by Good morning, this is Dan Gartland. The Eagles prove every week that they are the best team in the NFC.
On today’s SI:AM:
🦁 Jared Goff and the angry Lions
🏆 Potentially the best World Cup final matchups
🇵🇹 The end of Cristiano Ronaldo
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Four games left
With four weeks left in the NFL regular season, the race heats up for the postseason. Yesterday’s roster featured multiple games in which teams took part in high-stakes battles for playoff positions, while the Patriots could keep up in the crowded AFC wildcard race with a win against the Cardinals tonight. Let’s take a look at some of the most notable races.
Home advantage in AFC
Number 1 is especially important in the third season of the seven-team-per-conference playoff format, as only one team gets a first-round bye. The Bills and Chiefs have the same 10-3 record, but Buffalo tops the list as they beat Kansas City in Week 6. The Chiefs’ remaining schedule (Texans, Seahawks, Broncos, Raiders) is ahead of the Bills’ (Dolphins, Bears, Bengals, Patriots), but a tiebreaker puts the Bills in the driver’s seat for the #1 seed.
NFC Southern pillow fight
If it weren’t for Tom Brady’s miraculous comeback last Monday, every team in the Southern NFC would have been 5-8. As it stands now, Brady’s Buccaneers are at the top of the division at 6-7, but the Falcons and Panthers are still very lively at 5-8 and the 4-9 Saints are technically still on the hunt. someone has to win that division, resulting in a home playoff game.
Sixth and seventh seeds in NFC
This is where the expanded playoff format makes things more interesting. The Cowboys (10–3) have a pretty good grip on the first wild card spot. After that, there are three teams with seven wins competing for the last two places. Commanders and Giants 7-5-1 and Washington, who is off this week, moved up to 6th when the Giants were defeated by the Eagles. New York is currently ranked 7th, but the Seahawks are far behind at 7-6 and the Lions (6-7) cannot be ignored either.
What makes this race really interesting are the remaining schedules of these four teams. Giants and Commanders will be playing each other in a game that is stretching next week. Sunday Night Football stain. After that, both teams have tough matches to close the season. The Giants play the Vikings, the Colts, and the Eagles, while the Commanders play the 49ers, Browns, and Cowboys. The Seahawks take the 49ers, Chiefs, Jets and Rams. The rest of Detroit’s schedule is probably the easiest: Jets, Panthers, Bears, Packers. Only one of these teams is over .500.
AFC North
The Ravens and the Bengals are 9–4, but currently the division’s leader is Baltimore as they beat Cincinnati by a field goal when Week 5 ran out. Both teams are in a good position to make the postseason, but the divisional title is important because it has the privilege of hosting a first-round playoff game. If you want to look ahead, the Ravens and the Bengals will face each other on the final day of the season in a game that will decide the fate of the league.
AFC wild card
As with NFC, there is some confusion in the AFC wild card ranking. If the Patriots beat the Cardinals tonight, they’ll be 7-6, leaving us with three non-league-leading teams at 7-6 (along with the Chargers and Jets) for the seventh and final playoff spot. The Chargers’ win over the Dolphins last night added even more curiosity to this race, knocking Miami 8-5.
The best sports illustrated
The Lions’ hot tension came as a surprise to many, but not to Jared Goff. He spoke to Albert Breer for today’s Daily Cover:
“You never know how long the bad times will last, I suppose,” Goff said shortly after returning home early Sunday evening. “We always believed in the work we did, the players we had, and the coaches we had. It was just a matter of time. In some ways, we were like, When will it explode?”
The top five…
… moments in the NFL yesterday:
5. Jameson Williams’ first NFL goal.
4. Panthers receiver Terrace Marshall grabs it using his legs.
3. Tyreek Hill’s clumsy rescue goal.
2. Lions offensive lineman Penei Sewell’s reception is a solid third behind.
one. Brock Purdy’s family reaction To his success with the Niners.
SIQ
What major rule change was implemented in baseball’s winter meetings today in 1930?
- The height of the pitcher hump has been standardized.
- A ball bouncing off the outfield wall no longer counts as a point.
- The hit zone was defined as the area extending from the armpits to below the knees.
- The spitball is banned.
Friday’s SIQ: On December 9, 1985, after being caught a week earlier, 49ers rookie Jerry Rice began a back-to-back NFL record streak with a reception. What year was it when Rice played a game where he couldn’t catch a pass?
Reply: 2004. Rice made 10 catches for 241 yards and scored the Rams on December 9, 1985, after which he had 18 full seasons capturing at least one pass in every game he played. The series was finally broken on September 19, 2004, after 274 matches. She was 23 when she started and was a month away from her 42nd birthday when she broke.
The streak was broken in the Raiders’ Week 2 game against the Bills with Oakland’s 13-10 win. Rice was targeted only twice. Raiders head coach Norv Turner said Rice’s winning streak was in jeopardy but only realized in the final minutes of the fourth quarter, when Oakland was holding the ball down to fill time.
“I try to work hard and if anything happens,” Rice told reporters. “But today didn’t happen, and I’m man enough to deal with it. I’ve never backed down from it and look forward to the next opportunity.”
After Rice was excluded in back-to-back games in Weeks 5 and 6, the Raiders traded him to the Seahawks. Still, there was some magic left in it. In Seattle’s Week 13 game against the Cowboys, 42-year-old Rice scored eight catches and one touchdown for 145 yards.
Editor’s note: Saturday’s issue of this newsletter misspelled the name of SI’s deputy editor-in-chief. That’s Stephen Cannella, not Canella. Also, the SI Vault feature in this release should have referenced it. December 9, 1991, cover by Desmond Howard.
Check out more SIsarchives and historical images at vault.si.com.
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