The NFL's playoffs are on the horizon with one more week of regular season games to go. Fifteen teams are fighting for twelve playoff spots, though there is little realistic chance the present top six in each conference will change.
The game that defined the Rams season is this Week 3 shootout with the 49ers - ironically it has wound up also telegraphing the Niners' future, as they finally found the quarterback they need in November
Texans over Colts - Suddenly scuttlebutt has it Bill O'Brien may not come back in 2018, surprising and seemingly unlikely as the Texans have a genuine quarterback in Deshaun Wartson and thus a bright future.
Lions over Packers - The Packers got humiliated against the Vikings and it would seem there's no fight left, but then after getting smoked by a seemingly listless Bengals squad we're not sure about the Lions, either. If Jim Caldwell is fired the new coach has to start holding Matthew Stafford accountable, as he approaches his tenth season and has never gotten better beyond merely good.
Vikings over Bears - John Fox may not make it after this game, and one wonders about Mitchell Trubisky.
Redskins over NY Giants - The Kirk Cousins deal remains a head-scratcher in inability to work out any deal between the Skins and him, to where his future more and more looks away from Washington. The Giants have named Dave Gettleman as their new GM, and whoever the new coach is has to clean up a locker room culture that is completely toxic, full of me-first players; the Landon Collins fight with Eli Apple got headlines and showed the toxicity of this team; as refreshing as it is for a player to call out a teammate for being an all-around jerk it still reflects badly. Of course the big cancer there is Odell Beckham, enabled throughout his time. I would recommend against taking this job.
Eagles over Cowboys - Suddenly the Cowboys no longer appear to be a contender, and the fixation by Jerry Jones to keep Jason Garrett strikes one as myopic hope in a coach who can't deliver no matter how much you want him to succeed. Nick Foles' atrocious performance against the Raiders is a red flag; if he improves here then Philly's playoff chances will look a lot better.
Patriots over NY Jets - The bizarre fixation by media on Alex Guerrero and a supposed power struggle with Bill Belichick strikes one as a media-driven campaign to get him out of Foxboro; from the time it became clear Guerrero was a major training force for Brady and others there has been literally no media coverage conceding the legitimacy of his training methods, instead coverage pushes via implication that he is some kind of ripoff artist - and as Dan Le Betard's idiotic rant indicates, media believes he's giving steroids to Brady even though they can't say it in the open (the fact of it not being true of course doesn't matter). And angry reaction about trading Jimmy Garoppolo shows media myopia continued; the fact is time (and cap math) ran out on the Patriots to be able to keep him, and trading for one draft pick isn't cause for alarm given the Patriots don't lean on the draft to build their rosters. Media belief in a power struggle between Belichick and Robert Kraft once again is narrative-driven, not factual.
With all that the Patriots hope to iron out kinks before the playoffs while the Jets may unexpectedly lose Todd Bowles to the Cardinals with a reported retirement by Bruce Arians.
Steelers over Browns - The Steelers fanbase's deranged reaction to James Harrison's signing with the Patriots (not to mention angry reaction by some players) showed anew a team not disciplined or focused enough to be a true contender even after a wire-to-wire rout of the Texans. They nonetheless get a hopeless Browns team that looks incapable of ever doing anything right. DeShone Kizer looks like the worst quarterback failure in a decade.
Niners over Rams - This may rival Week 3's shootout with both teams exploding; Jimmy Garoppolo has the upper hand with nothing beyond further momentum for 2018 to play for, and thus unburdened by playoff pressure. For the Rams it's realistically a throwaway game.
Chargers over Raiders - Winning eight of their last eleven games is an encouraging surprise for the Chargers but they didn't elevate when they needed to against Jacksonville and Kansas CIty, so we feel this will just be a decent non-playoff year. For the Raiders it's the old question "Now what?" Del Rio may be gone and one wonders about Derek Carr, especially after his biggest laughfest since Tillie's Punctured Romance at the Eagles.
Saints over Buccaneers - The Jon Gruden rumor suddenly appears legitimate with reports he is assembling a staff for the Bucs. One wonders if he can get it right if he does take this job, though one holds out hope he or whoever can get Jameis Winston back on a winning track. For the Saints the question now is whether they can win a playoff game.
Panthers over Falcons - Last week's embarrassment by the Saints was a major blow for the Falcons' momentum and they get a Panthers team with a genuine shot at the division despite the season sweep by the Saints. Last week's comeback win over the Bucs was only the second time in their last six games the Panthers haven't reached 31 points scored.
Chiefs over Broncos - Now we get to see Patrick Mahomes, and he should be better than the Broncos' Paxton Lynch. Denver's fall could be seen approaching, but to have collapsed this badly is surprising. Now with no credible quarterback and an overrated and aging defense, the Broncos have to start all over.
Dolphins over Bills - Neither Jay Cutler (who may finally go away after this year) nor Tyrod Taylor inspire anything. Miam's 4-3 home record stands better against Buffalo's 2-5 road record, so that may be enough. One feels bad for Adam Gase as he had something good going with Ryan Tannehill and no doubt awaits Tannehill's return to health.
Titans over Jaguars - Tennessee is not getting much respect for making the playoffs even though the Titans smoked the Jaguars in their own building earlier this year. For all of Tom Coughlin wanting his players to keep playing and thus not develop rust the fact remains the Jaguars cannot advance beyond #3 seed in the AFC plus the Titans are fighting for their playoff lives, plus two bitter losses to the Niners and Rams show Tennessee is not just knuckling under to opponents - and Coughlin has a losing record (8-13) against the Titans as either coach or GM.
Bengals over Ravens - Cincinnati's win over the Lions after Marvin Lewis announced his coaching retirement shocked a lot of people and indicated the Bengals want him to go out a winner, and in the Andy Dalton era the Bengals have a 7-6 record against the Ravens, the seven wins coming in the last ten meetings. Baltimore's improvement has been impressive nonetheless, especially in forcing 33 turnovers (plus-17 in differential).
Cardinals over Seahawks - A new candidate for changing coaches has suddenly appeared with rumor Pete Carroll may quit after this season, even with last week's pivotal win at Dallas. The Seahawks, however, have major holes all around beginning with lack of discipline, resulting in a 4-4 record over their last eight games and the loss of home field advantage thanks to three home losses in their last four. We think the Seahawks have run out of Carroll magic.
So we await the playoffs and also NFL Coach Black Monday.
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