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Sunday Games:
Chicago 37, Atlanta 17 - The Falcons may not be officially out of the hunt for a playoff spot. But this loss likely assures that they will not qualify. The Bears looked quite good towards the end of this season, and this may have been their most impressive win, against a team fighting for a playoff spot. Blowing out Atlanta helps Chicago to feel better about where they are and that they are heading in the right direction. As for the Falcons, when you can't win a game like this which you absolutely need, perhaps you cannot argue that you belonged in the playoffs to begin with. My pick: Accurate
LA Rams 26, NY Giants 25- The G-Men fought hard and almost succeeded in getting a surprise win and playing spoilers. But they fell just short in the end, which means that the Rams, despite a scare, still got the win that they needed. In the process, they finally clinched a playoff spot, two years after winning the Super Bowl. Not sure that the Rams are hot enough to actually win a playoff game or not, although they appear likely to travel to Detroit for a match-up between Goff and Stafford, which would indeed be intriguing. My pick: Accurate
Buffalo 27, New England 21 - Under the circumstances, the Pats played well. Without much to play for other than trying to be spoilers, they kept fighting back, preventing Buffalo from running away with it. The Bills, ultimately, did prevail, which was not all that surprising. And now, they have a chance at stealing the AFC East division title from the Dolphins, who seemed to own the division for almost the entire season. If you are a Bills fan, you couldn't ask for much more. My pick: Accurate
Baltimore 56, Miami 19 - While I expected that the Ravens would win, the manner in which they won this particular showdown was impressive. Scoring 56 points, and absolutely crushing the Fins? Most impressive. And they of course clinched the number one seed in the AFC in the process, and will head into the playoffs looking like probably the hottest team in the league. As for the Dolphins, this was a bad loss, and they now have to play Buffalo next weekend, with the winner taking the division. My pick: Accurate
Houston 26, Tennessee 3 - Not sure if the Texans will qualify for the playoffs or not. But they needed to take care of business in this one, and they surely did that much. They left no doubt, dominating the Titans in every aspect, and effectively cruising to a dominant win. Of course, they still not only need to win next week, but need help to qualify for the playoffs. But at least they did what they had to in this one, and did not allow the Titans to play the role of spoilers. My pick: Accurate
Indianapolis 23, Las Vegas 20 - This was a tough game, which the Colts seemed more to have survived than won. But they got past the Raiders nevertheless. It was a tough contest, more one of the Colts taking a big lead and then hanging on, rather than a back and forth affair. Still, the Colts did hang on for the win, and improved their playoff chances greatly by so doing, all but officially eliminating the Silver and Black in the process. My pick: Accurate
New Orleans 23, Tampa Bay 13 - Yes, I had expected the Bucs to take this one. But the Saints have been notoriously unpredictable all season. I knew that they could win, if the best version of themselves showed up. But I expected that they would play subpar, and that the Bucs would wrap up the division title. Instead, the Saints won to add a bit of intrigue into the NFC South race for the final weekend of regular season play. My pick: Inaccurate
Arizona 35, Philadelphia 31 - The Cards pulled off the most stunning outcome from this past weekend. Yes, I will admit to being shocked by this result. I knew that the Eagles, who started this season at 10-1 and had the NFL's best record by a two game margin, had looked shaky ever since getting blown out at home to the 49ers. But I did not expect them to lose at home to the Cardinals, when they were so close to winning the division title. Now, it seems clear that they never recovered from those two really bad losses in a row, to the 49ers and then at Dallas. They likely will not win the NFC East, and will enter the playoffs stumbling, and looking extremely vulnerable. My pick: Inaccurate
Jacksonville 26, Carolina 0 - As expected, the cure for the Jaguars, with their recent struggles and four game skid, was to play the worst team in the league, the Panthers. They played well, scoring a decent amount of points, and shutting out the Panthers offense. The Jaguars now just need to win next weekend to finally clinch an AFC South division title that they seemed destined to win all season long. My pick: Accurate
San Francisco 27, Washington 10 - I must have been half asleep when I wrote my preview, because my description of what I expected showed that I thought San Fran would win, and then I put the Commanders as my pick, even though I meant the 49ers. Nevertheless, this was pretty much the kind of game most would have expected, myself included. The 49ers clinch the number one seed in the NFC with the win. My pick: Accurate
Pittsburgh 30, Seattle 23 - The Steelers looked like one of the possible elites in the AFC in late November, before inexplicably losing three straight games, two to very losing teams. Now, the Steelers seem to have caught fire, and could prove to be one of the most dangerous teams in the playoffs, should they qualify. Of course, that losing streak took it out of their hands, so they will need some help. But this was, nevertheless, an impressive road victory for them. My pick: Inaccurate
Kansas City 25, Cincinnati 17 - Another tough game in what has proven to be a solid rivalry in recent years. Truly, this is one of the NFL's best rivalries today. The Bengals looked capable of winning through the first half, even taking a lead by halftime. But KC's defense stepped up big time in the second half, shutting out the Bengals the rest of the way after the half. And while the Chiefs hardly lit up the scoreboard offensively, they managed to put up plenty enough points to ice the win, and finally to secure the AFC West division title, as well as the third overall seed in the AFC. This marks the eighth straight season that Kansas City has won the AFC West, which breaks a tie with the Rams, who had won the NFC West seven years in a row from 1973 - 1979. Now the Chiefs rank second behind the New England Patriots, who won 11 straight AFC East division titles from 2009 - 2019. They also qualify for the postseason for a franchise record ninth straight time, and they are now tied with the Dallas Cowboys of 1975 - 1983 for second most consecutive playoff appearances, also behind the New England Patriots of 2009-2019. A solid win for the Chiefs, and they still feel like a very dangerous team that can come alive at any time as they enter yet another postseason. My pick: Accurate
Denver 16, LA Chargers 9 - A game that seemed uninspired heading into this weekend, and which hardly raised eyebrows or much of any reaction at all after seeing the final score. This seems to have gone exactly the way most would have expected, for a game with absolutely no playoff significance whatsoever. The Broncos win, and further cement the last place status of the Chargers, which was both official and unquestioned before this game kicked off. My pick: Accurate
Sunday Night Football: Green Bay 33, Minnesota 10 - The Vikings had been pretty terrible at home, but needed to bring their best in this most important game. Instead, they fizzled, getting dominated pretty much from the start, falling behind 10-0 by the end of the first quarter, and trailing 23-3 by halftime. Green Bay just took it up a notch in terms of intensity, and the Vikings never seemed to have an answer. They came close at points, knocking on the door and seemingly about to make an actual game of it. But they kept falling short, as the Packer defense tightened up just when they needed it most. And so, Minnesota basically got dominated from beginning to end. This does not end their playoff hopes, although they need so much help, and so many things have to be just so, that it seems highly unlikely that the Vikings actually will qualify for the postseason. As for the Packers, this win allows them to control their own destiny. A win at home next week against Chicago, and they are in. My pick: Inaccurate
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