FOOTBALL NFL ARTICLES

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.... 

The freefall for the Minnesota Vikings is complete. They were the last team to lose a game this season, but the Vikings have had a tough time getting victories lately and it cost them a chance to return to the postseason. In fact, the Vikings have the same number of wins as the Chicago Bears over the past eight games, and the Bears were eliminated from playoff contention after the first few weeks of the season. It shows how far the Vikings have fallen. They’ll get a chance to avenge an earlier defeat to their NFC North rival in this Week 17 matchup.... 

New Year's Day marks a new beginning for everyone, and that includes all of the teams around the NFL. That said, there are only so many games that truly matter over the course of the day, but the twists and turns for all of the teams in contention is what makes this one of the best days of the entire year for football fans even though it's the last day of the season for well over half the teams in the league.... 

If there was an award for the best three-win team, the Chicago Bears would certainly be in the running. The Bears dropped another tough one last week, this time to their bitter rival Green Bay, and their last four defeats have all come to playoff contenders by a combined total of 18 points. Unfortunately for the Bears, being close doesn’t count and they need to win their remaining two games to avoid their worst season since 2002. That process starts with a Week 16 contest against the Washington Redskins.... 

The Detroit Lions are taking a longer look in their rearview mirror and the object that is closer than it appears is the Packers. The Lions still sit atop the NFC North, but their lead shrunk last week and another loss could leave them in a tie heading into a showdown with the Pack in the regular season finale. That scenario, at least for Detroit, looks quite possible with a Week 16 road matchup against the Dallas Cowboys, the best team in the NFC.... 

At least one former Seahawks defensive coordinator is having success as a head coach. Dan Quinn’s Atlanta Falcons can move one step closer to a NFC South title by knocking off the reigning three-time champion Carolina Panthers in Week 16. Known for his defense while running the show in Seattle, Quinn has turned the Falcons into an offensive powerhouse. He’s the last remaining former Seattle D coordinator in the league after his good friend Gus Bradley was let go on Sunday night.... 

The Miami Dolphins cleared the first hurdle in their quest for a playoff berth without Ryan Tannehill. The next step gets a little tougher. The Dolphins whacked the Jets last week with Matt Moore doing his best Tom Brady imitation by throwing four scoring passes in a lopsided victory. To reach the postseason for the first time since 2008, the Fins just need to win out. With Rex Ryan’s job on the line, it won’t be easy in the Week 16 matchup with the Buffalo Bills.... 

We didn’t think it would take 14 years for the Oakland Raiders to make it back to the postseason, but they ended the prolonged drought and are in position to claim a division title. The Raiders made it to the Super Bowl back in the 2002 season and it certainly didn’t appear that an epic slump was in the making. Because it happened then, Jack Del Rio wants to make sure his club is prepared to go deep this postseason. The No. 1 seed in the AFC and a first-round bye are in the balance in a Week 16 matchup with the Indianapolis Colts.... 

The San Diego Chargers are masters at giving away games this season, but they may have a difficult time coughing one up to the Cleveland Browns in their Week 16 confrontation. San Diego let another fourth quarter lead slip away in a loss to the Raiders, eliminating them from postseason contention. With a contest against Pittsburgh in the finale, this is Cleveland’s last shot at getting a victory to avoid becoming the second team in NFL history to go 0-16.... 

If this game is anything like the earlier meeting, football fans are in for a treat on Christmas Day. All the pressure is on the Denver Broncos, who have lost two straight and three of four to fall out of the playoff hunt in the AFC. Their slide began when the Kansas City Chiefs posted an epic overtime victory in Denver last month. Now, the Broncos can put a damper on the Chiefs postseason plans with a much-needed win when the clubs hook up at Arrowhead in Week 16.... 

The Houston Texans now have the highest paid backup quarterback in the NFL after Bill O’Brien benched Brock Osweiler and turned the club over to Tom Savage. The coach made the only move he could when announcing Savage as the starter for the Week 16 contest with the Cincinnati Bengals, leaving Osweiler’s status in limbo. I’m sure Marvin Lewis would love to have that situation with a playoff berth hanging in the balance. The Bengals had their run of six straight postseason appearances come to an end with last week’s loss.... 

The Jacksonville Jaguars just couldn’t wait any longer. After another dismal performance down the stretch, the Jags lost their eighth straight game and again blew a second half lead. It wasn’t if, rather when the Jags would cut ties with Gus Bradley. And that time came after Sunday’s loss to the Texans. There is plenty of blame to go around for a team that was expected to compete for a division title. But in the end it’s always the head coach that takes the fall. The Jags will move forward with interim Doug Marrone taking on the Tennessee Titans in Week 16....