2 hours ago
2
Game of the week: Green Bay (9-4-1) v Chicago (10-4)
Another week as the NFL winds up for the postseason offers a fresh look at contenders building for the Super Bowl. Jacksonville v Denver, yes please. Baltimore v New England, bingo. Pittsburgh v Detroit, hmm … OK. Still not satisfied? The strange lights of Saturday night over in the NFC North should do the trick with a sepia-toned showdown between the Chicago Bears and the Green Bay Packers at Soldier Field. A win for either and a Detroit defeat confirms a playoff slot while victory for the Bears gets them close to sealing the division (even in defeat the Packers still will be ahead for the seventh seed). The gaping hole left by Micah Parsons in Green Bay’s defensive front may have Chicago fans edging to the side of expectation that their Bears can put together a deep playoff run if home-field advantage is on their side.
What Green Bay need to do to win Dominate time of possession. The longer Green Bay keep the ball on offense the better as they try to adjust to the chunky hole left in their pass rush now Parsons has landed on injured reserve. Confidence should remain high that quarterback Jordan Love and company, with as much ball as possible, will keep running up the scoreboard to cover any slack from the defense despite the slip against Denver last week. Love showed some familiar struggles in throwing two interceptions. The picks should be credited to the Broncos pressuring him at a career-high rate of 52% though rather than a regression in Love’s play. The season taken as a whole has been brilliant, in particular his deep passing to Christian Watson who handily did not pick up a serious injury at Mile High. Throw in a matchup skewed in Green Bay’s favor between bruising back Josh Jacobs averaging more than 90 yards in his past three games with Chicago’s so-so run stopping and the Packers have the offensive might to sweep the Bears aside.
What Chicago need to do to win There is no escaping how one-sided this rivalry has been over the past 15 years. Since 2010, Green Bay are 27-5 against Chicago in the regular season while only two wins of the Bears’ five were at Soldier Field. Ancient history, so what does it matter when Chicago are on top at 10-4? Well, starting 0-2 after being blown away by Detroit 52-21 felt familiar, another lost season in the pipeline. Meanwhile, it has been anything but with Ben Johnson clearing away the wreckage of years of failure. Quarterback Caleb Williams is still a work in progress but no longer a progress stopper under the offensive-minded head coach. Progress is what will clinch a huge win for Chicago on Sunday. Johnson needs to pull out every positive from the second-half comeback that fell just short at Lambeau Field leaving the Packers 28-21 winners. Tire out a wounded Packers defense with the impressive tandem of D’Andre Swift and Kyle Monangai, open up play action and keep the Packers guessing. It might get ugly and Williams might fluff his lines here and there but Johnson has shown he has the knowhow and tools to record a seismic win.
Rising: Buffalo
A statement victory over New England puts Buffalo right on the verge of clinching a spot in the postseason. The scenario is straightforward: a win over Cleveland and a loss for Indianapolis to San Francisco does the trick. A victory on Sunday and a much less likely defeat for Houston to Las Vegas also would work. Realistically they will make it regardless so the win/loss gymnastics are redundant. Buffalo making the playoffs is unremarkable, it is how they are exploding into life through Josh Allen’s successive high-wire comebacks that has caught the eye. Allen’s six touchdown passes while leaning on fine-tuned connections with his tight ends rather than the less-than-stellar receivers have shifted the Bills back to being a powerhouse. In doing so they still have an outside chance of pipping the Patriots to the AFC East title while affirming that no team or lead is too great for the Bills to overcome. Only the Denver Broncos have steadily built anything close to an aura of invincibility this season but, as it stands, would you write off Allen in the championship game against Bo Nix? At worst that is a coin-flip game. The biggest boost for Allen is that there will be no meeting with Patrick Mahomes this January. No old wounds. No reminders the Chiefs own you when it matters. Just a clearheaded shot at hauling a first Super Bowl title back to Buffalo.
Falling: Carolina
Neither Tampa Bay or Carolina appear able to cope with the pressure of even making the playoffs after both snatched defeat, and an outright hold of the division, from the jaws of victory. The Bucs let a 28-14 lead of the Falcons slip at the top of the final quarter while Carolina went scoreless from the top of the third to throw away a 17-7 advantage over the rudderless Saints. Carolina will be kicking themselves after wilting with the chance of a win and in opportunity on Sunday against … you guessed it, Tampa Bay. Victory would still give them a great shot at the title. But if you can’t beat the Saints with two weeks rest after recording a seismic win over the NFC’s current No 1 seed then maybe the die has been cast for the Buccaneers to take over from here.
Race for No 1 pick
The sprint to the bottom continues with the cursed Chimera of Tennessee, Las Vegas and Cleveland fused at 2-12. On last week’s performances the Raiders and Browns look the most likely to be thrashing it out come season’s end. Vegas have no hope whoever starts at quarterback against Houston on Sunday. If the Eagles can pitch a shutout then the Texans’ brutal defense will easily handle Kenny Pickett or Geno Smith. Cleveland welcome surging Buffalo to town. That’s a paddlin’. But what a difference seven days make in the NFL, Tennessee host the Patrick Mahomes-less Kansas City Chiefs after making a decent fist of things in defeat to the 49ers. Rookie Titans’ QB Cam Ward might be quietly aiming for a statement win against the fallen giants to maintain control of the offense next season.
Season ended today
AFC 1) Denver 12-2; 2) New England 11-3; 3) Jacksonville 10-4; 4) Pittsburgh 8-6; 5) LA Chargers 10-4; 6) Buffalo 10-4; 7) Houston 9-5. Bubble: Indianapolis 8-6
NFC 1) Seattle 12-3; 2) Chicago 10-4; 3) Philadelphia 9-5; 4) Tampa Bay 7-7; 5) LA Rams 11-4; 6) San Francisco 10-4; 7) Green Bay 9-4-1. Bubble: Detroit 8-6
