SATURDAY
Detroit Lions (11-4) at Dallas Cowboys (10-5): Cowboys TE Jason Witten’s former backup in Dallas has turned out to be a fine football coach. Dan Campbell and the Lions clinched the NFC North last week by beating the Vikings and draw Minnesota again next week hoping to be in position to capture the lone NFC playoff bye. The Cowboys are alive for the NFC East title and already clinched a playoff spot. But Dallas isn’t feeling great of late with back-to-back losses on the road to the Bills and Dolphins. The Cowboys return home Saturday night where they are 7-0 this season and have scored at least 30 points in all seven. Stops could be hard to come by. Both teams are in the top six in the NFL in total offense and passing.
SUNDAY
Miami Dolphins (11-4) at Baltimore Ravens (12-3): Baltimore would claim the conference’s top seed with a victory in a clash of a Miami offense that leads the NFL in scoring at 30.9 points per game and total offense at 411.5 yards per game against a Ravens defense that allows a league-low 16.3 points per outing. Baltimore’s arrow is pointing up after a Christmas night win over a team many view as the team to beat the NFC, the 49ers. Miami coach Mike McDaniel is a former San Francisco assistant in his second season of running a similar system with the Dolphins. The rout of the 49ers was the Ravens’ seventh victory by 14 or more points this season. Miami beat the Ravens in the past two meetings. Lamar Jackson is back in MVP form. The 2019 MVP has passed for 3,357 yards, 19 touchdowns and seven interceptions while also rushing for 786 yards and five scores this season.
New England Patriots (4-11) at Buffalo Bills (9-6): Speculation about the future of Bill Belichick is rampang as these AFC East rivals square off in New York. Bills head coach Sean McDermott tries to avoid that narrative by steering Buffalo back to the playoffs for the fifth consecutive season. It’s not yet a cinch. Winners in four of their past five games, the Bills are still very much in the thick of the playoff race but can secure a postseason berth as early as Sunday. The Bills have 14 clinching scenarios, all requiring a win or tie. Buffalo would then need help from at least two other teams in each scenario. But one of New England’s four wins this season was Oct. 22 against the Bills. The Patriots have won two of their past three games following a five-game losing streak.
Atlanta Falcons (7-8) at Chicago Bears (6-9): Falcons owner Arthur Blank offered no guarantees on the job status of coach Arthur Smith this month, stating he wants to see how it plays out, referring to the final games of the regular season. Atlanta needs two wins and a lot of help to sneak into the playoffs and stands No. 9 in playoff seeding — with the top seven teams getting in — entering Week 17. Playoff probability measures the Falcons’ chances to reach the postseason at 10 percent. Smith said you’d have to live in “Perth, Australia” not to be aware of all the postseason chatter. A win over the Colts last week kept the postseason conversation alive. The Bears have won three of the past four games and had the fourth in their grasp at Cleveland, a sign Chicago could be rounding into form at this late juncture. Will it be enough for head coach Matt Eberflus and QB Justin Fields to stay in 2024? Both say they’re focused on beating the Falcons and nothing else.
Tennessee Titans (5-10) at Houston Texans (8-7): Rookie quarterbacks returning to health is the top storyline in the AFC South showdown with Houston holding onto hope for a playoff bid in C.J. Stroud’s debut season. The Texans are in a three-way tie with Jacksonville and Indianapolis in the division but are currently eighth in conference seeding, on the outside looking in at the postseason picture. However, should Houston defeat the Titans and Colts over its final two games, it will secure its first playoff berth since the 2019 campaign. The Titans have been eliminated from postseason contention, but they are anxious to get additional looks at Will Levis, who is 3-5 as a starter and was lost to an ankle injury in a 19-16 overtime loss to the Texans two weeks ago. Levis, who did not play last week in a setback against the Seahawks, has passed for 1,792 yards and eight touchdowns against four interceptions in his eight starts.
Las Vegas Raiders (7-8) at Indianapolis Colts (8-7): Interim head coach Antonio Pierce is assembling an impressive resume tape for the full-time position with the Raiders as they head to Indianapolis with a plan to slow down RB Jonathan Taylor. Taylor has three consecutive 100-plus-yard outings against the Raiders and neither team can afford another loss in a tightly packed field of teams chasing the final playoff spots in the AFC. The Raiders are 4-3 under Pierce and upset the Chiefs on Christmas Day. Colts QB Gardner Minshew is on high alert after Las Vegas scored a pair of defensive touchdowns in each of the past two weeks. The Colts entered the week in the final wild-card spot in the AFC despite tumbling 29-10 last week in Atlanta. WR Michael Pittman (concussion, shoulder) is expected back from a one-game absence.
Carolina Panthers (2-13) at Jacksonville Jaguars (8-7): It wasn’t all that long ago that the Jaguars were coming off of a 3-14 season in 2021 and looking for a new head coach. Enter Doug Pederson, with Jacksonville going 9-8 in 2022 to crash the playoffs last January. Jacksonville can inch closer to a repeat appearance, but QB questions have dominated December due to a string of injuries to starter Trevor Lawrence. The Jaguars try to snap a four-game losing streak Sunday and might be breaking in C.J. Beathard in place of Lawrence, who has overcome knee and head injuries to return ahead of schedule and is now fighting a shoulder issue. A Carolina loss would guarantee the Panthers the NFL’s worst record and temporarily the rights to the No. 1 pick in the 2024 draft. But that prized selection is headed to Chicago to complete the trade that brought the franchise rookie quarterback Bryce Young in April. Carolina is in full rebuilding mode and with no head coach in place to oversee the U-turn. Carolina knocked off Atlanta two weeks ago and nearly pulled an upset of Green Bay last week before losing 33-30 on a last-minute field goal.
Los Angeles Rams (8-7) at New York Giants (5-10): Don’t look now but few teams can boast a better second half than the Rams, who nearly upset the Baltimore Ravens and have otherwise won five of the past six to shove their way into the playoff picture. That’s not the case for the Giants, who are undergoing another QB change with Tyrod Taylor set to take the starting role from rookie Tommy DeVito. The Rams climbed out of a 3-6 hole and could clinch a playoff spot in Week 17 with a win and a Seattle loss to Pittsburgh. A more indirect route is a Rams win and a tie in the game between the Vikings and Packers. Those scenarios looked unthinkable when the Rams fell 20-3 to the Green Bay Packers in Week 9 when QB Matthew Stafford was out with a thumb injury. A well-placed bye week came next, followed by Stafford’s high-level play starting in a Week 11 victory over the Seahawks. Over the past six games, he has completed 65.1 percent of his passes for 1,578 yards, 15 touchdowns and two interceptions.
Arizona Cardinals (3-12) at Philadelphia Eagles (11-4): The health of Kyler Murray could be a factor after he missed consecutive practices midweek with an illness, but the Cardinals are optimistic he’ll take the field at Philly. It’s a reunion for the team’s head coaches. At this time last season, Jonathan Gannon was the defensive coordinator for a Philadelphia team that was stumbling ahead of a run to the Super Bowl. Gannon returns as Arizona’s head coach to face a team whose current Super Bowl dreams have diminished this month. The Eagles returned to the win column with an up-and-down, 33-25 victory over the Giants on Monday, but didn’t exactly return to Super Bowl form — two turnovers, nine penalties and a shaky finish after grabbing a 20-3 halftime lead. The Eagles did snap a three-game losing streak and moved a game ahead of the Cowboys in the NFC East. They still have a shot at the No. 1 seed in the NFC and a first-round playoff bye with two more wins and some help.
New Orleans Saints (7-8) at Tampa Bay Buccaneers (8-7): Is there a true contender in the NFC South? The Bucs believe it’s them. Tampa Bay has gotten hot at the right time and has won four games in a row, and it can lock down the top spot in the NFC South with a win. Tampa Bay won its first two games but slid to 4-7 after losing seven of nine before the current winning streak began. The Buccaneers have averaged 28.5 points per game during the winning streak after scoring at least 28 points just once in their first 11 contests. They gained a season-high 452 yards in a Dec. 17 victory at Green Bay and had their fifth-highest total (335 yards) last week against Jacksonville. Tampa Bay holds the tiebreaker against New Orleans and Atlanta, who are tied for second in the division at 7-8. The Buccaneers handed the Saints their most lopsided loss of the season — 26-9 — back in Week 4 in New Orleans.
San Francisco 49ers (11-4) at Washington Commanders (4-11): It might take the entire offseason for the Commanders to figure out what’s next in Washington, which limps into Sunday’s home game with Jacoby Brissett at quarterback amid a six-game losing streak. The playoff-bound 49ers have two games to figure out their direction, including their regular-season finale against the Rams. Wins in both matchups will give San Francisco the top seed in the NFC and a bye into the divisional round of the playoffs. The Niners can also clinch the top seed with a win Sunday, along with a Cowboys win over the Lions on Saturday and a Cardinals win over the Eagles on Sunday. But the 49ers are coming off the kind of jolting, humbling loss at home (33-19 to the Ravens on Monday night), that can leave even a confident team questioning its fitness for the postseason. Brissett has been sharp in relief the last two weeks, completing 18 of 23 passes for 224 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions.
Pittsburgh Steelers (8-7) at Seattle Seahawks (8-7): The Seahawks are clinging to the final NFC playoff spot as they host a Steelers squad that cannot afford a loss as one of five 8-7 AFC teams fighting to get in. Mason Rudolph will start under center for Pittsburgh after throwing for 290 yards and two scores against Cincinnati last week, his first win as a starter since 2019. Kenny Pickett (ankle) has been out since Dec. 3 but was back on the practice field this week for the Steelers, who follow the trip to the Pacific Northwest with a Week 18 showdown against top-seeded Baltimore. Seattle is coming off consecutive 20-17 wins against the Eagles and Titans, which followed a four-game losing streak. Geno Smith returned after missing two games with a groin injury to throw for 227 yards and two TDs against Tennessee, including the game-winner to Colby Parkinson with 57 seconds remaining.
Los Angeles Chargers (5-10) at Denver Broncos (7-8): No team still alive in the AFC playoff picture has odds as dim as Denver’s entering Week 17. Sean Payton turned to Jarrett Stidham and away from Russell Wilson in a must-win scenario against the Chargers. “We’re desperately trying to win,” Payton said on Wednesday. There’s a lot more to it, most of it tied to guaranteed money on Wilson’s contract, based on multiple insider reports. Wilson hasn’t played poorly this season, but the Broncos have lost three of four after a five-game winning streak shoved Denver into the playoff picture. They enter the week No. 12 in the AFC playoff field that will ultimately include just seven teams. The Chargers already have been eliminated and are in the market for a new braintrust for 2024. Stidham started the final two games for the Raiders last season, replacing Derek Carr, who was released and went on to sign with the Saints in the offseason. In his first start as Carr’s replacement late last season, Stidham had 365 passing yards and three touchdowns with two interceptions in a narrow defeat to the 49ers.
Cincinnati Bengals (8-7) at Kansas City Chiefs (9-6): With losses in three of their last four games, the Chiefs aim to regain their composure. Kansas City can clinch a playoff berth and its eighth straight AFC West title with either a win or tie Sunday. The Chiefs also can punch both tickets with a Las Vegas loss or tie against Indianapolis and a Denver loss or tie against the Chargers. Kansas City didn’t do itself any favors with Monday’s 20-14 setback to the Raiders. Patrick Mahomes threw for 235 yards and a touchdown. However, his interception was returned 33 yards for a touchdown by Jack Jones to stake Las Vegas to a 17-7 lead in the second quarter. Frustration was evident as star tight end Travis Kelce threw his helmet on the sideline. Mahomes insists the emotion shows commitment, not controversy. Mahomes has matched his five touchdowns with five interceptions in his last four games. The status of WR Ja’Marr Chase looms large for Cincinnati. Chase sat out last week’s 34-11 setback to the Steelers. That snapped a three-game winning streak for the Bengals, who reside in 10th place in the AFC as one of five 8-7 teams in the conference.
Green Bay Packers (7-8) at Minnesota Vikings (7-8): Longtime division rivals look to remain in the playoff chase Sunday night in a wildcard elimination game of sorts. The Vikings would boost their playoff chances to 49 percent with a win this weekend, according to playoff probability metrics. A loss? The playoff chances for the Vikings plummet to 4 percent. They’ll enter with another QB change (rookie Jaren Hall will start) as the Packers try to resolve a wobbly defense on the fly. Green Bay’s playoff chances are 55 percent with a win — but only 1 percent with a loss. Packers quarterback Jordan Love said players are embracing the stakes of the primetime clash. “We all know what’s in front of us, and we know what we’re capable of,” Love said. “We’re just going to go finish this thing off.” The Packers are coming off a 33-30 road win against the Carolina Panthers in Week 16 courtesy of a last-second field goal. Love threw for two touchdowns and ran for another one in the victory, and Aaron Jones rushed for 127 yards.
–Field Level Media