Chargers, Raiders eye shoot-out in final race for NFL play-offs
>>LOS ANGELES: The Los Angeles Chargers and Las Vegas Raiders take centre stage today as the curtain comes down on the NFL’s first ever 17-game regular season with the final three play-off berths up for grabs.
With 11 of the 14 postseason teams already determined, this weekend’s fixtures will focus largely on who ends up where in the play-off bracket.
Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers (13-3) have already assured themselves of top seeding in the NFC, but No.1 ranking is still on the table in the AFC.
The Tennessee Titans (11-5) remain in pole position to lock down that advantage, needing only a win on the road against the Houston Texans (4-12).
The sharp end of this weekend’s action comes in the scramble for the final three spots in the play-offs.
In the AFC, the Chargers, Raiders, Baltimore Ravens, Indianapolis Colts and Pittsburgh Steelers are all vying for two remaining play-off berths.
In the NFC, the San Francisco 49ers and the New Orleans Saints are chasing the seventh and final available playoff spot.
While most teams still in the hunt require a combination of results to scramble into the postseason, the equation for the Chargers and Raiders is simple: whoever wins the battle between the AFC West rivals advances to the play-offs.
The Chargers have ridden to the brink of the play-offs on the back of a dazzling season from quarterback Justin Herbert, who etched his way into franchise folklore last weekend by breaking the team’s single-season touchdown record.
The 23-year-old added two more touchdowns in a win over the Denver Broncos to take his season total to 35 — breaking Chargers icon Philip Rivers’ record of 34 and moving clear of Dan Fouts’ 1981 tally of 33.
The Raiders could yet squeak into the play-offs with a loss, but would need both Indianapolis and Pittsburgh to lose.
The Colts (9-7) face the hapless Jacksonville Jaguars (2-14) in their final game, needing only a win to progress.
Bell tolls for ‘Big Ben’?
The Steelers, meanwhile, could yet prolong Ben Roethlisberger’s NFL career with a win over the Baltimore Ravens combined with an Indianapolis loss. Steelers icon Roethlisberger is widely expected to retire after the season.
For Roethlisberger, today’s game in Maryland could mark a neat bookend to his 18-year NFL career.
“The first game I ever played in the NFL was there,” Roethlisberger said as he reflected on the fierce shared history of the AFC North divisional rivals.