The NFL does its best to have exciting late-season matchups. It’s not always easy.
Teams get hurt, some teams win early and others are eliminated before Christmas. The league has to get creative sometimes. This year it designated five matchups, three of which could be moved to Saturday for a tripleheader. The NFL announced its Week 17 games for Saturday last week. All three have some playoff implications.
all Three games will be on NFL+.as well as the NFL Network.
Here are the main stories for each of the three Saturday games:
Chargers at Patriots: Los Angeles can clinch.
Making the playoffs is nothing new for the Los Angeles Chargers. But given the talent on the roster, he should have more than a playoff berth on his resume from 2018, known for the greatest elimination in NFL history. The Jacksonville Jaguars came back from a 27-point deficit to defeat the Chargers in a wild-card round game for the 2022 season. This is Los Angeles’ only playoff appearance in the last five seasons.
The Chargers will clinch another playoff spot if they defeat the New England Patriots in the first game on Saturday. The Chargers also clinch a Colts loss or tie with a Dolphins loss or tie, but getting by with a win would be more satisfying.
The Patriots are 3-12 and perhaps playing on the national stage Saturday will give them a boost. New England gave the Buffalo Bills a scare last week in a 24-21 loss, so the Patriots are still playing hard. They are getting solid play from rookie quarterback Drake May. The best the NFL can hope for is that a three-win team makes the first game of a tripleheader interesting.
Broncos at Bengals: Cincinnati is trying to get to the postseason.
The Cincinnati Bengals’ playoff hopes aren’t over, but they don’t look good either. Cincinnati can only win and hope, and that starts Saturday afternoon against the Denver Broncos.
The story of Bengal’s climate is extraordinary. It’s rare to get MVP-level play from your quarterback and still have a losing record. Joe Burrow has been great, leading the NFL with 4,229 yards and 39 passing touchdowns, and the Bengals are still stuck with a 7-8 record and little chance of making the postseason. The Bengals’ defense has let the team down many times this season.
The Broncos have also had an unpredictable season but with positive results. Bo Nix was the sixth quarterback taken in the NFL draft, but he has had a very strong rookie season and the Broncos are 9-6. They clinch a playoff berth with a win or tie on Saturday. It will be the team’s first playoff appearance since the end of the 2015 season, when Peyton Manning started his final game and the Broncos won Super Bowl 50. A great one-on-one matchup to watch pits Broncos cornerback Patrick Certain II, an NFL Defensive Player of the Year candidate, against Bengals star receiver Ja Mar-Chase, who has an NFL offensive player lawsuit. of the year
Cardinals at Rams: Rams can lock up NFC West
This game would have been a lot more interesting if the Arizona Cardinals weren’t out of the playoffs with a loss last week. Still, the Rams have a lot to play for.
The Rams had a chance to win the NFC West title this week. They needed a win and a Seahawks loss or tie, a tie and a loss in Seattle or (deep breath) a tiebreaker scheduled at Seattle to win over 3.5 between the Vikings, Bulls, 49ers, Commanders, Bengals and Browns. A win was needed. According to the NFL.
Regardless, the Rams have put themselves in a great position to win the division. They started the season 1-4 and there was a lot of speculation that they might trade Matthew Stafford or Cooper Kopp. The Rams come into Saturday’s game with a 9-6 record. The 49ers have been frustrating due to multiple injuries, the Seahawks have been inconsistent all season and the Cardinals have suffered a late season slump. That gave the Rams, who were without Poca Naqua and Cope earlier in the season, a chance to take the division.
The Cardinals are playing to gain some momentum for next season, if it’s possible to fall out of the playoff race after losing four of five. If nothing else, Kyler Murray and Marvin Harrison Jr. Could use the last two games to establish a better connection, which has been a problem for the Cardinals this season.
But Ram is the story of Saturday night. Sean McVay has already established himself as one of the best coaches in the NFL. A division title would add to his reputation after losing four of five to start the season.
