There's a quarter of the NFL season left, and this week we'll likely see our first playoff berths clinched. In fact, half of the divisions can be clinched this weekend, and three of those four teams can clinch without even doing anything themselves. At least we'll have a few playoff races to keep us occupied down the stretch.
Colts (3-9) at Bills (6-6): Buffalo-A Bills loss clinches the AFC East for New England and a playoff berth for Pittsburgh. It's also one of the like six things the Jaguars need to clinch this week. Unfortunately for those three teams, they'll have to take care of their own business. Because the Bills need a win to keep their own playoff chances alive, and they should get one in the snow.
Bears (3-9) at Bengals (5-7): Cincinnati-One of the few games this week that has no playoff bearing at all. Both Marvin Lewis and John Fox are being talked about as coaches on the hot seat. For good reason. I thought it was time for Cincinnati to move on from Marvin Lewis after last season. Anyway, his final month as Bengals coach will start with a win over the Bears.
Packers (6-6) at Browns (0-12): Green Bay-Can they really do it again? Can the Packers make themselves relevant in the playoff discussion and make the projected Aaron Rodgers return worthwhile? Things will be tough for them over the final three weeks (at Panthers, vs. Vikings, at Lions). They shouldn't be that tough in Cleveland. After this, the Browns will have only three chances left at avoiding 0-16.
Raiders (6-6) at Chiefs (6-6): Oakland-After starting 5-0, Kansas City has blown its entire lead in the AFC West and is now in a three-way tie with the Raiders and Chargers. Yet, somehow, the Chiefs currently own the tiebreaker and would be in the playoffs as AFC West champions. Their next three games are at home, and the next two are against the teams they're tied with, meaning they can still fix everything that they've done over the past two months. This all started when they gave the Raiders four tries at the winning touchdown in that Thursday night game. It would be fitting if the Chiefs use the second Raider game as a course correction, but I don't see it happening. I'm taking Oakland.
Cowboys (6-6) at Giants (2-10): Dallas-Giants-Cowboys gets flexed out of a national game and made a regional 1:00 game instead. That's what the current state of these two teams is. I'm actually kinda upset everything that went down with the Giants took place on the road. I was looking forward to a stadium full of people wearing Eli Manning jerseys booing Ben McAdoo and Geno Smith unmercifully the entire game. But, alas, McAdoo and GM Jerry Reese got their much-deserved pink slips and Eli got his job back. It doesn't mean the Giants will win this week, but it did take all the fun out of it.
Lions (6-6) at Buccaneers (4-8): Detroit-Of all the teams hanging on the fringes of the playoff race, nobody needs a win more than the Lions. Detroit essentially needs to win out to have a shot at the wild card, and, even then, 10-6 might not even make it. They've dropped two straight and can't afford a loss to the Bucs, which would drop them below .500 and pretty much eliminate them.
Vikings (10-2) at Panthers (8-4): Minnesota-This is one of the biggest games of the week. Minnesota took over the No. 1 seed in the NFC when the Eagles lost last week and can clinch the NFC North with a win in Charlotte. The Panthers, meanwhile, saw their chances of winning the NFC South improve with the Saints' loss in Atlanta on Thursday. New Orleans swept Carolina, though, so they'd still be looking at a wild card even if they win this one and move into a division tie. We saw the Vikings' defense shut down Atlanta's offense last week, though, so don't be surprised if it happens again.
49ers (2-10) at Texans (4-8): Houston-Another game where the result is pretty much irrelevant. The 49ers have actually won two of their last three after an 0-9 start. And they could easily make it three out of four against a struggling Texans team. Houston has lost two straight, but both of those were on the road against teams currently in playoff position. Which the 49ers most certainly are not.
Jets (5-7) at Broncos (3-9): Jets-How about those New York Jets? Nobody would've predicted they wouldn't just be the better New York team, they're the one that isn't a total mess! And they've been a giant killer this season, too. Yes, they're 5-7, but they've beaten some good teams and could easily be a playoff spoiler. Anyway, the Broncos have been in a free fall since they lost at home to the other New York team. They'll join the Chiefs in getting swept by the Giants and Jets.
Titans (8-4) at Cardinals (5-7): Tennessee-Arizona's not going to make the playoffs. But the Cardinals could definitely play the role of spoiler. This is a dangerous game for the Titans, who are starting a three-game NFC West string before that likely division-deciding finale against Jacksonville. Tennessee never travels to the desert, but they need to return with a win if they want to have a playoff game in Nashville.
Redskins (5-7) at Chargers (6-6): Chargers-I'm going to go out on a limb and say that the Chargers win the AFC West. They've been the hottest team in the division for weeks now. To think a team that was 0-4 could get over .500 with a win, but that's exactly the situation they find themselves. in. There might actually be more Chargers fans than fans of the other team at the StubHub Center this week, too. Wouldn't it be wild if that 30,000-seat soccer stadium ends up hosting a playoff game?
Eagles (10-2) at Rams (9-3): Philadelphia-The game of the week will also be played in Los Angeles, as we have the top two MVP candidates squaring off in Carson Wentz and Jared Goff. The Eagles saw their winning streak snapped in Seattle on Monday night, but they can have the NFC East already clinched before they even kick off if the Giants beat the Cowboys. After spending the week on the West Coast, they'll want to make sure they don't come home 0-2. Especially since a loss here wouldn't just hurt them in the race for home field, it would give the Rams the tiebreaker and potentially cost the Eagles a bye.
Seahawks (8-4) at Jaguars (8-4): Jacksonville-It's possible for the Jaguars to clinch a playoff berth this week, but it's unlikely since it requires about five different things all happening (I also said that about the U.S. soccer team before the Trinidad game, though, and we all know how that turned out). Anyway, the Seahawks salvaged their wild card hopes chances with that win over the Eagles. They won't have an easy time of it in Jacksonville, though. Not with the Jaguars thinking playoffs for the first time in forever.
Ravens (7-5) at Steelers (10-2): Pittsburgh-Baltimore and Pittsburgh in their annual Sunday night game, which is just a warmup for the Steelers' biggest game of the season next week against New England. Whether or not they win this one actually has no bearing on the race for AFC home field, but you know they'll want to go into that matchup with the Patriots with the division already wrapped up. And, unlike the other three teams that can clinch their division this week, they need a win (or tie) to do it.
Patriots (10-2) at Dolphins (5-7): New England-Death, taxes and the Patriots winning the AFC East. It was just two weeks ago when these two met at Foxboro, and the Patriots won it 35-17. There's no reason to think things will be any different on Monday night. New England wraps up its division title and moves closer to its bye, with next week's showdown with the Steelers looming.
Thursday Night: New Orleans (Loss)
This Week: 0-1
Last Week: 14-2
Overall: 121-72
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