Gus Edwards and Lamar Jackson looked lethal in various aspects and the Ravens just kept fighting for yardage and first downs. Baltimore Ravens (8-6)īaltimore looked like it was going to get out-physicaled by the Buccaneers for stretches of Sunday's game, but eventually just ponied up and ran the ball down Tampa's throat. Los Angeles is as dangerous as it comes in the AFC right now: drawing them as a four seed in the wild-card round is a nightmare. The Chargers shocked the world with a pair of fourth-quarter touchdowns against the Chiefs, clinching a playoff berth, giving hope to the Philip Rivers MVP campaign and keeping alive the possibility of an AFC Championship Game in the StubHub Center. Pittsburgh hasn't won the division, but it's likely to make it as a wild card at this point at minimum. The Steelers didn't blow out the Pats by any stretch, but they put together impressive play on both sides of the ball and made big plays in huge spots to save their playoff lives. The Steelers won a CLOSE one against the Pats on Sunday afternoon in Pittsburgh, a game that felt like an incredible thriller and could be a preview of a future playoff matchup. The Patriots probably have to go on the road in the second round and won't get a bye unless Houston drops a game. The defense struggled to slow down the Steelers late, Gronk looked mortal and Brady missed several big throws when it mattered. Then New England got the ball back trailing 17-10 and couldn't pull off the comeback. Tom Brady got the ball in the red zone, trailing by four points. The Patriots saw their dreams of a first-round bye potentially go up in smoke on Sunday afternoon when the Steelers took care of them in Pittsburgh. The Texans closed strong, though, and they are a star-laden team that can create some issues for teams. The Texans came out strong against the Jets on Saturday night before New York jumped up and made things interesting. The AFC looked over a week ago and now turmoil abounds. But if the Chiefs slip up again (they have the Seahawks on the road and the Raiders at home left), the Chargers could steal the top seed, as could the Patriots or Texans. Kansas City can win out and still clinch the No. The Chiefs loss to the Chargers on Thursday spices things up across the board. If you don't remember what happened that year, the Saints were a mauling NFC behemoth running through the competition.ĪFC: Who's in 1. Maybe most telling about this year's setup for the Saints - this would be the first time the Saints had home field throughout the playoffs since 2009, if they can manage to clinch. The Bears are great too, but New Orleans is in a class by itself. In a week that saw the Rams fall and the Patriots fall and the Chiefs fall, the Saints might very well be the biggest clear-cut contender left standing. Saints highlights, takeaways: Saints gut out ugly game, now one win away from No. Which means a Saints win against the Steelers next week in New Orleans would lock up home field throughout in Week 16 and make the Saints' Week 17 game against the Panthers meaningless (Carolina isn't eliminated yet but is pretty close). New Orleans (12-2) is a full game up on the Rams (11-3) in the standings, but the Saints have an extra half game because of their head-to-head tiebreaker over the Rams. And now the Saints are in perfect position to secure home-field throughout the playoffs thanks to a Monday night victory in Charlotte, an ugly 12-9 win over the suddenly 6-8 Panthers. Not because the Rams have a great home-field advantage, but because taking away the Saints' home-field advantage is the surest way to beat them. The top seed in the NFC is going to be a massive advantage.
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