Almost everything is set for the playoffs, with the lone exception to be decided in the current game between the Steelers and the Ravens:
NFC:
Seattle (14-3) is the #1 seed and gets a first-round bye.
Chicago (11-6) is the #2 seed and will host #7 seed Green Bay (9-7-1).
Philadelphia (11-6) is the #3 seed and will host #6 San Francisco (12-5).
Carolina (8-9) is the #4 seed and will host #5 Los Angeles Rams (12-5).
AFC:
Denver (14-3) is the #1 seed and gets a first-round bye.
New England (14-3) is the #2 seed and will host #7 seed Los Angeles Chargers (11-6).
Jacksonville (13-4) is the #3 seed and will host #6 seed Buffalo (12-5).
Pittsburgh (9-7) or Baltimore (8-8) will be the #4 seed and will host #5 seed Houston (12-5).
The Packers rested nearly all of their starters against the Vikings, and as a result, turned in a flat performance today while losing 16-3. They had a net -7 yards passing, and didn’t get on the board until late in the fourth quarter.
Green Bay punted on eight of their first nine possessions (the other ending in a kneel-down to end the first half); Daniel Whelan’s 8 punts were 20% of his total number of punts (41) in the season’s first 16 games.
The Packers have now lost four straight games, and will play against the Bears, for the third time in six weeks, during the Wild Card round next weekend.
I think AFC North and NFC South have some soft teams (compared to everyone else who made the postseason). I would not be surprised to see the #4 seed in both conferences get walloped.
The Panthers actually have a losing record, and are going into the playoffs having lost the last two games.
I just checked, and the NFC West are a combined 41-27. Subtracting the 12 games within the division (since each contributes 1 win and 1 loss), they’re 29-15.
Does anyone know how that ranks historically; has there been any division with more wins than that?
A few that show up with some quick googling (keeping this to four-team divisions for comparability); I don’t think that this is an exhaustive list. Bear in mind that we’re now on a 17- game schedule, which gives one more opportunity for a win versus seasons prior to 2021.
2024 NFC North: 45 wins (Packers had 11 wins, and were four games behind the Lions and three behind the Vikings)
2022 NFC East: 43 wins
2023 AFC North: 43 wins
2007 AFC South: 42 wins
2013 NFC West: 42 wins
With the NFC West at 41 wins this season,we’ve now had four straight seasons with a division getting 41+ wins.
Worked out as well as I could have hoped for the Packers. I’d much rather play the Bears in Chicago than the Eagles in Philly. And another week to rest Love, Tom, Jacobs, Doubs, Watson, McKinney, Walker, Cooper, and the rest.
With all but one regular-season game in the books, the coach / GM purge begins…
The Falcons have fired head coach Raheem Morris and GM Terry Fontenot.
Despite winning four straight games to end the season, they dismissed Morris after two straight 8-9 seasons. Fontenot had been in the GM role for five seasons, and never oversaw a winning season (something that Atlanta has not been able to accomplish since 2017).
As per this article from 2020, Acrisure Stadium (known as Heinz Field back then) is one of the stadiums with the biggest difference in field goal success between the two end zones, likely due to the open south end zone, which faces the Allegheny River.