The final week of the 2018 season has arrived and these five teams need
to pick up a win in Week 17.
Last week this list included the Dallas Cowboys, the Oakland
Raiders, the Seattle Seahawks, the Baltimore Ravens and the Pittsburgh
Steelers. Of those five teams, only the Steelers failed to secure a victory. As
it stands, that loss could be detrimental to their playoff hopes, as now they
need some help to reach the playoffs.
This week, most teams are playing for playoff seeding;
however there are a handful of spots left to fight for. In the AFC, the Ravens
and Steelers are fighting for one spot, while the Colts and Titans are fighting
for another. The NFC is a bit simpler, with only the Vikings and Eagles trying
to secure the final playoff berth.
Let’s start with the Los Angeles Rams who have a pretty
simple goal this week.
5. LOS ANGELES
RAMS
The Rams face off against the San Francisco 49ers who have
played some pretty good football in recent weeks. This rag-tag group defeated
the Seahawks and had a fighter’s chance against the Bears, who knows what they
will be able to do to the Rams who may be without Todd Gurley.
The Rams need to win to secure the number two seed in the
NFC, meaning they get a bye and do not have to play on Wild Card Weekend.
Should they lose to the 49ers and the Bears beat the Vikings, the Rams will
fall to the third seed and be forced to play next weekend. Obviously, McVay and
the Rams would prefer the former, getting one extra week to nurse some injuries.
Should Gurley sit out again, C.J. Anderson should get
another heavy load. Although the Rams are favored by ten points, I envision
this game being much closer than that as the 49ers will have the motivation of
being able to spoil a division rival’s playoff positioning.
4. KANSAS CITY
CHIEFS
Similar to the Rams, the Chiefs have a pretty
straightforward objective this weekend. Beat the Raiders at Arrowhead and
secure the first seed in the AFC. Seems simple enough, right? Well, despite
many writing off the Raiders and calling this game before it starts, there is a
chance that the Raiders can make some noise in this one.
Everyone knows that this rivalry is heated; these teams
absolutely hate each other. Better yet, this game isn’t meaningless, so the
Chiefs are in a position where they are unable to rest players this week
because they need to win. This means the Raiders, similar to the other Bay Area
team, have plenty of motivation to spoil the Chiefs seeding.
The Chiefs, despite being a terrific team, have slipped up
in recent weeks and have been exposed on defense. The Raiders are trending up
recently due to the improved play of Derek Carr. Several weeks back the Raiders
held tough against the Chiefs in what turned out to be a one-score game, much
closer than people anticipated.
The Raiders will be fired up and prepared for this game,
which makes it even more of a must-win for the Chiefs. Pick up a win and clinch
home-field advantage through the playoffs, beat a division rival, and get a
huge boost of confidence heading into the playoffs. It is all there to play
for, how will the Chiefs answer?
3. MINNESOTA
VIKINGS
The only team that can replace the Vikings as the sixth seed
in the NFC is the Philadelphia Eagles, but that is only if the Vikings lose. If
Minnesota wins, they are in ahead of Philadelphia, regardless of what they do.
If the Eagles win and the Vikings lose, the reigning champs will have a shot at
defending their title.
Minnesota has a tough match up at home as they face the
Chicago Bears and their fierce defense led by Khalil Mack. Minnesota has a
solid defense of their own, but it isn’t on the same level as Chicago’s. With
much of the Viking’s struggles this season coming from the offensive side of
the ball, this game could be quite a challenge for Minnesota. Kirk Cousins is
going to need to put on the best performance of his career to get his team past
the Bears, and even then, it may not be enough.
The Eagles travel to Washington to take on the Redskins who
are quarterbacked by Josh Johnson. Yep, you read that correctly. With injuries
to Alex Smith and Colt McCoy the Redskins are now leaning on Johnson. Despite
their season being over, they can sure mess with the Eagles and their chances,
but Philadelphia is the much better team and should come out with a win,
putting all of the pressure on Minnesota.
Will Mike Zimmer’s squad be able to make it back into the
playoffs? With the expectations so high for the Vikings coming into the year,
it would be quite a failure should they miss. With the pressure on, it will be
interesting to see how Cousins and company respond.
2. BALTIMORE
RAVENS
Boy, how fun have the Ravens been to watch in the last
couple of weeks. Their stifling defense is putting up their best performances
of the year and rookie quarterback Lamar Jackson is leading the offense well,
resulting in in five wins in his first six games. If Jackson picks up one more
win as a starter, he will eliminate the Pittsburgh Steelers from playoff
contention.
At home against the revitalized Browns, the Ravens will have
their hands full. The last two Heisman Trophy winners will square off for the
first time in the NFL. Baker Mayfield has led the once hopeless Browns back to
being competitive, and he could really shake up the AFC playoff situation if he
beats the Ravens on the road this week.
As much as Mayfield and the Browns may want to win this one,
this is do or die for the Ravens and they will be ready to fight. Their defense
will be prepared to deal with Mayfield and running back Nick Chubb, while Lamar
Jackson will be ready to do whatever it takes to end up with a win.
If the Ravens lose and the Steelers lose, the Ravens will
still advance. But it is obviously much safer to not leave things up to chance
and just take care of business at home. How will Jackson perform in the biggest
game of his career thus far? That may just be the difference between playing in
January, or getting to start the off-season early.
1. INDIANAPOLIS
COLTS
This final spot could go one of two ways. I went with the
Colts because I think they would be more enjoyable to watch in the playoffs,
but one could also make the argument for the Tennessee Titans. The NFL schedule
makers followed the script perfectly as this Colts at Titans game will decide
who is the final representative in the AFC playoffs.
If the Colts win, they are in. It is as simple as that. They
can either be the sixth seed, or the champion of the AFC South which could
result in the third or fourth seed. To win the division the Colts need the
Houston Texans to lose, but they are at home against the Blake Bortles led
Jacksonville Jaguars. Although crazier things have happened, I would expect
that the Texans will be able to take care of business in that one.
That leaves the sixth seed as their most likely path, all
they need to do is go in to Tennessee and defeat the Titans. With Marcus
Mariota battling injuries, this one should be wide for the taking for the
Colts. Mariota was limited in practice on Thursday, but he expects himself to
be ready for Sunday’s game. The Titans defense has been their calling card all
season, but if they cannot score points, how will they win?
Andrew Luck, the favorite for comeback player of the year,
has led the Colts to a shocking 9-6 record only one season removed from a 4-12
record. That is no small feat as the truth of the matter is the Colts have one
of the least talented rosters in football. Frank Reich should be in the
conversation for coach of the year as nobody has done more with less this year,
and he could maybe cement that honor with a win in Week 17.
Win and they are in. Will the Colts step up and take that
final spot?
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