The NFL’s playoff field is nearly set, but a few key questions remain entering the final day of the regular season.
The Baltimore Ravens won the AFC North title and the Cincinnati Bengals kept their wild-card hopes alive in the NFL’s Saturday doubleheader. Now the final Sunday of the regular season arrives for the rest of the playoff field to fall into place, capped by one of the biggest games of the season.
The road to the Super Bowl in the NFC will go through Detroit.
Unless it goes through Minneapolis.
The top seed in the NFC playoff field will be at stake Sunday night in Detroit in the final game of the regular season. The Lions and the Minnesota Vikings, with matching 14-2 records, will play in one of the most consequential finales in league history.
The winner will be the champion of the NFC North and the No. 1 seed, with the conference’s lone opening-round postseason bye and home-field advantage through the NFC championship game, if it advances that far. The loser will be a wild-card team and the No. 5 seed, playing a first-round game on the road. That’s a harsh fate for a 14-3 team. But, fair or not, that’s how the NFL’s playoff-seeding system works, and team owners never have shown much inclination to change it.
A few other things remain to be settled. In the NFC, six of the seven playoff spots and two of the four division titles are clinched. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers or Atlanta Falcons will win the NFC South; both teams play at 1 p.m. Eastern on Sunday. The Philadelphia Eagles are locked into the No. 2 seed but the Nos. 1, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 seeds still must be determined.
In the AFC, six of the seven playoff spots and all four division titles are clinched. The Ravens secured the AFC North crown with their triumph Saturday over the Cleveland Browns, relegating the Pittsburgh Steelers to wild-card status. The top four seeds are settled — with the Kansas City Chiefs at No. 1, the Buffalo Bills at No. 2, the Ravens at No. 3 and the Houston Texans at No. 4.
The Los Angeles Chargers and the Steelers will be the fifth and sixth seeds, in some order, depending on the result of the Chargers’ 4:25 p.m game. The Denver Broncos, Miami Dolphins and Bengals remain in the running for the seventh and final playoff spot, which will also be decided in the 4:25 p.m. window. The Bengals stayed in the race with their victory Saturday night over the Steelers.
Which teams can win their divisions in Week 18?
The Detroit Lions have been the NFC front-runners for much of the season as they attempt to reach their first Super Bowl. Quarterback Jared Goff leads the NFL’s highest-scoring offense, with the Lions averaging 33.3 points per game. But a long list of injuries on defense has put pressure on the offense to be next to perfect. Coach Dan Campbell undoubtedly will be aggressive on fourth downs, as always, against the Vikings on Sunday night, putting the game into his offense’s hands.
Sam Darnold has revived his career and is a Pro Bowl quarterback for the Minnesota Vikings, who would claim the NFC North with a win in Detroit. Kevin O’Connell probably is the favorite to be the NFL’s coach of the year. Few would have expected the Vikings to be in this position. But they entered the weekend ranked fourth in the NFL in scoring defense and, with Darold and wide receiver Justin Jefferson, they are more than capable on offense.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers can win the NFC South with a triumph Sunday at home over the New Orleans Saints. The Buccaneers could be the No. 4 seed and host the Lions-Vikings loser next weekend. But if they win and the Los Angeles Rams lose, they would be the No. 3 seed.
If the Buccaneers lose, the Atlanta Falcons could capitalize. They must beat the Carolina Panthers and have the Buccaneers lose to the Saints to win the division. They have no wild-card chances. Rookie quarterback Michael Penix Jr. makes his third NFL start following Coach Raheem Morris’s. The Falcons lost their grip on the division lead with their overtime.
The Denver Broncos need to beat the Chiefs, who will be , to clinch a postseason berth. It would be the Broncos’ first playoff appearance since they won the Super Bowl to conclude the 2015 season in quarterback Peyton Manning’s final NFL game. Their return to the postseason would come in their second season with Sean Payton as their coach.
The Broncos have lost their past two games, each time with a chance to clinch a playoff spot. They in Week 16. They in Week 17.
Payton, the former Super Bowl-winning coach for the Saints, returned to the NFL last season with the Broncos. This would be Payton’s 10th playoff appearance after he reached the postseason nine times in 15 seasons over 16 years with the Saints. After a sometimes-turbulent first season in Denver, the Broncos rebounded with rookie quarterback Bo Nix, who became an immediate starter. Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels likely will be named the NFL’s offensive rookie of the year. But Nix has gained at least some of the rookie-quarterback spotlight.
If the Broncos lose, the Miami Dolphinsare next in line if they beat the New York Jets. But defeating the hapless Jets might not be quite routine. The Dolphins are expected to play without quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, who is likely to be sidelined by a hip injury. Tyler Huntley would start in his place. The Jets long ago were reduced to playing for pride. But this could be quarterback Aaron Rodgers’s, and perhaps his final game in the NFL.
Then there are the Cincinnati Bengals, who stayed in the race by beating the Steelers on Saturday night. They need the Broncos and Dolphins to lose Sunday. They could miss the playoffs in a season in which quarterback Joe Burrow entered the weekend leading the NFL in completions, passing yards and touchdown passes while wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase led the league in catches, receiving yards and touchdown catches.
“This is one we had to have,” Coach Zac Taylor said during his postgame news conference Saturday. But it still might not be enough.
The Kansas City Chiefs will try to become the first NFL team to win three straight Super Bowl titles. The path to the Super Bowl in the AFC goes through Arrowhead Stadium. Carson Wentz starts at quarterback Sunday as Mahomes gets to rest his ankle injury. He won’t play again until the Chiefs host a divisional-round playoff game the weekend of Jan. 18-19.
The AFC’s No. 2 seed is the Buffalo Bills, who will host the Broncos, Dolphins or Bengals next weekend. Quarterback Josh Allen is slated to make only a brief appearance Sunday against the New England Patriots.
The Baltimore Ravens won the AFC North title for the sixth time in Coach John Harbaugh’s 17 seasons when they beat the Browns on Saturday in frigid Baltimore. Quarterback Lamar Jackson became the first quarterback in NFL history to surpass 4,000 passing yards and 900 rushing yards in a season. Tailback Derrick Henry had the second 1,900-yard rushing season of his career. But the Ravens acknowledged it’s all about postseason success after they at home to the Chiefs. They’ll be the No. 3 seed and will host the Steelers or Chargers next weekend. The knee injury suffered Saturday by Zay Flowers is a significant concern. He just became the first Ravens wide receiver to be selected to a Pro Bowl.
The Houston Texans are the AFC South champs and the No. 4 seed. They’ll host the Chargers or Steelers next weekend. But lately, they have not resembled a team capable of winning a single postseason game, much less making a run deep into the playoffs.
Jim Harbaugh has the Los Angeles Chargers in the postseason field in his first season. They’ll be the No. 5 seed in the AFC if they beat the Raiders on Sunday.
If the Chargers win, the Pittsburgh Steelers, who ended the regular season on a four-game losing streak, will be the No. 6 seed and play at Baltimore next weekend. If the Chargers lose, the Steelers will be the No. 5 seed and play at Houston.
“It’s disappointing because we play and play to win,” Coach Mike Tomlin said following Saturday night’s defeat. “But it’s neither here nor there because we’re in the single-elimination tournament now.”
The Steelers had their chances on their final drive Saturday, trailing the Bengals by two points. But quarterback Russell Wilson missed an open receiver, wideout George Pickens, on their second-to-last play. And tight end Pat Freiermuth had a fourth-down drop on their final offensive play.
The best thing we can do is get ready for the playoffs,” Wilson said during his postgame news conference. “It’s a new season. … We’re going to have to go on the road and get it done.”
Philadelphia Eagles Coach Nick Sirianni, with the No. 2 seed locked in, opted to rest tailback Saquon Barkley on Sunday rather than allow him to chase the NFL’s single-season rushing record. Barkley finishes the season 100 yards behind Eric Dickerson’s mark of 2,105 yards for the Los Angeles Rams in 1984. The Eagles, the NFC East champs, will host the No. 7 seed — the Packers or Commanders — next weekend.
Los Angeles Rams Coach Sean McVay chose to rest quarterback Matthew Stafford on Sunday against the Seattle Seahawks, even with the Rams’ seeding still undetermined. They have won the NFC West and will be the No. 3 seed if they win, or if the Buccaneers lose to the Saints. Jimmy Garoppolo is set to make the fill-in start Sunday. McVay said he was not concerned about the seeding issue.
The Washington Commanders close the regular season against the Dallas Cowboys on the road. They’ll be the No. 6 seed if they win, or if the Packers lose to the Chicago Bears. The excellence of Daniels, even as a rookie, makes the Commanders a dangerous postseason opponent for just about anyone.
Being the third-best team in the NFC North still gets the Green Bay Packersinto the postseason field. The issue is whether they can beat the upper-tier teams. They lost their season opener against the Eagles in Brazil and then went 0-4 against the Lions and Vikings. They’ll be the NFC’s No. 6 or No. 7 seed, and will open against the Eagles, Rams or Buccaneers.
Be the first to comment