Everton could have been the deciding factor in the relegation scrap, as it turns out.
West Ham smashed Leeds United on Sunday afternoon, in what turned out to be the Hammers' final Premier League action for the foreseeable future, although they'll likely be favored to earn an immediate return to the top flight.
And yet Everton did the Hammers no favors, limping to an uninspired 1-0 loss to Tottenham just a few miles away, securing Spurs' relegation battle would end with the home side in 17th place for the second straight season.
None of this feels shocking for Evertonians, as the last few months have featured this particular group of players folding under the pressure to "need to" win over and over again.
Each time the Toffees had to win to rise in the table or secure a stronger hold on a European place, the team failed to come through.
So in that regard, Sunday's outcome was no surprise. And this match didn't even really impact Everton, but could have been a chance to at least make a statement and grab a few million more pounds for finishing a little higher up the table.
Everton did at least half of that. They made a statement. Unfortunately, the statement was that this team is who we thought they were, to borrow from an old coach in the NFL. The European hunt was fool's gold, and Sunday, along with the last few months, have done nothing but prove that.
The jubilation of the Spurs' players and supporters at full-time yesterday was a familiar one for Everton, but it also feels like those efforts were for very little. Sure, Everton survived the drop, but they haven't exactly thrived because of it.
Meanwhile, Sunderland, who were relegated from the Premier League in 2017, only to drop another level the next season and had to fight for four seasons in League One and three more in the Championship, finally returned to the top-flight this season, and now the Black Cats are European-bound.
That's what Everton should be aiming for, and the fact that Sunderland fell so far and still earned Europe before the Toffees is worrying (Everton secured Europe the same season Sunderland went down and not since).
Sunday's loss to Spurs was dull and often unwatchable. This Everton team isn't very good, and in some ways, the 13th-place finish might be worse than another relegation fight.
In the name of safety, the club looks like it will retain the status quo.
In the name of all that is good in the world, that cannot be the solution. That's not the best. And it's not good enough.
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