With the exception of the Monday Night game against the Atlanta Falcons and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, for every other NFL team there are two more weeks left in the regular season. The AFC playoff field is practically set, but there are still a few scenarios that make the final weeks interesting outside of your fantasy football championships.
And, by the way, if you set up your title game for the final week of the season, you’re almost guaranteed a disaster. The good teams that have already clinched sit players in Week 17. Nothing would be worse than losing a fantasy title because New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady watched Brian Hoyer throw passes from the sidelines.
ALREADY IN
NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS (11-3)
Clinched the AFC East, Currently hold the No. 1 seed and a first round bye
Thanks to an incredibly stupid fake spike play from Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger that got dug up like a volleyball kill and intercepted in the end zone, the Patriots are now in control of the AFC. The teams that could screw it up? The Buffalo Bills and the New York Jets, who the Pats host at Gillette. Patriot haters, don’t hold your breath.
The poor downtrodden Patriots finally caught a break yesterday.
HAHAHAHAHAHAHA— Stephen King (@StephenKing) December 18, 2017
PITTSBURGH STEELERS (11-3)
Clinched the AFC North, Currently hold the No. 2 seed and a first round bye
First of all, let’s talk about the called back touchdown that supposedly put the Steelers in this position. It was a great play, a great call, but there’s no question at all that tight end Jesse James did not complete the catch. As he hit the ground, the ball came loose and he trapped it against the turf. That’s not a catch. In fact, people want to complain about the new catch rules, but I can’t remember a time that was ever counted as a catch.
Interesting tidbit from @mlombardiNFL on GM Street pod: Patriots players are forbidden from extending at the pylon or while falling across goal line in process of catch. Belichick has made it clear they will be benched.
— Chris Wesseling (@ChrisWesseling) December 18, 2017
The only reason to bitch about this is all is pure Patriots Hate. Let me be clear, I understand that desire. When it comes to Patriots Hate, I am not only one of you, I am your king. But the most infuriating thing about New England is their usual consistent ability to not make dumb mistakes. This play isn’t what cost the Steelers the game. It was the next one.
Pittsburgh should have dusted themselves off and, with 30 seconds ago, set themselves up to at least tie the game but Roethlisberger decided to run some trickery. He called a fake spike and made a pass that looked a lot more like DeShone Kizer than a future Hall of Famer. It got picked off and the Steelers lost. Now, if the seeds play out, they’ll have to travel to Foxborough again for the AFC title game.
After the Patriots-Steelers game, the refs explained the call. pic.twitter.com/brUkvRdq1h
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) December 18, 2017
Like the Pats, Pittsburgh has a cake walk through the end of the season. They play at the Houston Texans with God knows who at quarterback next week, then wrap it all up at home against the Cleveland Browns.
JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS (10-4)
Clinched a playoff berth for the first time since 2007
By virtue of their 45-7 beat down of the Houston Texans Sunday, the Jaguars punched their ticket to the big dance. A win over the San Francisco 49ers on Christmas Eve or a Tennessee Titans loss will give them the AFC South crown and a home playoff game.
Asked if Bortles is improving, Clowney said he’s “trash.” #Texans #Jaguars
— Brian T. Smith (@BTSmithUK) December 17, 2017
Here’s a fun fact you might not have realized; After nearly losing his job to back up Chad Henne in the preseason, Blake Bortles has bounced back in a big way this season. He had a rocky start to the year as the defense drug him and the offense along, but it may surprise you to learn that no quarterback in the league has played better than Bortles down the stretch.
Over his last three games, Bortles is 3-0, completed 71 percent of his passes for 903 yards, seven touchdowns and no interceptions. He’s done this without his best wide receiver (Allen Robinson) and while you could argue that a couple of the Jags’ opponents (the Colts and Texans) aren’t top tier, he knocked off the Seahawks 30-24 two weeks ago. Bortles has significantly improved and maybe shown he’s a franchise guy after all. Jacksonville certainly will have no reason to draft a QB high in April.
For the first time since 2007, the @Jaguars have CLINCHED a spot in the #NFLPlayoffs!#Jaguars pic.twitter.com/rJVLdhmapu
— NFL (@NFL) December 17, 2017
LEADING THE PACK
KANSAS CITY CHIEFS (8-6)
Currently hold a one-game lead in the AFC West
It turns out all the Chiefs had to do to right the ship was face a couple of win-or-go-home scenarios against fellow members of the AFC West. In successive weeks the Chiefs’ title belt was on the line against the Raiders and Chargers. Kansas City showed up both times, downing Oakland 26-15 and then the Chargers Sunday 30-13. In that game they looked a whole lot like the team that dominated the league in the first month of the season.
The Chiefs have now won eight straight divisional games at Arrowhead Stadium.
It's been 822 days since the last loss.
— Matt McMullen (@KCChiefs_Matt) December 17, 2017
While KC hasn’t clinched anything yet, they obviously have the inside track. They hold a one-game lead over the Chargers and a two-game lead over the Raiders. Having swept Los Angeles this season, they win that tie-breaker outright if both teams finish with the same record.
With a little help, the Chiefs could clinch the division with a home win against the Dolphins next week and a Chargers loss. L.A. is playing at the New York Jets so it’s a definite possibility. What the Chiefs don’t want to do is have a playoff appearance on the line facing a dangerous Denver Broncos team on New Year’s Eve at Mile High.
WILD CARDS
TENNESSEE TITANS (8-6)
Currently No. 5 seed, two games back in the AFC South
BUFFALO BILLS (8-6)
Currently No. 6 seed
Neither of these teams have a sure path to the playoffs. The Titans have pretty much blown any chance at an AFC North title over the last month. They host the Los Angeles Rams Sunday and then play at the Jacksonville Jaguars on New Year’s Eve. They could very easily lose both games and be out of the playoffs entirely.
The Titans franchise is masterful with the way that they repeatedly rip the hearts out of their fans every year. It's sad, inexcusable, and it's gone on for far too long. This is a disaster.
— Luke Worsham (@luke_worsham) December 18, 2017
The Bills are in the same mess. They play at New England on Christmas Eve, then at Miami on Dec. 31. They too will probably lose both those games.
Still in it: Baltimore Ravens (8-6), Los Angeles Chargers (7-7), Oakland Raiders (6-8) and Miami Dolphins (6-8)
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