Critical points in NFL Week 16
Jones column: Pressure on; game previews
Week 16 means crunchtime in the NFL.
Teams are fighting for their playoff lives. Players are trying to hold on to jobs and validate their standings in their franchises. Coaches are battling to remain employed.
As games kick off this weekend, many figures across the NFL find themselves in some of the most pressurepacked situations of the season.
Here’s a look at some of the players, teams and coaches who are under the most pressure to deliver strong performances this weekend.
Carson Wentz – The Cowboys come to Lincoln Financial Field on Sunday with the NFC East title on the line. This just might be the biggest game of Wentz’s young career.
To date, he has shown he possesses all of the abilities to be a franchise quarterback. And this past summer, the Eagles paid him as though he were one with a four-year, $128 million contract extension. But Wentz actually hasn’t won many meaningful games. Nick Foles stepped in and helped lead the team to the Super Bowl in the 2017 campaign, and the veteran also helped ignite another playoff run last year with Wentz hurt. The Eagles and their fans are left wondering when Wentz will deliver.
He can answer in a big way Sunday. Last week against the Redskins, Wentz orchestrated the late-game heroics his team needs. He must display the same escapability and big throws Sunday against Dallas. With both teams owning 7-7 records, Wentz can put Philly in the driver’s seat for the division title by beating the Cowboys and then lock it up with a Week 17 win over the Giants.
Jared Goff – The Super Bowl runnerup Rams’ playoff hopes are hanging by a thread as they travel to take on the division-rival 49ers on Saturday. Los Angeles needs to win out to have a shot at returning to the postseason, but considering the defense awaiting, that’s no easy task.
Like Wentz, Goff got paid this offseason with a four-year, $134 million extension. But since then, he hasn’t consistently performed up to expectations. A year after throwing 32 touchdown passes and 12 interceptions, Goff has 17 TDs and 15 picks. The last time he faced San Francisco, Goff managed just 78 passing yards with no touchdowns while being sacked four times, losing a fumble and posting a 60.8 passer rating in a 20-7 loss. For the Rams to have a chance, Goff has to play better.
Bills – All year long, they’ve told us they’re special, and the results (10-4 record, playoff berth clinched) have suggested that might be the case. But until they knock off the Patriots, doubts will remain.
The Bills, however, get a shot at their longtime tormentors Saturday. Earlier this season, they lost 16-10 in a game in which their defense had a good outing, but the offense – particularly quarterback Josh Allen, with three interceptions before exiting with a game-ending head injury – did not. The Bills are a better team now than they were earlier in the season, and the Patriots appear to have regressed, although you can never count them out in Foxborough. If Allen, who has one touchdown and five career interceptions in three games against New England, can play well, he’ll give his team a chance.
Devlin Hodges – Mike Tomlin benched Mason Rudolph and turned to the undrafted rookie because he hadn’t “killed” the Steelers with turnovers, as the coach said. Last week against Buffalo, however, Hodges threw four interceptions in a 17-10 defeat.
The Steelers play the Jets this weekend, and they need a win to help them hold on to that final wild-card spot. Tomlin is sticking with Hodges. However, the undrafted rookie quarterback has to get back to taking care of the ball, and he must provide enough impact plays to complement the Steelers’ robust defense. If Hodges struggles early, Tomlin could be tempted to go back to Rudolph.
Kirk Cousins – The Packers have clinched a playoff spot, but the NFC North title remains up for grabs. Green Bay travels to Minnesota to face the Vikings, who currently would be the sixth seed in the NFC. A win on Monday, however, would keep alive their slim hopes for a division crown.
Cousins has played well this season, but now he finds himself in another pressure-packed situation. Not only are these the kinds of games that the Vikings and their fans were counting on him winning when they made him their franchise quarterback two years ago, but Cousins also might have to carry the offense without the support of running back Dalvin Cook, whose status is uncertain after a shoulder injury. The prime-time spotlight hasn’t been kind to Cousins throughout his career, but he has a chance to begin changing the narrative with a win Monday night.
Doug Marrone – Executive vice president of football operations Tom Coughlin received his walking papers on Wednesday after his old school, ironfisted ways and some questionable personnel decisions caused a lot of problems in Jacksonville. And after another disappointing season concludes, Jaguars owner Shad Khan could make more changes.
There’s a chance, however, that Marrone’s fate isn’t sealed just yet. The Jaguars pulled out a win in Oakland last week, and meetings with the Falcons and Colts await. If Khan hasn’t already made up his mind and the head coach can lead his team to a pair of seasonending victories, Marrone just might save his job. But if Jacksonville loses these next two, the case for an overhaul might grow stronger.