A lot of good games this weekend, and a lot of playoff implications. Can the Broncos claw their way back in, or will the Dolphins hold on and make this another year where neither of the previous years super bowl teams even makes it to the playoffs?
Can the Panther’s play spoiler to the Falcons? I have heard the Panther’s can actually make the playoff’s as a wildcard if a million things happen this weekend. I think it’s fair to call them spoilers.
Can the Ravens take back first place from the Steelers?
Can the Lions hold on to their tenuous 1 game lead over the Packers?
Will the Giants narrow the gap between Division Champion and Wildcard playoff?
I hope everybody has a great Christmas football weekend, and for those that don’t celebrate Christmas, I still hope you have a great football weekend too!
Anyone know why most of the games are on Saturday?
I know that towards the end of the year they have a handful of games on Saturdays, but I don’t remember there being THIS many Saturday games. Are they just scared of Christmas? Or is it always like this and I just don’t remember?
Biggest game with playoff implications #1:
Pittsburgh v Baltimore. If you are a football fan you’re watching this game.
Biggest game(s) with playoff implications #2:
Atlanta v Carolina
Seattle v Arizona
With Seattle having only a half-game lead on Atlanta for the #2 spot in the conference, this week is crucial for both teams wanting the bye + home field in week 2 of the playoffs.
Playoff spot clinched: With a Miami win and a Denver loss, the Flippers are in and the Ponies are out.
Houston and Tennessee and Indianapolis are going to go down to the wire. Isn’t that exciting? No.
I’m really looking forward to the Dallas/Detroit game. I have a sneaky suspicion that one will be a close one.
Yeahhhhhh, Detroit playing in Dallas? Detroit is really going to have to bring it. Here’s my fantasy - Dallas considers that if they beat Detroit, then Green Bay is more likely to make it into the play-offs and is a tougher competitor. Dallas already has their spot wrapped up, so if they play their B-team against the Lions, and y’know…just don’t quite win, then Detroit is in the play-offs and Green Bay is out. Later if/when they play Detroit again, they know they can beat them! (Yes, it’s a very childish fantasy. But otherwise I’m seeing Detroit fail to make the play-offs.)
If the Browns are going to win a game, it’s gotta happen this Sunday. Should be crappy weather conditions for visiting San Diego. The line is SD -6, which I get, but man that doesn’t seem right. I feel like the Browns have gotten worse over the course of the season, which is usually a bad sign for the head coach. But I like Hue Jackson. He’ll survive, and he should.
I’m not sure at all how well the Brownies’ offense will do against the Bolts’ D. And I have a feeling Rivers will feast. Unless he has several turnovers, I just don’t see the Browns having much of a shot.
Dallas only have everything locked up if the Giants lose. And the Packers will only get knocked out if they lose to the Vikings. Otherwise it will come down to next week, regardless of whether the Lions win or not.
The Packers got to play in the Chicago Bears Super Bowl last week, and they get the Minnesota Vikings Super Bowl this week. I had to turn down invitations to go to the game, because Christmas, yet my family doesn’t understand why I insist on sitting in front of the TV Saturday afternoon. I love you more than football, but barely.
The Giants fail to clinch, but I think they’re pretty safe in their playoff hopes. That defense has really impressed me, especially that front 4. Oliver Vernon and JPP are the best DE combo in the NFL, and Damon Harrison is tearing it up. Add in a pretty good secondary (made better by that D line, of course) and they’re a tough team to beat. I thought JPP and Janoris Jenkins would be busts, but they’re proving me wrong this year.
It’s also nice to see yet another team go from outsiders to playoff contenders thanks to a strong defense. With Eli Manning being pretty mediocre most of the year (he’s currently PFF’s second worst rated QB, just ahead of Brock Osweiler), I’d like to see them make the playoffs based on that defense. And if Eli does his “I can play great for a few games a year” thing at the right time, they have a shot if the defense keeps it up.
The front 4 for the Eagles are also impressive, with “my guy” Brandon Graham turning into an absolute stud and “my guy” Vinny Curry doing well to, and Fletcher Cox solidifying the interior. But their secondary has struggled a bit (Eli certainly made them look pretty good though) this year, so they can’t really rely on the defense to carry them yet. But I like what they’re doing there.
Nelson Agholor looks like a complete bust for a first round pick (he’s got the lowest WR grade in the NFL from PFF), yet they keep throwing him out there, which does not help Carson Wentz at all (but I won’t mention anything about Wentz, lest I piss someone off). But the offensive line is pretty good, so they have a basis to grow. But they need better pass catchers and a healthier/more explosive running game to develop anymore.
HOly shit, thank god I checked… Had no idea that everyone is playing on Saturday. Sorry, halfway around the world and used to watching on Monday morning. Setting the alarm for 2 AM Christmas day.
Sucks that I’ll miss Ravens-Steelers…I’ll still be jovializing at my sister’s place, where watching football is verboten (killjoy :P). Maybe I can sneak out a little early and catch the 4th quarter…
I’m concerned that my shitty ass team is going to win today and blow the #1 overall pick. At this point fuck it - some meaningless win at the end of the season won’t even feel good and it’d be a very Browns thing to do to have a season of useless horror and still not end up with the #1 overall pick out of it.
Not that this year isn’t the shittiest year to have the #1 overall pick, since there are no QBs worthy of it. But much better to be #1 to either get Garett or maybe sucker someone in to a trade.
But San Diego isn’t very good, they aren’t going to play well in cold weather, they’re traveling across the country, Cleveland can probably run the ball on them - seems like a recipe for a low scoring sloppy win. Not sure what the tiebreakers are with SF, but if they knock themselves out of the #1 pick it’s going to be annoying.