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Old School Meets New School
If any team is going to upset the apple cart and disrupt a potential New England-Dallas Super Bowl, odds are it’s the Pittsburgh Steelers. Pittsburgh has an elite trio of skill position players in Ben Roethlisberger, LeVeon Bell, and Antonio Brown and a defense that is starting to peak at just the right time. The Steelers came within a hair of missing out on the playoffs, needing Brown to break the plane of the end zone with 10 seconds remaining to knock off Baltimore and win the AFC North. Now, Pittsburgh is looking to take revenge from a loss earlier this season when it faces the Miami Dolphins....
Come on Seattle! There is a lot of buzz about this Seattle Seahawks team, even though they are the No. 3 seed in the NFC. Seattle has already defeated Atlanta and New England this season, but unlike the past few seasons where the Seahawks were the darlings of the advanced metrics community, this season the advanced numbers only have them as the 9th best team in the NFL. However, they will be facing one of the lowest ranked teams by DVOA when they face the 27th ranked Detroit Lions at home on Saturday night....
We may have the worst quarterback match-up we have ever seen in the Wild Card Round when the Oakland Raiders travel to take on the Houston Texans in the first game of the 2017 NFL Playoffs on Saturday. Oakland was seen as a trendy upset pick to win the AFC until Derek Carr suffered a broken leg late in the Raiders victory over the Colts, but now looks like an also-ran in the conference. As for Houston, the Texans thought they had their quarterback when they signed Brock Osweiler to a big deal in the offseason, but he has played so poorly that he was replaced by Tom Savage, but may be the starter for this one....
There’s no doubt that the premier game of Wildcard weekend is the last game of the week’s slate of games. The Green Bay Packers won six straight at the end of the year to win the NFC North and Aaron Rodgers was brilliant during that time, throwing 15 touchdowns without an interception as his Packers knocked off three playoff teams in that stretch. Green Bay will be hosting a team that has rode Wildcard magic to two Super Bowl wins over the last decade, the New York Giants....
Wild Card weekend is always one of the most fun of the entire year on the NFL calendar, as teams that have dreams of four-game postseason runs get started. Inevitably, there's at least one upset or close call that comes out of nowhere in the cards, and you're never quite sure which team is going to unceremoniously have its season end prematurely next. Each game presents a new challenge for bettors, so you don't want to miss any of the action on the NFL odds at BookMaker.eu....
It would be easy for the Green Bay Packers to let out a collective sigh after their improbable run to the NFC North title. Following a loss to the Redskins in Week 11, Aaron Rodgers said the Packers could “run the table” and win the division. It was a laughable suggestion at the time. After all, the Packers had lost four straight and were 4-6. Rodgers’ prophetic statement rang true after the Pack knocked off Detroit on Sunday for their sixth straight win and fifth division title in six seasons. They’ll host the New York Giants in a Wild Card game on Sunday....
The seven-year playoff drought is over for the Miami Dolphins, but their stay in this postseason could be short-lived against a well-rested Pittsburgh Steelers squad. With a playoff seed locked up, the Steelers gave several regulars the day off on Sunday and they were still able to post their seventh straight win. The Fins won the regular season meeting between the clubs behind a monster game from Jay Ajayi. They’ll need more of that to pull off the upset with backup Matt Moore directing the show in the Wild Card matchup....
It looks like the magic has run out on the Detroit Lions. After winning eight of nine games during the middle of the season to get into playoff position, many by coming from behind in the fourth quarter, the Lions faltered down the stretch and the NFC North title that was theirs just a few weeks back isn’t. It was a painful final three weeks of the year where the Lions couldn’t hang with the top teams in the conference, showing us that they aren’t ready for a major role in the postseason. But it’s a one-game tournament now and the Lions play their Wild Card game in one of the most raucous environments when they visit the Seattle Seahawks on Saturday....
It’s been 14 years since the Oakland Raiders last made a trip to the postseason and their stay could be a short one as quarterback issues continue to plague the team at the end of the regular season. It was a kick to the sack when Derek Carr went down with a broken fibula two weeks ago, now his backup may not be available after Matt McGloin sustained a shoulder injury in a loss at Denver last week that cost the Raiders the AFC West crown. The Houston Texans aren’t in much better shape at the QB spot so don’t expect these teams to light up the scoreboard when they meet in a Wild Card game....
It wasn’t pretty, but the first career start for Tom Savage resulted in a champagne shower. Starting in place of mega-bucks free agent Brock Osweiler, who failed miserably in his time as the Houston Texans starter, Savage saved the game against the Jags two weeks ago and led the team to the AFC South title with a win over the Bengals on Christmas Eve. There are concerns regarding the quarterback spot with the Tennessee Titans after Marcus Mariota went down with a broken leg. Two backups-turned-starters will face each other in Week 17....
If the Atlanta Falcons are going to get the No. 2 seed in the NFC and a first-round bye in the playoffs, they’ll have to earn it. The New Orleans Saints have nothing riding on this game, but a win over their long-time southern rival will end a string of two consecutive 7-9 seasons. These two teams have played a home-and-home series as division opponents every year since 1970 and there is a strong hatred for each other – in a good way – that fuels one of the most underrated rivalries in football. They go at each other again in Week 17....
There will be no repeat Super Bowl champion, the Chiefs made sure of that with a resounding victory over the Denver Broncos on Christmas night, ending any hopes the Broncos had of sneaking into the tournament. The Oakland Raiders locked up their playoff berth two weeks ago, but their chances of actually doing anything in the second season hit a snag when Derek Carr went down with a broken fibula. It’s up to Matt McGloin to secure a top-two seed and first-round bye when the AFC West rivals hook up in Week 17....
The Carolina Panthers have been out of the playoff discussion for some time, last week it was made official when they were hammered by the Falcons. If you took the under on their season win total, congratulations. The year has to rank among one of the bigger disappointments in the league after Carolina rolled through last regular season with just one loss and advanced all the way to the Super Bowl. The balance of power has shifted in the NFC South and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers can keep their postseason hopes alive with Week 17 victory....
I’m sure that if Shad Khan knew his Jacksonville Jaguars would win a game the week after he fired his head coach, the move would have been made sooner. As fiercely loyal as the Jags’ owner was to Gus Bradley, the coach just didn’t reciprocate and that 14-48 record in four years simply wasn’t good enough. Bradley is a quality coach and will end up a defensive coordinator for some club that’s lucky to get him. In the meantime, the Jags can extend their win streak over the Indianapolis Colts to three with a Week 17 victory....
The New York Giants ended their playoff drought by backing into the postseason. The G-Men couldn’t do it themselves on Thursday night, but they got help when the Saints beat Tampa Bay on Saturday. As much of a relief it was to break the four-year spell, the Giants weren’t happy about the way it was accomplished and would like to end the season with a victory. They can shut down the Washington Redskins postseason plans with a Week 17 win....
The Los Angeles Rams won their first home game following their return to the City of Angels and now they’ll try and win their final one. In between, however, there’s been plenty of bad play and the losses continue to mount. The Jared Goff era has started with a thud and the No. 1 overall pick in the draft needs to salvage a victory to avoid going winless. It would be a long offseason of comparisons to other rookie quarterbacks around the league if the Rams can’t squeeze a victory over the Arizona Cardinals in Week 17....
This game would have had so much more drama if not for the outcomes of last week’s games. The Cleveland Browns got the monkey off their collective backs and won’t have to worry about becoming the second team in league history to finish 0-16. The Pittsburgh Steelers erased all doubt about the AFC North winner by knocking off Baltimore to secure its fifth division title under Mike Tomlin. Cleveland hasn’t won consecutive games in over two years, so they have that to play for in Week 17....
Following their dramatic win on Saturday, we might have thought the San Francisco 49ers clinched a playoff berth. But a quick look at the standings tells us they just broke a 13-game losing streak. So, I guess that’s something to thankful for. Take the Rams off the schedule and the Niners have the worst record in the league. As it stands now, they’re just ahead of the Browns for the last place battle. While the Niners may be feeling good about themselves, that will change in Week 17 when the Seattle Seahawks pay a visit....
Two teams with playoff aspirations at the beginning of the season will play the finale for nothing but pride. The Cincinnati Bengals were picked by many to reach the postseason for a sixth straight time, but the collapse started early and they were all but out of the picture by mid season. At least Marvin Lewis won’t have to answer any questions about his team’s playoff failures. The Baltimore Ravens were the nose of the football away from playing for a division title in Week 17 instead they’ll play out the string....
I guess we can toss Adam Gase’s name into the ring for Coach of the Year. His first season as a head coach started the way many others have for the Miami Dolphins, but the team turned things around and could be the hottest in the NFL heading into their Week 17 tussle with the New England Patriots. The Fins earned their first playoff berth since 2008 with last week’s win at Buffalo, their ninth in 10 games to put that brutal start behind them....
The postseason arrives a week early for the Green Bay Packers and Detroit Lions. With the NFC North title and the home playoff game that comes with it on the line, the division rivals will square off in the final game of the 2016 regular season. While the loser of this Week 17 bout can still make the playoffs, the guaranteed route is a victory, and Aaron Rodgers is one win away from fulfilling his prophetic claim that the Packers will run the table after their 4-6 start....
Don’t tell the Dallas Cowboys this is a meaningless game. Playing in one of those on Monday night, the Boys steamrolled the Lions, who had plenty at stake. If the Cowboys need any motivation, they can set a franchise record for wins in a season by knocking off the Philadelphia Eagles in their Week 17 contest. Philly nearly became the first team not nicknamed the Giants to slap an L on Dallas, but faltered in an overtime loss back in Week 8....
The San Diego Chargers became ‘that’ team. You know, the one nobody wanted to become. They are the club that prevented the Browns from having a winless season. It shouldn’t have come as much of a surprise given how generous the Chargers have been at giving games away all season, and they did it once again on the eve of Christmas day. It couldn’t have been more fitting. They could prevent the Kansas City Chiefs from winning the AFC West by knocking off their division rival in Week 17....
Another year without postseason football could be enough for the Buffalo Bills to part ways with Rex Ryan. While there have been many rumors circulating about Rex’s future in Western New York, the fact is he never delivered on his promise of returning the Bills to the playoffs. Their drought reached 17 years with last week’s overtime loss to Miami. And how ironic would it be for Rex to be let go after playing against the team he coached for six seasons. A win over the hapless New York Jets in Week 17 would at least give the Bills a .500 record....
