At this moment, Week 17
and the playoffs appear to be an exercise toward an unavoidable outcome, Seahawks
vs Patriots in the Super Bowl. History
and common sense says that such an obvious conclusion is bound to be proven
wrong. On Sunday, four games with
playoff implications for both squads will be contested and another six games
will feature playoff implications for one team.
Week 17 will not serve as another stepping-stone to the coronation of
pre-ordained conference champions.
Instead, settle in for another week of unpredictable NFL action.
1) Seattle- After Seattle’s 35-6 drubbing of Arizona in
Glendale it would be a smart move for Seattle fans to plan on a return trip to this
year’s Super Bowl host city.
2) New
England- Given Bill Belichick’s
reputation and the culture of the “Patriot Way” it is surprising to learn that
after sixteen weeks New England has been whistled for 115 penalties while their
opponents have only 87 infractions. New
England has gifted the opposition 317 yards via penalty more than they have received,
so far this season.
3) Green
Bay- The Packers dispatched the Bucs
despite Aaron Rodgers being under the weather but Green Bay will need Rodgers
at 100% health the rest of the season in order to have a deep playoff run.
4) Denver-
It is cliché, but winning football comes from the trenches. Denver’s run oriented offense has masked the
offensive line’s deficiencies but quality defensive fronts, such as Cincinnati’s,
will make a return to the Super Bowl difficult for Denver.
5) Dallas- It is officially a bizarro December when Tony
Romo, ten touchdowns and no interceptions this month, is legitimately bandied
about as a MVP candidate.
6) Indianapolis-
Sunday’s 42-7 loss does not derail the season for the Colts. It did underscore how integral T.Y. Hilton is
to Indy’s fortunes.
7) Detroit-
The NFL has suspended Center Dominic Raiola one game for his leg stomp
of Chicago defensive tackle Ego Ferguson.
The suspension will impact Detriot’s performance against Green Bay when
they meet to decide the winner of the NFC North. More important will be the in-house handling
of the situation by head coach Jim Caldwell.
The handling, or lack thereof, of poor player behavior contributed to
Jim Schwartz losing his position as Detroit’s head coach.
8) Pittsburgh-
Ben Roethlisberger, Antonio Brown, and Le’Veon Bell grab the attention in
Pittsburgh. However, in a must win
showdown against Kansas City, Heath Miller’s seven catches for 68 yards moved
the chains in critical moments and reminded football fans why he is a Steel
City favorite.
9) Cincinnati- The knock on Cincy has been an inability to
win primetime/ playoff games. Cincinnati’s
bamboozling of Denver on Monday night in a 37-28 win shows progress. Now the Bengals must continue that growth in
this week’s AFC North division championship tilt against the Steelers.
10) Arizona- Bruce Arains
has demonstrated that he can coach offense as well as any person in the league
but using rookie quarterback Logan Thomas is pushing the envelope. It would be foolish to expect Jim Harbaugh’s
last game with the Prospectors to be anything less than a full effort.
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