It’s Week 17! Where did the season go? It doesn’t seem that long ago we were getting excited about the first of three Wembley games. Now we’re speculating on who will be getting the boot on Black Monday.
Come the 29th of December there will be 20 teams looking ahead to next year. With a few tweaks here and there franchises will become forces to be reckoned with, or so we hope. Maybe next year.
Though let’s not get ourselves down. Christmas might be over, but there’s still a lot at stake this weekend. Just look at the AFC. Seven of the eight games in this conference involve playoff teams/impact the playoff picture.
If the Broncos beat division rivals Oakland they will be guaranteed the second seed, giving Peyton a week off.
Kansas City, without their starting quarterback Alex Smith, need to beat San Diego and have the Ravens lose and the Texans lose/tie to Jacksonville to stand any chance of making the postseason.
The Chargers just need to beat the Chiefs to secure a berth. Smith’s injury impacts the Ravens, who need a victory or tie at home to Cleveland and hope the Chargers lose or tie to sneak in. The Texans need to win and have Baltimore and San Diego lose to make it into Jan.
The divisional title, and a home game, is up for grabs when Cincinnati travel to Pittsburgh. Both these AFC North teams clinched their places in the play-offs in Week 16. The Steelers are rocking at the minute and have found form at the right time of year.
Another form team will take the top seed in the NFC with a win on Sunday. Seattle, written off by so many at the start of November, are red hot and have swept aside all pretenders to their thrown in recent weeks. They host the St Louis Rams.
The game at Lambeau could see the winner clinch a bye and the loser the 6th seed. The Lions have the defense to stop Rodgers at home and their offense has been clicking. It’ll be a tense night for both sets of fans.
It’s a play-off at the Georgia Dome for Carolina and Atlanta. Whoever wins clinches the number four seed and the losers pack up for another season. Will Matt Ryan and a healthy Julio Jones be too much for the Panthers? Whoever makes it will do so with seven wins for the season. Just how far can either team go in January?
Some might say the NFL is only just heating up now. Thankfully it’s one of those sports where anything can, and will, happen right up to the Super Bowl.
5th Down UK 