then, Nichols has been a coach and team executive, his time on the ice spent in recreational men's leagues and the occasional exhibition game.

"I had to think about it a bit. I knew I'd be sore. But some Advil before the game and during the game meant I wouldn't feel pain until after the game," Nichols said.

Most of Nichols' pregame preparations were his usual ones as team owner, including getting the arena prepped for the game. But there was one player superstition that crept into it: When he played for the Kalamazoo Wings in the mid-1980s, Nichols had six points in a game after eating a Big Mac and fries that day. So it was off to the Golden Arches for a pregame meal.

"Maybe I'd have my best game ever. Or just get through it," he said.

Clarke had a full uniform kit in Nichols' locker stall when Nichols arrived in the dressing room. The room was quieter than it usually is before a game -- a byproduct of the boss being present. But Nichols was one of the boys in the pregame, doing pregame stretches, running in the hallway and participating in the soccer kick-around.

Because Clarke was playing, injured forward Ahmed Mahfouz was the acting coach.

"I just wanted to help guys out. If someone got hurt, I could take a shift or two," said Nichols. "I told [Mahfouz] that I was only there in case of emergency. He said, 'Well, you tell me when you want to go.'"

His night started as one might expect it would for a 55-year-old forward.

"The first period was tough. I was terrible. I had three shifts and didn't get much done," said Nichols. "The second period, I started getting my legs. I ran over three guys. Had some good hits. And got a penalty."

Nichols was called for roughing at 9:56 of the second period. He later acknowledged the boldness of an on-ice official calling a penalty on a team owner.

His opponents took notice of this veteran addition to the Enforcers. At one point, a player from Danbury skated over and informed Nichols that his father had played with the owner decades ago.

Nichols didn't play a shift in the third period, after having played about six for the game. He didn't tally a point or register a shot on the Enforcers' checking line, skating with a 21-year-old and a 22-year-old. After the 5-4 loss to Danbury, hardly any of the players talked to him --- "They never talk to the owner," Nichols said -- other than a few asking if he had fun.

Nichols felt good on Saturday, and then sore on Sunday, as the effects set in from a two-handed slash he was given by one of the players he checked.

What's his future as a player? The Enforcers didn't need him Saturday night. His media relations department wants him to suit up again, however, framing the emergency stint as historic. The headline on the team's news release for the game: "BREAKING NEWS! ROBBIE NICHOLS CHASING DOWN GORDIE HOWE'S RECORD!"

"Gordie Howe played in six decades. So I guess my playing means I played in my fifth decade," Nichols said.

That's with a new decade only a few days away.

Nichols acknowledged he could see the ice again for Elmira. "But I told [my media relations person] not to use Gordie Howe's name in the same breath as mine again."

BOSTON -- Jake DeBrusk sat on the bench wondering when he'd see the ice again.

Then he made up for his early hiccups with two quick goals.

DeBrusk scored power-play goals 18 seconds apart early in the third after getting benched for much of the opening period, and the Boston Bruins completed a home-and-home sweep of the Buffalo Sabres with a 3-2 victory Sunday night.

"There's obviously a lot of emotions going on. You care and take pride in yourself," DeBrusk said. "It's one of those things where I've kind of been in that situation before. You never want it to happen as a player, but usually I respond pretty well. It was nice to get the two goals there."

Boston coach Bruce Cassidy said it's a message he needs to send sometimes when someone isn't playing well.

"I think internally, the message you usually send, as long as it's not personal -- you're trying to get them to play the right way," Cassidy said. "(You) give them an opportunity to play their way out of it. It's not like we buried him the rest of the game. He was back on the power play, back playing his regular shift. Give him the opportunity and he responded."

David Pastrnak added his NHL-leading 29th goal and Tuukka Rask made 24 saves for the Bruins, who have earned at least one point in each of their last seven games (4-0-3).

Rasmus Ristolainen and Curtis Lazar scored for the Sabres, who have lost six of seven. Linus Ullmark stopped 19 shots.

"I'm just trying to help out as much as I can here," said Lazar, recalled Friday from Rochester of the AHL. "I feel a lot better this time around here, making an impact."

With Johan Larsson in the penalty box serving a double minor for two separate penalties on the same shift -- one for tripping and the other for hooking -- DeBrusk scored his power-play goals.

On the first, he circled the net and tipped Steven Kampfer's shot past Ullmark at 2:37. The second came when DeBrusk fired a tough-angle shot from the left wing that hit the goalie's right pad and popped into the net inside the near post.

"They got two big goals," Ristolainen said. "That was a big thing tonight -- special teams."

Pastrnak double shifted, skating with his regular line -- the team's top one -- and on the second in place of DeBrusk for a large portion of the opening period.

Rask made a couple of big stops in the final three minutes.

With an extra skater on due to a delayed penalty, Lazar's goal sliced it to 3-2 at 5:08 of the third period. Lazar also hit the crossbar with just more than seven minutes to play.

Facing each other again after Boston won 3-0 in Buffalo on Friday, the Sabres seemed a bit more energized at the start, holding the Bruins without a shot on goal for more than 11 minutes into the opening period.

But the Bruins took a 1-0 lead when Pastrnak converted on their second shot, firing a wrister past Ullmark after taking a cross-ice pass from Brad Marchand at the end of a 2-on-1 break 12:39 in.

The Sabres tied it when Ristolainen was credited with a goal at 6:37 of the second. Rask came across and made a pad save on Ristolainen's wrister from the right circle. The puck trickled between his pads and was in the crease slightly behind him when defenseman Zdeno Chara tried to poke it back under his legs but banked it into the net off one of the goalie's skates.

The Bruins had three power plays in the second, but hardly generated any quality chances. In fact, on the third one Buffalo had two good chances that Rask turned aside.

Game notes Bruins defenseman Connor Clifton left the ice in the first period with an upper-body injury and didn't return. Boston was already without defenseman Torey Krug and Charlie McAvoy. Krug was placed on injured reserve Friday with an upper-body injury and McAvoy is out with an undisclosed injury. ... The final regular-season meeting between the teams is March 13 in Buffalo.

UP NEXT

Sabres: Host the Tampa Bay Lightning on New Year's Eve.

Bruins: At the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday afternoon.

Sheffield United manager Chris Wilder said VAR is thought of as a "four-letter world" in England due to its implementation in the Premier League this season.

Wilder's United side lost their first away match of the season at the Etihad, winding up on the wrong end of a 2-0 scoreline against Manchester City in a game that once again saw VAR take centre stage for all the wrong reasons.

Asked about the City fans joining in with the visitors in expressing strong opposition to VAR, Wilder said he was not surprised.

"Up and down the country, all the people at Norwich, a four-letter word about VAR, these are proper football people," Wilder said.

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola also piled on following the game, saying the VAR video review system is a "big mess" after a weekend which saw a series of controversial decisions from the system.

VAR was introduced in the Premier League for the first time this season and there is no sign of the controversies dying down nor of fans warming to the use of the technology.

"Every weekend is a big mess. In other games, it was a big mess. Hopefully next season, it can do better," said Guardiola.

The City-Sheffield United game was one of several which saw a goal overruled for the most marginal of offside calls, after VAR's geometrical lines had been used to deliver a time-consuming verdict.

The Yorkshire side looked to have grabbed the lead through Lys Mousset in the 28th minute but the goal was ruled out after a VAR review found the slimmest of margins for offside.

Moments after the incident, both sets of supporters expressed their opposition to VAR in a loud, united chant, while United fans also adopted the "It's not football any more" anthem that has become a familiar refrain at various games.

Wilder also noted Norwich City forward Teemu Pukki had a similar goal ruled out for a fractional offside decision in their 2-2 draw with Tottenham on Saturday and said there had been "eight or nine" incidents over the weekend.

"There's no conclusive evidence, blurred lines and angles. There needs to be a more clear way of defining it," he said.

Asked whether the system needed to be reformed or fully scrapped, Wilder said: "It's not my decision, it has to improve. Yet again, it's the first question, eight or nine goals knocked off.

"Where there's so much debate on every goal, it will be analysed yet again. I just don't think it's been refined enough to make a difference."

He was also upset about City's first goal where referee Chris Kavanagh appeared to obstruct United defenders before Kevin De Bruyne found Sergio Aguero for the opener.

"I've been to see the referee and he has been honest about it. We make mistakes and I believe he made one too," said Wilder.

"We talk about the new rule where if the referee touches the ball then he has to blow up. So surely if he is in the way and hinders us, then he makes a sensible decision.

"If he made the sensible decision then I don't think anyone in the ground would have said anything about it."

Information from Reuters was used in this story.

All the festive football action in the Premier League is done and dusted. We get you caught up on the action with the Weekend Review.

JUMP TO: Arteta needs to change Arsenal's mentality | Lampard is still learning | Liverpool are going to win the title | A lesson for Jose Mourinho | Ancelotti's short-term impact is being felt | West Ham waited for too long to make a change | Bournemouth are in relegation form | Luckiest moment of the weekend | Something needs to change at Villa | Deeney and Pearson combine to revitalise Watford | Tight offsides are changing the game

Arteta needs to change the whole Arsenal mentality

After their most Arsenal of Arsenal implosions against Chelsea, only two teams have now won fewer games than the Gunners this season. They are Norwich and Watford, the 19th and 20th placed sides in the Premier League.

It's almost becoming cruel to watch Arsenal fans get excited about 30 minutes of good football, as they were after their first-half display on Sunday, only for it to all disappear down the toilet. It's a bit like observing a kid on one of those fairground machines with the grabbing claw, picking up the teddy bear and carrying it halfway to the hatch before -- o, cruel fate -- it slips from the claw's grasp and the child's spirits are crushed. We all know they're not actually going to get the teddy bear, but for a short while there's enough hope to make them think it's possible.

Mikel Arteta has been Arsenal manager for two games now and at least he has a full appreciation of the job he has on his hands, if he didn't before. He not only has to fix a football team but change a mentality that runs through a whole club, a sense that the four minute spell in which Bernd Leno waved at a cross to let Jorginho score then Tammy Abraham was politely allowed to spin and finish, was inevitable. Not so much a consequence of two individual mistakes but a manifestation of an entire club's vibe.

The good news is that Jurgen Klopp has managed it, albeit in different circumstances, and some of the raw materials are there for the new manager. Arsenal have some terrific players, if they all stick around, and if Arteta is afforded the time he can still fix them. A lot of time, of course.

Remember that Lampard is still learning

How much of Chelsea's comeback against Arsenal can you put down to shrewd tactical changes by Frank Lampard? Maybe not much, but it is at least encouraging that Lampard is being proactive: When Plan A wasn't working he quickly shifted to and tried something different, switching systems and personnel significantly. Obviously you could say that he is simply throwing stuff at a wall and seeing what sticks, but it's easy to forget that this is still just his second year as a manager. There's going to be a lot of that.

Thursday's 2-0 defeat to Southampton was troubling, but there will inevitably be these bumps and bad results and even bad runs of form with a young coach and a flawed squad. For the moment, Chelsea should be relatively content with where they are.

Get used to the fact Liverpool are going to win the title

Liverpool have now taken 82 points from the last 84 available, stretching back into the final nine games of last season. That, dear reader, is ludicrous. These past two games have seen them be sensationally good and be pretty lucky, both separately and at the same time, and when those two things combine it's basically impossible for them to be stopped.

They're going to win the title for the first time in 30 years, and at the very least if the thought of that upsets you, at least you've got a few months to get used to it.

A lesson for Jose Mourinho

Two games, four points won against modest opposition but the most valuable thing Jose Mourinho might learn from Tottenham's festive games might be that it's time to build his team around Tanguy Ndombele.

When Mourinho made a passive-aggressive reference to wanting players who will physically sacrifice themselves after Ndombele said he wasn't fit enough to face Brighton, you feared for the Frenchman. But his performance against Norwich showed that he is currently the only player Tottenham have capable of running their midfield, in the same way that Mousa Dembele did at his peak. He has invention, skill, imagination and drive and while their other midfielders individually have some of those qualities, nobody has them all like Ndombele does.

Hopefully Mourinho doesn't take his macho schtick about men being men and playing through injuries too far, because Ndombele has the potential to be the beating heart of Tottenham's next great team.

Ancelotti's short-term impact is being felt

There are still significant doubts as to whether Carlo Ancelotti is who Everton need in the long-run, but his short-term impact has been superb. They look much more together, more organised, more assertive and generally like they know what they're doing, as opposed to the apathetic rabble under Marco Silva and the unsustainable dogs of war in Duncan Ferguson's brief tenure.

A relatively minor beneficiary of Ancelotti's early days might be Mick McCarthy: One of the Ireland manager's key selection issues has been how to get his captain Seamus Coleman and Matt Doherty into the same team, but Ancelotti deploying Coleman as a central defender in a back three might just solve that problem.

West Ham waited for too long to make a change

Of course you can only glean so much from press conferences and public appearances, but listening to Manuel Pellegrini speak doesn't exactly inspire confidence that he is a man to turn around a failing team. And West Ham are a failing team, a lopsided squad with a shaky defence and a pedestrian midfield, which is something the board should probably have recognised before losing to Leicester's reserves turned out to be the last straw.

Results against Chelsea and Southampton were enough to keep Pellegrini in place but they were the exceptions for a side that has basically been abysmal since September. And the solution the board have come up with is returning to the guy they didn't think was good enough 18 months ago, when they replaced him with Pellegrini.

Maybe David Moyes will be the man to turn things around for West Ham, but it feels like a punt. It wouldn't be a surprise if going back to Moyes turns out to be just as bad a mistake as leaving Pellegrini in place for so long.

Bournemouth are in relegation form

You can offer some excuse for Bournemouth's awful form because of their awful injury list, but that list is getting shorter and their results aren't getting much better. They have won four points from the last available 27, Callum Wilson hasn't scored since September and the team hasn't scored more than once in a game in the same period. They have been in relegation form for some time and if that doesn't change soon then their league position will match that.

Luckiest moment of the weekend

Still, one man thankful for the interventions of the big infallible offside machine will be Jan Vertonghen, whose bafflingly passive defending against Norwich, casually observing Teemu Pukki take the ball down on his chest and finish rather than, you know, trying to do anything about it. An extremely lucky man.

Something needs to change at Villa, but not the manager

Maybe it was a shock tactic designed to get something better from a team that has only won one of the last seven, but it was still pretty alarming to hear Dean Smith question his players' effort levels after their defeat to ten-man Watford.

"The last few games I have questioned it," he said. "Second half at Sheffield United I didn't think we showed enough and first half today we definitely didn't show enough."

Villa are in the bottom three and, with Watford showing signs of life, currently only look like they're heading downwards. But hopefully the club don't panic and get rid of a manager who has taken them from floundering mid-table Championship nothingness to the Premier League: something needs to change at Villa, be that a couple of new signings, a new system, a more pragmatic playing style or a combination of all that, but that something shouldn't be the manager.

Deeney and Pearson combine to revitalise Watford

That said, Watford have shown what positive difference a change in the dugout can make. They have looked like a different side since Nigel Pearson arrived, in that they actually look like a football team, rather than a loosely collected group of individuals who just all happened to be wearing the same colour clothes.

Pearson's no-nonsense approach was always likely to have an affect in the short-term, so the real test will only be how things look in a couple of months time. But at the very least they are in with a fighting chance of staying up, whereas before they looked doomed.

The return of Troy Deeney is another significant factor, too. He had been absent since the second game of the season, but after coming back into the team a few weeks ago, he is at something close to full fitness now. He scored twice against Villa, but he contributes more than that, a leader in both tangible and intangible ways, and it's not a coincidence that Watford's performances have improved significantly since his return.

Tight offsides are changing the game, and not for the better

From a cold, logical perspective, we shouldn't really be complaining about these millimetre-tight offside calls: You're either offside or you're not, and we don't object when goalline technology decides that a ball is millimetres over the line.

The criticisms of it are still valid though, from the basic problem that the systems being used are not necessarily perfect, to the idea that these cigarette paper decisions are so far away from the reasons the offside rule was introduced as to be almost unrecognisable.

But the idea that they will discourage attacking play is another issue. Strikers have been trained -- subliminally conditioned, even -- for their entire careers to play on the limit of offside, in old-fashioned coaching parlance on "the shoulder of the defender," and now they're being penalised for it. Pretty soon runs will be held back, decisions second-guessed, strikers more cautious. And will that make the game better? Almost certainly not.

You could argue that footballers always adapt to these things, but should they have to? Were things really so bad before that we needed this? Were defenders really feeling aggrieved that a striker had gained such minimal advantage? The problems in officiating weren't these minuscule offsides, but rather the dreadful refereeing howler. Those were the things people complained about. Really, we should have just accepted that officials got things right for the most part but made occasional mistakes, and just been adults about it.

Nathan Lyon has dismissed Shane Warne's suggestion that he be rested against New Zealand at the SCG to make room for a Mitchell Swepson debut, indicating that he would prefer to bowl in tandem with the Queensland legspinner in Australia's last Test until a tour of Bangladesh in June.

Warne, whose opinions have become ubiquitous from the commentary box, had trained with Swepson during the MCG Test and floated the idea of resting Lyon so that Swepson could play his first Test alongside the pacemen Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc and James Pattinson in a match Australia will aim to win to secure a first clean sweep of a summer's Tests since 2013-14 against England.

ALSO READ: Legspinner Mitchell Swepson called up for SCG Test

However, Lyon gave short shrift to the idea, pointing out that Warne himself had always been loath to give up his spot to any other spin bowlers, notably his longtime offsider Stuart MacGill, who performed ably for Australia whenever the Victorian was unavailable due to injury or a year-long drugs ban for using a prohibited substance in 2003.

"Did Warney ever want a rest and give Stuart MacGill a go? I won't be resting," Lyon said. "There's always talk about two spinners, but Mitch has been bowling brilliantly for Queensland. It's great we're able to have a very versatile squad for whatever conditions we're faced with we can come up with a decent side.

"He's a great fella to start off with and he gives it a rip which is what I really love to see about all spinners. If we can give it a rip and try and spin the ball, that's our main focus. I'm a big fan of Mitch, it's great to see him around the squad. If he gets his chance, fingers crossed we can have a great combination together.

"I don't think it affects my role at all. It's exciting we potentially have the opportunity to play two spinners but in saying that I haven't been to the SCG for two months so don't know what the conditions will be like. The BBL wickets they look like they have been fantastic."

The likes of Michael Beer, Steve O'Keefe, Ashton Agar and Jon Holland have partnered Lyon in the past, with Marnus Labuschagne's wrist spin providing a more recent spin tandem option for the captain Tim Paine. Lyon said he had been impressed by how Swepson had improved his game, notably the ability to lock down the scoring rate in addition to trying to spin the ball hard and turn it past the bat.

"I had some really good chats with him during the week sitting on the boundary and watching him bowl in the nets," Lyon said. "I actually haven't seen him bowl in a game for a while. He seems really clear in his plans and we spoke about not changing when he gets the opportunity at the highest level. What's worked is what has got him to the level, if he gets the opportunity I just said 'stay strong to yourself, back yourself, what's worked in state cricket if you give it a long enough chance in international cricket you'll get some reward'.

"Legspinners bring different opportunities to the game. I really enjoy bowling with another spinner. We get to get through our overs quite quickly and feel like we can build pressure."

Perhaps the best precondition for Swepson to debut at the SCG is the fact that the Australia top order have been functioning strongly all summer, not once giving their bowlers less than 400 to defend, and pushing through occasionally challenging conditions, as was the case on Boxing Day, to forge the first-innings scores that allow the bowlers to be at their best.

"It's amazing. As bowlers we've always said if we're able to get a day off our feet through the game we'll more than likely take 20 wickets for us," Lyon said. "Our batters have been absolutely incredible for us off the back of David Warner, Marnus and Steve and now you see Travis Head chipping in this week, which was absolutely exceptional."

Despite the vast margins of victory in four out of four Test so far, which have taken Australia into a clear second place on the World Test Championship table ahead of the inaugural final at Lord's in 2021, Lyon said that the team was still a long way short of the finished article. In fact, Lyon's desire for continuous improvement is such that he would not be happy even if Australia do scale the aforementioned summit, where they would be likely to face the league leaders India.

"We've got a lot of areas to improve but that's our goal as a team. Our goal together is pretty special, if we keep heading in that right direction and training each and every day to get better, especially in the areas we need to get better as a team, I think the sky's the limit for this group," Lyon said. "There's a good mixture of youth and experience, it's full of energy and excitement. I've always said I'll never conquer this game of cricket, I don't think anyone in this room will conquer this game of cricket. I think we can get better in every facet to be honest with you. It will be a hard journey but it's going to be some great reward at the end of the tunnel."

It has been a tough season for visiting captains to Australia against a dominant bowling attack. Between them, Kane Williamson and Azhar Ali have scored 119 runs in eight innings. It is not the only reason the home side are on the verge of a summer clean sweep, but it's a big part of it.

Williamson has one Test left, at the SCG, to turn the numbers around in what has been a series to forget. Some of the problems have been out of his control (injuries to Trent Boult and Lockie Ferguson and the shot selection of some of his top order) but his captaincy has been under the microscope and the runs, that so often come in a torrent, have turned into a trickle.

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On another day the lbw decision in the second innings in Melbourne - that was shown to just be clipping the top of leg stump - would have gone his way, but such is the game in tough times. After a promising start to the first innings in Perth he fell to a spectacular catch at second slip by Steven Smith then gloved the first ball from Nathan Lyon to short leg in the second. His dismissal in the first innings at the MCG, a skewed top-edge pull, was one of more un-Williamson-like shots you will see.

Former captain Brendon McCullum was critical of Williamson during the second Test although made the point of having a one-on-one conversation with him.

"It's not just Kane. Many of our players have had a pretty tough time over here and that's the pressure that gets put on," New Zealand coach Gary Stead said. "You saw his dismissal it was pretty unlucky, and on another day it can be given not out and he carries on and could have got a hundred.

"Kane is fine. Like all players you go through ups and downs and some times are more challenging. This is obviously a challenging part of his career, as it is with all players."

For Australia it has been a case of a plan very much coming together. "It's one of the things we most talk about in our strategy, make sure we keep the opposition captain under pressure so we are doing that at the moment," coach Justin Langer told Cricket 360. "He's a very, very good player, one of the gentlemen of the game, so if we can do that for the rest of the series it gives us a big advantage."

There has been an acknowledgment in recent years that Williamson, who captains across all formats, needs his workload managing. After this tour, New Zealand have a full visit by India before returning to Australia for ODIs then hosting them for T20Is to complete the season. Williamson missed the T20I series against England in November due to a hip problem but has also sat out the occasional match, although with the T20 World Cup less than a year away that will be a tricky balancing act. "Everything is always up for discussion and it's always healthy to debate," Stead said.

In terms of the immediate prospects for the Sydney Test, New Zealand's batsmen were given a template of how they can succeed from the unlikely source of makeshift opener Tom Blundell whose second Test century - following his debut hundred against West Indies when he was the wicketkeeper - was a stirring display for the embattled team.

"The way he went about crafting his innings was exceptional in only his third test match, and first as an opener, showed the way that we have to find more from our guys," Stead said. "He's sat on the sidelines the last couple of series but you can see the improvements that are being made. It's fantastic for him and our team that he showed the capabilities are there for us to perform against a great Australian team."

As far as how the squad as a whole is managing after two crushing defeats in a series that started with such high expectations for a side that had reached No. 2 in the world, Stead said team spirit remained intact and paid tribute to the vast numbers of travelling supporters who cheered them to the end at the MCG.

"We were obviously beaten up a wee bit by Australia again. I want to acknowledge how well they played; we're up against a quality team at the very top of their game. We're a tight knit bunch and it's not the first time we've been beaten and won't be the last. Our ethos is about trying to find small improvements, day in and day out.

"In my time involved in cricket in New Zealand I'm not sure I've ever seen or experienced anything like that. Our players acknowledged the crowd at the end, and if we could replicate that at every test ground…it felt like the Barmy Army that lifts England. Hearty congratulations to those people who got out and kept supporting us. When times were tough they kept singing and chanting and it was pretty special."