Vincent Frank
A total of 11 of the 16 games on Sunday’s season-ending Week 17 slate include playoff implications. It primarily the later afternoon slate with eight of the nine games having postseason ramifications.
In the NFC, the Seattle Seahawks and Atlanta Falcons are doing battle for the final wildcard spot in that conference. Should Atlanta defeat Carolina, what happens between the Seahawks and Cardinals will be moot. Meanwhile, four teams are battling it out for the two AFC Wildcard spots.
These are among the top storylines for NFL Week 17.
Battle for sixth seed in NFC
It comes down to Atlanta and Seattle for the sixth and final seed in the NFC. The reigning conference champion Falcons seem to have the upper-hand here with a tiebreaker stemming from their win over the Seahawks back in Week 11. But they also have a tougher foe in that of the Carolina Panthers compared to Seattle taking on a losing Arizona Cardinals squad. This is what makes Week 17 so darn intriguing.
The Panthers still have a lot to play for, finding themselves tied for the NFC South lead with New Orleans. Meanwhile, Arizona is playing out the string with Drew Stanton under center. That will certainly play a role come Sunday.
From a pure entertainment perspective, the objective fan has to be rooting for Atlanta to get in over a Seahawks squad that is 2-4 against potential playoff teams and just recently fell to the Los Angeles Rams, 42-7, back in Week 15.
Will the Brownies go winless?
It’s complicated. Sure head coach Hue Jackson made good on his promise to jump into the lake after the Browns were guaranteed not to win more than one game following last week’s loss to the Chicago Bears. But there’s still one small matter at hand here. Will Cleveland become just the second team to go winless during a 16-game regular season slate?
The Pittsburgh Steelers are making it a tad easier for the division rivals by sitting both Ben Roethlisberger and Le’Veon Bell for Sunday’s game. Then again, the Browns have been so bad since the start of last season (1-30) that we’d be hard-pressed to pick this squad to come out on top over what will primarily be Steelers backups on New Year’s Eve. In any event, this is pretty much the only intriguing aspect to what has been yet another disastrous season for the mistake by the lake of a franchise.
Black New Year
New Year’s Day just so happens to fall on the first Monday after the regular season. This means that multiple head coaches will ring in the new year by finding themselves in the unemployment line.
More than in pretty much every season in recent NFL history, Black Monday promises to be filled with multiple ousters. By our estimation, as many as 14 teams could be looking at coaching changes to start out the 2018 calendar year. This list includes mainstays Marvin Lewis (Bengals), Chuck Pagano (Colts), Jack Del Rio (Raiders), Bill O’Brien (Texans) and even potentially Pete Carroll (Seahawks), who could ultimately decide to retire.
With no shortage of qualified head coaching candidates out there, the next several weeks will be filled with rumors and innuendo. That includes Jon Gruden potentially returning to Tampa Bay and Browns head coach Hue Jackson finding himself “traded” to the Cincinnati Bengals. It’s most definitely going to be an interesting time of the year around the NFL.
Garoppolo, 49ers close out historic season
Having already put up the greatest in-season turnaround in NFL history, the San Francisco 49ers are looking for their fifth consecutive win Sunday against a Los Angeles Rams team that will be resting its key starters.
What we’ve seen from Jimmy Garoppolo and his 49ers since they named him the team’s starter back in Week 13 is nothing short of amazing. He’s the first quarterback in franchise history to win each of his first four starts. During that very same span Garoppolo has put up more passing yards than Joe Montana and Steve Young combined in their first four starts with the team. Oh, did we mention that San Francisco dropped 44 points on the league’s No. 1 defense last week and is averaging north of 30 points in Garoppolo’s four starts?
While the 49ers themselves would like to play the Rams’ starters in Week 17, a win here will send the team to the offseason with a ton of momentum. That’s a big deal given that San Francisco started the season with nine consecutive losses and was 4-28 in its previous 32 games before Garoppolo took over.
Jaguars playing starters
In an interesting move Jaguars head coach Doug Marrone announced this week that the AFC South champs will play their starters Week 17 against Tennessee. This, despite the fact that Jacksonville is already locked into the No. 3 seed heading into the playoffs.
It could very well have something to do with Jacksonville’s dreadful 44-33 loss to the aforementioned 49ers last week. Maybe Marrone wants to instill some confidence in his young team heading into the playoffs. On a vastly different note, Jacksonville playing its starters could have wide-ranging playoff ramifications with the Titans still in the mix for a postseason spot.
New England or Pittsburgh?
It seems readily apparent that Pittsburgh thinks New England will defeat the Jets on Sunday, wrapping up the No. 1 seed in the AFC in the process. Despite still having an opportunity for home-field advantage, Mike Tomlin has apparently decided to sit both Ben Roethlisberger and Le’Veon Bell for the team’s game against Cleveland (more on that here).
For its part, New England defeated the Jets 24-17 back in Week 6. Meanwhile, Pittsburgh has defeated Cleveland five consecutive times, each of the past two coming by just a field goal.
In reality, it matters a great deal who acquires home-field advantage only if both New England and Pittsburgh make it to the AFC Championship Game. Both will have to win in their yet to be determined divisional round games in order for this to come to fruition. And should it happen, this one storyline could very well make waves over everything lose.
Potential end of an era in Seattle
Regardless of whether the Seahawks sneak into the postseason, it appears that there’s going to be some rather big changes on the horizon in the Pacific Northwest. We already know about the feud between Pro Bowlers Bobby Wagner and Earl Thomas. It could have very well led to the unfortunate scene that was on display in Dallas this past weekend with Thomas heading to the Cowboys locker room and indicating he wanted the team to go after him in the spring. It’s also an unknown whether the injured Richard Sherman will return to Seattle after being on the trade block prior to the 2017 season.
It’s really been a drama-filled season for this previous Super Bowl contender. And according to MMQB’s Albert Breer, that could potentially lead to head coach Pete Carroll deciding to retire.
This all could change should Seattle find a way to sneak into the playoffs with a win over Arizona and a Falcons loss to Carolina. But with the team’s championship window closing rapidly, wholesale changes appear to be on the horizon.
Four-team race for AFC Wildcard spots
Buffalo, Tennessee, Baltimore and Los Angeles are all still alive in the AFC Wildcard hunt. Baltimore and Tennessee have the clearest paths to the playoffs, each controlling their own destiny. Should the Titans win over Jacksonville on Sunday, they’ll wrap up one of the wildcard spots. Meanwhile, a Ravens victory over Cincinnati clinches a postseason appearance for Joe Flacco and Co.
When it comes to Buffalo and Los Angeles, both teams need some major help. In order to make their first playoff appearance since 1999, the Bills need to beat Miami with Baltimore losing to Cincinnati. They can also earn a spot with a win over the Dolphins and losses by both the Titans and the Chargers.
For Los Angeles, a win over the Oakland Raiders coupled with a Titans and Ravens loss would get this surprising team into the second season. The Chargers have won eight of 11 since a 0-4 start to the season and are seemingly the most dangerous team out of this quartet.
Tight MVP race
Los Angeles Rams running back Todd Gurley won’t get an opportunity to build on his MVP candidacy with him sitting for the team’s regular season finale against San Francisco on Sunday. Gurley will finish the regular season having put up a league-leading 2,093 total yards and 19 scores.
On the other hand, New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady will be center stage in a game the Patriots likely have to win in order to clinch the No. 1 seed in the AFC. Brady’s candidacy has been consistent throughout the season. Though, his six interceptions over the past five games have tamed this a bit.
These are the two leading MVP candidates heading into Week 17. Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown will miss his second consecutive game with a calf injury, pretty much ending any hope that he might come away with the hardware. The same can be said for under-the-radar MVP hopeful Alex Smith, who will also rest Sunday against the Broncos.
At this point, the race seems to be between Gurley and Brady. How the latter performs in his team’s Week 17 outing could very well determine the eventual winner.
Eli’s swan song in New York?
Ending what has been a frustrating season for both him and the Giants, Eli Manning could potentially make his final start as a member of the team Sunday against the division-rival Washington Redskins.
Manning is under contract with the Giants for the 2018 season, but he has yet to commit to returning to the team. In fact, Manning will discuss his situation with father, Archie, and brother, Peyton, following the season. And in reality, the decision might not be his to make.
Fresh off hiring a new general manager in Dave Gettleman, the Giants might very well look to start anew with a rebuild. If that’s the case, Manning could potentially be had on the trade market. And with a vast amount of otherwise talented teams looking to upgrade at quarterback, the options are real here.
Setting the playoff slate
Assuming that it is Pittsburgh, New England, Philadelphia and Minnesota as the four teams with a wildcard bye, the rest of what happens in Week 17 will be extremely interesting for potential first-round matchups. Of course, this is dependent on Minnesota taking care of business over Chicago or the Panthers falling to Atlanta.
Should the Los Angeles Chargers sneak into the playoffs, they’ll travel to take on the Jacksonville Jaguars as the sixth seed in the wildcard round. Should the Titans win with the Ravens losing, they’d head to Arrowhead to take on the Kansas City Chiefs. These are the only scenarios really worth mentioning in the AFC as a whole lot of different factors would determine who Baltimore and/or Buffalo play should they sneak into the playoffs.
The NFC is a bit more complicated. Minnesota simply needs to win over a talent-stricken Bears squad on Sunday or have Carolina lose to Atlanta in order to get a first-round bye. Should that happen, the No. 3 seed is between the winner of the NFC South (either Carolina or New Orleans) and the Rams with the loser of the Panthers-Saints game grabbing the No. 5 seed. Meanwhile, Atlanta and Seattle are battling over the final NFC Wildcard spot with the Falcons holding the tiebreaker there.
Given that New Orleans is taking on a last-place Buccaneers squad, it’s safe to assume they’ll lock up the No. 3 seed. That’s only magnified by the NFC West winning Los Angeles Rams deciding to rest their starter against a suddenly good San Francisco 49ers squad. Should all this come to fruition, New Orleans would host Atlanta in one wildcard game with the Panthers traveling out west to take on the up-and-coming Rams.
