RADIO
Seattle Seahawks 27, Chicago Bears 17 (Thursday Night Football)
There isn’t much left to say about the Bears at this point, as Chicago comes in on the heels of suffering their ninth straight loss last week against the Lions. Head coach Matt Eberflus has already been fired and interim head coach Thomas Brown’s departure won’t be far behind, as Chicago is simply playing out the string before wiping the slate clean in 2025.
Seattle is still alive in the NFC postseason race with an 8-7 record, but their playoff chances are shrinking due to losses in each of their last two. We won’t go through the Seahawks’ different playoff scenarios here, but all roads that lead to the NFL Playoffs involve this squad winning out over the final two weeks of the season. Needless to say, Mike Macdonald’s bunch will be highly motivated on Thursday night and has the tools necessary to handle this abysmal Bears squad.
Los Angeles Chargers 23, New England Patriots 14 (Saturday)
Jim Harbaugh’s first season at the helm in L.A. has been a success. The Chargers enter Week 16 with a 95% chance of making the NFL Playoffs and a win over the Patriots will clinch a postseason berth. The Bolts woke up from a two-game skid to defeat the Broncos last week behind 284 yards and two TDs from quarterback Justin Herbert.
While Herbert and this Chargers offense have been more meat-and-potatoes than high-octane in 2024, they should still be able to find some success against a New England defense that’s allowing just over 24 points per game. Rookie quarterback Drake Maye appears to be the future of the franchise, but the Patriots simply lack the supporting cast around him to challenge the Chargers this week.
Cincinnati Bengals 28, Denver Broncos 27 (Saturday)
The Bengals continued their late-season playoff push by winning their third straight game last week. Joe Burrow and company topped 24 points for the seventh consecutive game in the team’s Week 16 victory over the Browns. Cincy’s postseason chances are currently somewhere around 10%. They will need to win out and hope for lots of help along the way.
Denver enters Week 17 with much better chances at a postseason berth, as the Broncos basically just need one win across their last two games. Sean Payton’s group had a four-game win streak snapped last week against the Chargers, but are fully capable of bouncing back here against a Bengals defense that’s been one of the worst in the NFL this season. Expect a back-and-forth affair with the explosive Cincy offense helping to pull out a close one.
Los Angeles Rams 21, Arizona Cardinals 17 (Saturday)
After a gut-wrenching overtime loss at Carolina eliminated them from playoff contention in Week 16, the Cardinals will be relegated to playing the role of spoiler this week against the L.A. Rams. Arizona walloped a banged-up version of the Rams 41-10 earlier this year, but Sean McVay’s squad enters the rematch with Puka Nacua and Cooper Kupp fully healthy.
A Week 16 road win over the Jets, coupled with losses by the Cardinals, Seahawks, and Niners, means the Rams control their own playoff destiny. They will be highly motivated to beat Arizona this week and get one step closer to the NFC West title and a home playoff game. Though Matthew Stafford and company have been uneven from one week to the next, look for this veteran Rams squad to take care of business here.
Philadelphia Eagles 21, Dallas Cowboys 17
After blowing a 13-point fourth-quarter lead – and a chance to clinch the NFC East divisional title – last week against the Commanders, Philadelphia will look to get back on track against their long-time rival, the Dallas Cowboys, in Week 17. The Eagles lost QB Jalen Hurts due to concussion concerns last week and his availability for this week’s game is unknown as of this writing.
With or without Hurts, Philly could have their hands full with a Cowboys squad that’s won four of their last five in a late-season surge. Despite Dallas’ recent success – and Hurts’ questionable status – I look for this talented Eagles roster to be too much for the ‘Boys, as they continue to chase the NFC’s No. 1 overall seed.
Buffalo Bills 28, New York Jets 17
Buffalo wrapped up the AFC East title ages ago, but Josh Allen and company are still fighting for playoff seeding as they host the Jets in Week 17. The 12-3 Bills survived an underwhelming performance against New England last week and will look to continue their march into the postseason squad against a Jets team that’s been a three-ring circus in 2024.
As of this writing New York quarterback Aaron Rodgers is reportedly dealing with a knee issue that makes his availability for Weke 17 unclear. While Gang Green’s chances in this matchup would certainly plummet without Rodgers in the lineup, it’s fair to wonder how competitive the Jets can be even with their veteran QB under center. Buffalo’s close call against New England last week served as a nice wake-up call, they’ll be focused in this one.
Las Vegas Raiders 17, New Orleans Saints 14
In a tight race with Titans vs. Jaguars for “Worst Game of the Week”, this matchup features two squads who should already be turning their focus to 2025. Las Vegas beat the aforementioned Jags last week – a victory that crippled their draft pick status, if we’re being completely honest – and it appears as though Antonio Pierce and the Raiders will be playing hard over the final two games of the year.
Who knows if we can say the same thing for the Saints? New Orleans fired Dennis Allen midseason and hasn’t found much success since. Decimated by injuries to stars Derek Carr, Alvin Kamara, and Chris Olave, the Saints were destroyed 34-0 by the Packers on Monday Night Football while fielding a team comprised of players that most fans haven’t heard of. It should be more of the same this week, as the Raiders grind out a win.
Indianapolis Colts 23, New York Giants 13
The Colts cling to slim playoff hopes with all scenarios requiring that they win out. Step one should be very doable, as they draw a Giants squad that’s been horrendous in 2024 and enter Week 17 as perhaps the NFL’s worst team.
Indy has been content to feed Jonathan Taylor in recent weeks, and he responded with a monster 218-yard, three-TD performance in Week 16. The Giants’ defensive front is allowing the league’s second-most rushing yards per game and has little chance of slowing down JT.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 35, Carolina Panthers 31
The Bucs lost control of their own destiny with a painful Week 16 loss to the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday Night Football. Tampa Bay will now need to win out and get a little help along the way if they want to claim the NFC South crown over the Falcons.
A Week 16 home matchup against the Panthers would’ve seemed like a dream matchup a couple of months ago. However, Bryce Young has regained confidence as the season has progressed, which has led Carolina to be a very competitive team. This same Panthers squad took the Bucs to the brink in an overtime loss back in Week 13. While I look for Carolina to once again be feisty here – and find some success against a bad Tampa defense – the Bucs will come out on top to keep their playoff hopes alive.
Tennessee Titans 20, Jacksonville Jaguars 17
These AFC South rivals sport matching 3-12 records in a Week 17 game that only a mother could love. Both Tennessee and Jacksonville will be without the quarterbacks they started the season with, as Will Levis was effectively benched two weeks ago and Trevor Lawrence has been lost to injury.
The result is two low-impact offenses that respectively rank 25th and 28th in the NFL in points per game this season. But wait, it gets worse! The Titans and Jags also each rank worse than 29th in points allowed this season. Will this one be a “bad teams shootout” or a “bad teams slog”? I’ll go with the latter.
Miami Dolphins 27, Cleveland Browns 13
Miami is on the outside looking in at the AFC playoff picture, however, they enter a Week 17 date with the Browns still not mathematically eliminated from the postseason. Winners of five of their last seven, the Dolphins will look to keep those tiny playoff hopes alive for at least one more week with a win over a Cleveland squad that’s been a mess in 2024.
I’m not sure if it was for evaluation or draft order purposes, but the Browns elected to bench Jameis Winston in favor of Dorian Thompson-Robinson last week. The results were predictable, as DTR proceeded to lead Cleveland to six points in a loss to the Bengals. Thompson-Robinson suffered a minor calf issue last week but is expected to remain the starter in Week 17, a move that should ensure Cleveland doesn’t lose any draft position.
Green Bay Packers 28, Minnesota Vikings 27
This NFC North showdown is the marquee game of the week and holds serious playoff implications for both teams involved. The Vikings are still alive for both the NFC North divisional title and a No. 1 seed in the postseason, but the path is far from easy, as they would need to defeat the Packers this week, as well as the Lions in the regular-season finale.
Green Bay punched their playoff ticket with a 34-0 domination of the Saints on Monday Night Football. The Packers can still improve their seeding – as well as gain some revenge for a Week 4 loss to the Vikes – with a win this week. This feels like a coin flip between evenly matched teams and will likely be decided by whose quarterback can best protect the ball. I’ll lean toward Jordan Love here, though this one will be a tight game.
Washington Commanders 27, Atlanta Falcons 24
Jayden Daniels locked up the Offensive Rookie of the Year award last week with an iconic comeback win over the Eagles that included a last-second TD throw. Daniels accounted for five Washington TDs in the victory over Philly. Despite the thrilling upset over the Eagles, the Commanders still haven’t clinched a playoff spot, though they can seal their postseason berth with a win over Atlanta.
The Falcons are doing their own playoff match, though they do control their own destiny. Atlanta can win the NFC South by winning their final two games. The organization’s decision to bench Kirk Cousins in favor of rookie Michael Penix Jr. last week paid off with a win over the Giants, though the Falcons defense did all the heavy lifting.
Penix does add a dimension to this Atlanta offense that’s been missing with the noodle-armed Cousins, though the vulnerable Falcons secondary’s inability to slow down Daniels and Terry McLaurin will be the difference in this one.
Detroit Lions 31, San Francisco 49ers 27
Dealing with too many defensive injuries to list here, the Lions handled the Chicago Bears comfortably in Week 16, as they continue their quest for the NFC’s No. 1 seed. Winning out is the simplest path for Dan Campbell’s squad, as a Week 17 showdown with the Minnesota Vikings looms.
The 49ers figured to be in the hunt for a No. 1 seed in the NFC when the season started. However, those dreams evaporated thanks to a plethora of injuries to key players like their Week 16 opponents are growing familiar with. San Francisco is simply playing for pride at this point and they’ve lost five of their last six. Though Detroit’s defense has been gutted, their offense is still very capable of rolling up big numbers on a Niners defense that isn’t the one we’ve grown accustomed to in recent years.
