It all comes down to this
Still plenty to sort out in the final week of regular season
If they’re singinganything in Kansas City, Pittsburgh and Seattle, it could be“ICanSee ClearlyNow.” All three took some big steps Sunday.
As for the appropriate song in the AFC South and NFC East, try “PurpleHaze.” Or “Land Of Confusion.”
The postseason picture came into focus in someplace sand got more muddled elsewhere. The folks at NFL headquarters must love having such big- time quarterbacks as Patrick Mahomes, Ben Roethlisberger, RussellWilson, Aaron Rodgers and Drew Brees already in the field. And they must be thrilled that at least 10Week 17 matchups will have some playoff significance.
“Cherish these moments,” linebacker K. J. Wright, the longest-tenured Sea hawks player, told teammates in the locker room after a 20- 9 victory over the Rams. “It’s been a while since we’ve been NFCWest champs. And this team, especially our brother hood, our togetherness, brought us to this moment.”
At thismoment, here’showthings stand— and what might be ahead on the first Sunday of 2021:
AFC East: The Bills ( 11- 3) own the division crown and are in position to get the No. 2 seed behind the Chiefs.
The Dolphins ( 10- 5), with one of the most impressive two- season turnarounds in recentmemory, gets a wild- card berth by winning at the Bills nextweekend— a huge challenge. But the Dolphins have met lots of challenges this year.
“I thinkwehave a special team,” Dolphins quarter back Ryan Fitzpatrick said after engineering a last-minute drive to beat the Raiders on Saturday night .” I think this team all year long has fought.”
AFCNorth: TheSteelers ( 12- 3) brokea threegame slide with a monstrous second half to beat the Colts. That gave the Steelers the division title.
“It’s a fine line between drinking wine and squashing grapes and sometimes it was very subtle,” coach MikeTomlin said.
Thegrapes are tasting prettysweet for the Ravens and rancid for theBrowns.
The Ravens ( 10- 5) won a fourth consecutive game, beating the Giants, and will head to the postseason with a victory over the Bengals. The Browns, trying to end the NFL’s longest playoffabsence— last appearance2002— were severely short- handedby COVID- 19issuesandfell to the Jets. They’ll need to defeat the archrival Steelers, and they would enjoy keeping that drought going.
AFC South: The collapse at Pittsburgh spiraled the Colts ( 10- 5) out of a playoff spot. Toget back in as awild card, theymust take care of inept Jaguars ( 1- 14, whose win wasopeningday against theColts) andhave either theRavens, Brownsor Dolphins lose. Or if the Titans ( 10- 5 after a loss against the Packers) loses to the woeful Texans next Sunday and the Colts win, they get the division crownand the Titans likely will be out. Or not.
AFCWest: All Chiefs ( 14- 1), despite a tight win over the weak Falcons on Sunday. The reigning league champions own the AFC’s only postseason bye.
“If youlook at the historyof thatbyeweek, usually it’s a good thing for the teams trying to make a championship run,” Mahomes said.“But at theendof theday, we got tofind a way to win a football game whenever we get there.”
NFCWest: Seahawks( 11- 4) have a shot at the conference bye.
With their loss at Seattle, the Rams ( 9- 6) need a home victory against the Cardinals ( 8- 7) to ensure a wild card. A losswould lift the Cardinals in and, if the Bears beat the Packers, give the Bears a berth, too, sending theRams packing.
NFC North: Belongs to the Packers, as will theNFCbye with awinat Soldier Fieldnext Sunday. The Packers ( 12- 3) need to avoid a three- way tie with the Seahawks and Saints at 12- 4, which would give the bye to the Saints.
TheBearshave gone from5- 1 to 5- 7 to8- 7. Avictory and the Bears are playoffs- bound.
NFCSouth: All settled, with theSaints ( 11- 4) on top and the Bucs, with that 43- year- old newcomer quarterback — a guy named Brady— guaranteed a wild card at 10- 5.
NFC East: All unsettled — except for the Eagles ( 4- 10- 1), whichsawits chances disappear by losing to the Cowboys ( 6- 9). Pay attention for this one:
AWashington victory at PhillyonSunday night gives Ron Rivera’ s team the division at 7- 9 no matter what the Cowboys do at the Giants ( 5- 10) in the afternoon. Washington swept the Cowboys this season. However, an Eagles win then means whoever emerges from the Cowboys- Giants matchup at the Meadowlands— barring a tie— heads to the playoffs.
Yes, a team with a losing record will join the Super Bowl chase, and will host a playoff game on the second weekend of January.