NFL Week 17 Preview: Four Division Titles, Five Playoff Spots to Be Decided

STL @ ATL

Believe it or not, the Falcons come into Week 17 with a pretty legitimate shot at winning the NFC South and earning a first round bye. If they win, and the Panthers lose, that’s exactly what will happen.

I don’t expect either team to lose, but Atlanta certainly has the easier of the two opponents.

CAR @ NO

The Panthers took a kick in the gut last week against the Giants. It’ll be interesting to see how they bounce back, especially considering the fact that a loss probably knocks them out of the two seed and a first round bye.

The Saints, my preseason NFC Champion, has been so insanely up and down it’s a wonder nobody’s talking about Sean Peyton’s job security.

Or maybe someone is talking about it. I was without power for quite a while last week...

JAC @ BAL

The Patriots would really, really appreciate a Jacksonville victory here. For that matter, so would the Jets. But the Ravens are built for December football. And when you’re built for December football, you usually get to play in January.

The Ravens are better than the Patriots, Jets, and Dolphins. Of the three teams, they deserve a playoff spot the most. Sometimes the football gods give you what you deserve. This is going to be one of those times.

MIA @ NYJ

The game that will decide the AFC East. If the Dolphins win, they go from worst to first in one season. If the Jets win, the Patriots likely repeat as AFC East champions.

A week ago, Favre was openly discussing his possible retirement (again). This week, Favre is openly discussing a possible shoulder injury. The Jets coaching staff, in theory anyway, knows that Favre’s arm is a problem. They should run the ball more. They should be able to have some success running the ball against the Dolphins.

But their coaching staff is terrible. They’ll probably throw the ball 50 times. And they’ll lose. And the Patriots will finish 11-5, yet miss the playoffs.

SEA @ ARI

The Patriots miss the playoffs with 11 wins, and the team they beat by 40 points last week will make the playoffs with either eight or nine wins.

There is no justice.

WAS @ SF

The 49ers are reportedly going to offer Mike Singletary a multi-year contract extension. This is a fantastic move. The 49ers have played significantly better since he took over. Plus, he’s a little insane. I like a head coach that’s a little insane.

Other than that little news tidbit, this game is of absolutely no interest to anyone outside of Washington and San Francisco.

DAL @ PHI

Forget the fact that both these teams are choking dogs with head coaches that probably shouldn’t return next year but likely will. Forget the fact that these two quarterbacks have made choking in big games an art form.

Someone has to win this game.

Tony Romo and Donovan McNabb will both have the games of their lives. Wade Phillips and Andy Reid will have a coaching chess match for the ages. The Eagles will win with a late Elway-like touchdown drive by McNabb.

And none of it will matter, because the Eagles already be eliminated from the playoffs...

DEN @ SD

Out of the Patriots, Jets, Dolphins and Ravens, two teams will miss the playoffs. Those two teams will have won at least nine games. One of those teams, likely the Patriots, will miss the playoffs winning at least 10 games.

Yet the 7-8 Chargers are facing the 8-7 Broncos to see who gets the four seed in the playoffs. Completely and utterly unfair.

That said, this should be a fantastic game. Both teams absolutely hate each other. Both quarterbacks absolutely hate each other.

I want to pick the Chargers. They have more talent. They have a better team. But I can’t get past Norv Turner trying to match whits with Mike Shanahan.

The Broncos will make the playoffs, and will get crushed by the Colts next weekend.

Be sure to check out this week’s Power 10. Also, make sure you vote in our NFL MVP poll.

Happy belated Christmas!

Sean Crowe covers the New England Patriots for Examiner.com and writes a bi-weekly column for Sports-Central.org.

He is a Senior Writer and an NFL Community Leader at Bleacher Report. You can email him at scrowe@gmail.com. His archive can be found here.

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