Still Plenty To Play for in Last Week of NFL Regular Season as Six Teams Battle for Crucial First-Round Bye
Six teams are still fighting for three important spots to ease their path to the Super Bowl.
While 10 teams have clinched playoff spots entering Week 17, only the Baltimore Ravens (13-2) have earned a first-round bye. The Ravens secured the AFC’s No. 1 seed for the first time in franchise history.
New England (12-3) and Kansas City (11-4) are battling for the No. 2 spot.
The Patriots play the Miami Dolphins (4-11) at Gillette Stadium, while the Chiefs host the Los Angeles Chargers (5-10).
The Buffalo Bills (10-5) have locked up the No. 5 spot in the AFC playoffs, and the Houston Texans (10-5) have also earned a playoff berth.
Hoping to join them are the Tennessee Titans (8-7), who visit the Texans; the Pittsburgh Steelers (8-7), who play the rival Ravens in Baltimore; and the Oakland Raiders (7-8), who visit the Denver Broncos (6-9).
In the NFC, the top two seeds are still up for grabs. San Francisco (12-3), Green Bay (12-3), New Orleans (12-3) and Seattle (11-4) each has a chance to clinch home-field advantage throughout the playoffs.
The Packers visit the Detroit Lions (3-11-1), the Carolina Panthers (5-10) host the Saints, and the Seahawks and 49ers battle in a key game Sunday night at CenturyLink Field.
The Minnesota Vikings (10-5) have also earned a spot in the playoffs.
The final berth will go to the NFC East champion: The Philadelphia Eagles (8-7) or the Dallas Cowboys (7-8), who need to beat the visiting Washington Redskins (3-12) and hope the Eagles lose to the New York Giants (4-11).
The teams that win a bye gain a big advantage: No team has reached the Super Bowl without a first-round bye since the 2012 Ravens, and 18 of the last 25 Super Bowl champions have been either a No. 1 or No. 2 seed.
The 2010 Packers were the last wild-card team to advance to the Super Bowl.
Over the last 25 years, 39 of the 50 teams that played in the Super Bowl were either a No. 1 or a No. 2 seed. There were 13 No. 2 seeds, two No. 3 seeds, six No. 4 seeds, one No. 5 seed and two No. 6 seeds.
Here’s a look inside more numbers entering the final week of the regular season:
RUNNING RAVENS: Lamar Jackson and Mark Ingram have the Ravens on the verge of breaking the league’s single-season rushing record. The Ravens have 3,073 yards rushing. The 1978 Patriots had 3,165 and 1973 Bills had 3,088.
Jackson (1,206) and Ingram (1,018) are the seventh teammates with 1,000-yard seasons and first since Carolina’s Jonathan Stewart and DeAngelo Williams in 2009.
However, neither will play Sunday against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
RECORD BREAKER: New Orleans Saints receiver Michael Thomas already broke Marvin Harrison’s record for receptions in a season. Harrison had 143 in 2002. Thomas has 145. Thomas has more yards receiving (5,475) in his first four seasons than anyone in league history.
PASSING SWEETNESS: Redskins running back Adrian Peterson rushed for his 111th career touchdown, moving past Walter Payton into fourth place on the all-time list. Marcus Allen is third with 123.
FASTER THAN JERRY: Atlanta Falcons receiver Julio Jones reached 12,000 yards receiving in his 125th game, fastest in league history. Jerry Rice is second; he needed 142 games to do it.
CATCHING UP: Panthers running back Christian McCaffrey broke his own record for most receptions by a running back in a season. He has 109, surpassing his total of 107 last year. McCaffrey is the first running back with multiple seasons of at least 100 receptions. He has nine games with at least 150 scrimmage yards this season. Only Marshall Faulk (1999 and 2001) and Chris Johnson (2009) have done that nine times in a season.
MR. CONSISTENT: Eagles tight end Zach Ertz has 525 receptions, the most by any player at his position in his first seven seasons. Jason Witten had 523.
ANOTHER FRIDGE: Miami’s Christian Wilkins joined William “The Refrigerator” Perry as the only rookie defensive linemen with TD catches in the Super Bowl era.
The Western Journal has reviewed this Associated Press story and may have altered it prior to publication to ensure that it meets our editorial standards.
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