Carey

He might have, but I think he would not have made it so obvious. He’d still get destroyed anyway, but he would have a better chance of escaping Lincoln Financial alive. On the subject of QB’s, I wonder what Foles situation is. If that were to ever happen again, you’d still stick with Hurts, but having a veteran in place instead of Sudfeld is always the better option. I had to check the history between Ron Rivera and Tom Brady before my response here. Riverboat is 2-0 against him as a head coach, but about the opposite as a coordinator or assistant. Rivera’s teams, in defeat, kept it close all the time. I still won’t pick Washington to upset Tampa, but it could very well happen. I think Ron could make it a game. The problem is their offense is not great and the Bucs defense is good enough to shut out Washington

Of all the teams that were facing elimination from postseason contention with a double-digit point total, Miami was the most painful. Had Indy or Tennessee falling off I would've been okay with it. Indy lost to both AFC North contenders they were facing, and Tennessee, who humiliated the Bills, were humiliated in the very same venue by the Browns. That being said, giving up nearly 60 to a team playing for nothing isn't playoff material (although with the Dolphins, it sorta would've been). Miami has turned things around, and it sucks that they lost people due to the restrictions where it cost them games. They're not there yet, but they are close. If all goes well, they'll be back next year. Yeah, the Eagles tanked. I don't blame them; as much as I mentioned that it was up to New York to win more games, Philadelphia actually didn't want to be there. Mike Florio mentioned how the league may or may not do anything about it. They handled the situation when Indy threw a couple games in 2009. The thing is it wasn't a big deal to the NFL that Philly had to host a team for nothing. That while the NFL could benefit as always and possibly have Dallas or New York backdoor into the playoffs. It's only a problem for the league if someone actually benefits from such a bad spot. The 256th game was awful and it made the league look awful. The thing is that there were several other options but they went with the NFC East again. In conclusion, if the NFL is pissed at tonight's game, I can't say I'd lose sleep over it

Yep. Alex Smith is 1000% the Comeback Player of the Year

I'm okay with Doug Peterson wrecking New York's chances at winning the division with only 6 wins out of 16 games. I don't dislike the Giants at all, but it's not Philadelphia's problem. They need to pump up their draft position. I am saddened, however; that we won't see a 6 win team knock off Brady, which would get Arians fired for sure

Hopefully, that will be the case today. I really need a reason to smile today & not having to hear Jerry Jones & those other Cowboys fans bragging all week about winning the NFC East (as if that's an accomplishment) will be a huge step in the right direction. Other than the Cowboys - Giants & (maybe) Steelers - Browns, the rest of those 1pm games suck & are very worthy of a 3 hour nap. It could of been something special if it wasn't for the sorry Rams messing up everything by losing to the Jets a couple of weeks ago. I'm still pissed off about that. Speaking of those sorry Rams, I really hope that they lose today & be out of the Playoffs. They deserved that. I hope that it costs AD the DPOY, but I wouldn't bet on that. I love Aaron Donald too, but at least if he wins it over TJ Watt, it'll be a snub for the latter (albeit a respective one) It would figure that the Cowboys will win, only to watch them sit through SNF and see their rival Eagles lose. That might be worse than their lose and their out scenarios from 2011-2013 AFC Postseason Spots, IMO: Kansas City, Buffalo, Pittsburgh, Tennessee, Baltimore, Cleveland, and Indianapolis NFC Postseason Spots, IMO: Seattle, Green Bay, New Orleans, Washington, Tampa Bay, Los Angeles, and Chicago

I guess I wouldn't mind a best of 3 Super Bowl. But only if there was an official line where the losing team covered. Oddly enough, I often thought that the College Hoops National Championship would be best suited if it was a best of 3. They would have to have it on Monday, Thursday, and Sunday (if necessary). Not that they needed to but I hardly think "family" would affect the Masters that occurred almost immediately after the Final Four. I don't know if I'll care or not whoever wins. I think I'll be more upset if a team loses because a significant player was unavailable due to covid

When that happened in 2018, Clemson went on to an embarrassing loss in the final. Will be interested to see if Ohio beats Alabama by an equally embarrassing loss next week. After Clemson routed Notre Dame, they stayed the course and beat the crap out of Alabama. That was two consecutive undefeated teams the Tigers pummeled on their way to their 2nd National Title in 3 years. If Ohio State crushes Alabama it'll just be another game. NO precedent here

With the revenge / chip on the shoulder narrative, I'd think that Alabama might want to avenge 2014 against the only team they don't have a win against

My job is done. Dabo got his ass kicked by the 11th ranked team in the nation. Hell of a performance by Fields. I'm walking with a limp. Oh wait, there's someone open fifty yards downfield? I'm gonna hit him on the fly. I can't get on the exercise bike. Oh wait, there's someone forty yards down the field? I'm gonna hit him on the fly. I hope we get to see Ryan Day's coach's poll where he leaves Clemson out of his Top 25 outright

I've never been happier for a Notre Dame touchdown in my life. Well, at least in this year alone! On a related note, refs and head coaches taking +19.5 is the answer people's question as to why Nick Saban threw a fit right in front of an official

I'm actually hoping for the opposite. I would love to see Clemson beat Ohio State's ass. The reason has nothing to do with Ohio State. I actually admire the Buckeyes. The respect is there. However, in wanting to see the Tigers blow out the Buckeyes at the very least, it's direct more toward TPTB. In TPTB that involves the folks responsible for stopping at nothing to make sure six-win Ohio State was included in the CFB Playoff. The committee was going to add them regardless, but the Big Ten kept moving the goal posts to save their behinds while benefitting from having one of their own in the dance. Dabo is the perfect villain. I think I love him because I hate him. The guys makes no secret on what he's all about. He isn't afraid to express his opinions on any subject, touchy or no. Putting Cincy over OSU, added to his thoughts on Florida State, in addition to what he's said all season (if not since Day one) may be more than unpopular. The fact that he takes it higher than the highest level is rather funny as hell. Just my opinion; of course I have to respect Dabo due to the fact that the guy just wins, period

That sucks. The awareness isn't on the level of cancer or Alzheimer's, but diabetes is no joke. Not sure what went wrong or could happened; while it's very treatable, nothing's guaranteed. It has been a mess of a year, with everything. Hope the new year can result in everyone involved finding some peace in their careers and their lives.

That sucks. I actually was leaning toward someone else other than the Packers for the NFC's top seed before the Bakhtiari injury. I think Chicago is peaking at the right time. However, that NFC North game should be pretty good. I feel so bad for Green Bay. Over the past decade they never could make it out of the NFC after their 6th seed success. Aaron Rodgers has been pretty good but going on the road has been his downfall. The Packers either get destroyed or they fall victim to a painful loss. FWIW, that might be more of an excuse than a reason. The last time they were the Top Seed it didn't go so well, and the last time they had one of those cold games 2 years later it wasn't successful either (though it was close). Either way I think Green Bay needed to get homefield in order to make it to Raymond James Stadium. It'll just suck if the loss of their LT dooms them. Of course, they were slated to have a difficult battle in Lambeau anyway. Unless the NFC East can pull the upset. However, I don't know how most of the Bucs will perform in such cold weather. Folks like Brady, Gronk and AB are used to it. Seattle and New Orleans could succeed, but it's likely that the Saints & Seahawks knock each other out, unless the Bears can win and alter the NFC Playoff picture

Much, much less...of a cap hit

The Steelers will be resting Ben after all. Pittsburgh is planning on resting more people but nothing's for sure as of today. Maybe Mason Ruldolph will get out of Cleveland alive

New Orleans. They would have the best conference record between the three teams at 10-2. The Saints would have home-field throughout the postseason which comes with the first-round bye

I can see how the Colts community is upset over the events of the game against Pittsburgh, especially in the second half. I hate it when officials determine the outcome of a game. This one might hurt given the fact that it could cost them a playoff spot. That being said, I’ll admit I didn’t have a problem with personally. As mentioned, everybody has dealt with officials and their awful calls (or no calls). Even the Steelers were victims of this, in their last game. Aside from that, I cannot feel completely sorry for Indianapolis. They still were up three possessions. I think they should’ve kept doing what was working in the first half. Not sure what happened to Taylor, but that was very effective in the first half. I guess the saying goes: Never allow the refs to determine who wins or who loses. That’s a reason why I’m okay if one team blows out another. Or maybe tries to win by 25. In the Colts case, they just got unlucky and robbed but it’s a combination of that and Pittsburgh finding something that helped them rally for the victory. I have no idea what Pittsburgh will do in terms of their game in Cleveland. I could have seen them play their starters in Week 17 had Buffalo lost (or if the Steelers hadn’t barfed up their soul in Cincinnati). I think I would be shocked if they didn’t rest key people on Sunday. No matter what Pittsburgh does, they can’t pass Buffalo unless the Bills lose & they win. Furthermore, knocking out Cleveland isn’t automatic. The Browns can get in with help even with a loss. I’ll know more after Mike Tomlin’s news conference. He’s scheduled to speak at noon. Just not worth the risk. It hurt them in 2011, though it was more valid that season given what was at stake. No surprise: as was the case that year, the league is putting the Bills, Steelers, even Kansas City in the same timeslot (as they should & I agree with that)

I think it's official: The Steelers now have the longest active streak in terms of seasons without a losing record New England was close to Dallas record all-time

No problem, Lamb! These scenarios can be so complicated, but they usually work out at seasons end. For the East winner: Obviously the Cowboys make it if they and Philadelphia both win. Dallas would have 7 wins. However, as mentioned by DrSpaceman73 as it relates to a Giants win, it'll come down to division record. With all the surviving teams at 6-10, only New York would have a winning record within their division. For future reference, if there's a tie within a division AND two teams split, it'll come down to common opponents before conference opponents (those are reversed whenever the league has to break a tie within the conference) One thing that's not mentioned is if there is a tie in both NFC East games. I'm somewhat rooting for that, but not that much. Washington did in fact sweep Dallas so that would benefit the former. A Cardinals win over the Rams means that Los Angeles would move to third place in the NFC West. Better division record Then the league would have to break the tie between Arizona and Chicago. The Bears have the edge in common opponents, so then Chicago would be in sixth place. Arizona gets the final spot. FTR, Arizona and Chicago would have the same record within the NFC in addition to the entire league I agree on the fact that the Bears could knock off the Packers. Green Bay would be in trouble if that's the case. The lack of playoff games in Lambeau have hurt them big time. Though if you ask fans of the 2011 and 2013 NFL seasons, they'd say it's more of an excuse and less of a reason

I'm also glad Washington booted Haskins. Even if they lost to Philly, it won't be a mistake. The kid sucked big time against a team playing for nothing. Speaking of Washington and the other tiebreakers Lamb18 mentioned, I know that New York would have the edge over the Football Team due to their sweep. As DrSpaceman mentioned, I think the GMEN definitely get the edge over Dallas with their division record. The Cowboys dropped a couple to Washington but I don't know off the top of my head how they fared in-division. I'll double check later when I check on the other stuff. I believe it's win and Chicago's in due to Arizona's loss and their loss of controlling their own destiny. And the Seahawks would get the nod over Green Bay thanks to the former going 2-2 against the AFC East

They're in 7th place. Or amongst the 5 teams, they would be in 4th place. Ties are first decided amongst the division leaders and then by everyone else. In the event that there's more than one team within a division, the NFL would break the tie within the teams within the division, and then rank among the remaining teams. As soon as a "winner" (or "loser") emerges from all the scenarios, then the NFL would start over with the remaining teams Tennessee, who lost to Cleveland, beat the Ravens. That could be important if Indianapolis wins the AFC South. All of those teams played each other this year. Well, if the Browns weren't in the same division as Baltimore it would be important since the head-to-head would be null and void. It would've come down to conference, common and SOV tiebreakers instead. Tennessee leads the AFC South so they're safe for now. Baltimore swept Cleveland so they'd go with the Dolphins, Ravens, and then the Colts. Miami has a better conference record so they get the 5th slot. Process starts over. Ravens beat the Browns twice so it's down to Baltimore and Indy. Ravens won at Lucas Oil Stadium so they get the 6th spot. Process starts over. With the Ravens claiming a spot, it's down to Cleveland & Indy. Browns won at home against the Colts, so they are currently in the 7th spot. Indy needs to win and get some help in order to make the postseason. They don't need much help but that help is not going to be easy for the Colts to obtain

Washington vs. Philadelphia (speaking of the Eagles), the 256th and final game (Sunday Night Football) appears to be the best decision IMO. I guess the league was adamant on having an SNF game for the sake of having an SNF game Read more Translation. Its not happening. Frankly, I can't even remember the last time the Browns won a game in Pittsburgh in a big situation. It very rarely happens. BTW, the Browns should still be ashamed of themselves falling flat on their faces to the Jets yesterday. The game's in Cleveland. The Browns will be okay. I don't know if it'll translate to winning, but they should have their starters back by then. FWIW, Cleveland hasn't won in Week 17 in over a decade, most of those defeats coming at the hands of the Steelers. The good news is that Pittsburgh will have nothing to play for. That should be made official if/when Buffalo beats the crap out of New England on MNF. Finally, all the Browns have to do is win and they're in. Nothing Baltimore, Indianapolis and/or Miami can do will change that if Cleveland survives against Pittsburgh on Sunday

The thing is Green Bay and Tennessee are very good teams. I guess they picked up from last year. The Titans don't particularly look great tonight, but this is football weather. I've seen a ton of bad weather in general; you just don't get these games (in primetime no less) as frequently as we have in the past. And that was when the season started/ended a week in advance!

Regardless of the gift from Vegas to the Dolphins, I sorta feel bad for Miami. They are still playing some awesome football, and have been as of late. While not at the level of 2007-2008, they have turned things around, and there is potential with that group compared to the one back then. I think they'll just miss out despite reaching double digits with one week to go. Just my opinion; I don't see a South Beach football team winning a January football game played at Orchard Park

And that includes their game in New Jersey. It's just that the New York Jets invalidated that