NFL playoff picture close to set with week to go
If you were just too busy or festive during the weekend to take in the NFL action, here’s a quick summary of what the results all mean, playoff-wise, with one game left for all teams to be played on New Year’s Eve.
In the AFC, the four division winners have been determined: Jacksonville (in the South) and Kansas City (West) on Sunday joined New England (East) and Pittsburgh (North). The Chiefs are locked in as the No. 4 seed, and on Jan. 6-7 weekend will play host to the top AFC wild card, while Jacksonville (the No. 3 seed) will play host to the second wild card.
The AFC’s wild-card berths will go to two of the following four teams: Baltimore (9-6), Tennessee (8-7), Buffalo (8-7) and the Los Angeles Chargers (8-7).
This Sunday the Ravens play host to Cincinnati (6-9), the Titans to Jacksonville (10-5), the Bills play at Miami (6-9) and the Chargers play host to Oakland (6-8 before Monday night’s game at Philadelphia).
All four games now will be played concurrently, after the NFL’s surprise schedule announcement Christmas Eve.
“In order to ensure that all games with playoff implications that impact each other are played at the same time,” an NFL release said, “there will be no Sunday night game in Week 17.”
At least New Year’s Eve revellers won’t complain about the eliminated night game, which would not have ended until minutes before midnight in the East.
Anyway, back to the takeaways and ramifications from Week
16. After this past Saturday’s and Sunday’s results, Miami and Oakland are out of AFC playoff contention.
In the NFC, three division winners are set: the Los Angeles Rams won the West on Sunday, joining Philadelphia (East) and Minnesota (North).
Either New Orleans (11-4) or Carolina (11-4) will win the South, likely as the No. 3 or 4 seed. The other will earn the NFC’s No. 5 seed as the first wild card.
The NFC’s second wild-card berth and No. 6 playoff seed will go to either Atlanta (9-6) or Seattle (9-6).
Detroit (8-7) and Dallas (8-7) are out of playoff contention after their losses on Sunday. Hero: Tom Brady, QB, Patriots. He didn’t impress at all early on against the Buffalo Bills on Sunday. His second-quarter pick six gave Buffalo its only touchdown and a 10-3 lead. Thereafter, Brady was even better than his usual Bills-killing self, completing 15-of-18 (83 per cent) for
171 yards, two TDs and no picks in leading drives that ended as follows: TD, FG, FG, TD, TD, TD. New England won 37-16. It’s the eighth time in his 17 years of starting that Brady has led a three-TD Patriots second half versus the Bills.
Zero: Green Bay Packers.
The zero is not a reminder of how many points the Pack scored Saturday against Minnesota, nor in November against Baltimore. This designation is for bringing QB Aaron Rodgers off injured reserve a week ago, supposedly healed from his cracked right collarbone, only to put him back on IR less than a day after being mathematically eliminated from the playoffs. ESPN reported that some teams complained to the NFL that, per the rules, the league should have forced the Packers to waive Rodgers, as technically that’s the penalty for putting a player back on IR, not for a new injury that would keep him out at least six weeks. Rodgers merely complained of shoulder soreness following the Dec. 17 loss at Carolina.
Stock Up: Buffalo Bills.
They’re unlikely to make the playoffs — they need to win at Miami, and hope either Baltimore loses to Cincinnati or both Tennessee loses (to Jacksonville) and the L.A. Chargers lose (to Oakland). But remember back to early September and an eight- or nine-win season seemed impossible after all the good players were traded away. Turned out, new GM Brandon Beane and new head coach Sean McDermott knew what they were doing. Less can be more if the remaining players are all ballers. Things are finally looking up for this franchise, playoffs or no playoffs.
Stock Down: Jim Caldwell, head coach, Lions.
Leading the club to two (rare) playoff berths in three seasons — something the franchise hadn’t done since the 1990s — covered up the club’s continuing, nagging on-field flaws. Namely, sub-standard offensive line play and one of the NFL’s worst rushing attacks. Both vexed the Lions again in 2017. Caldwell, an offensive guy, changed offensive co-ordinators about halfway through his four-season run, but the Lions inexplicably remain in need of herculean heroics by Matthew Stafford just to beat average teams. Caldwell’s cogs under-performed.