NFL Week 17 Preview: Playoff race nears boiling point as Tom Brady’s season falters



CNN

Tom Brady no stranger to high-pressure situations, although they usually make the playoffs, unlike in previous weeks when his stuttering Tampa Bay Pirates are looking to secure a spot in the postseason.

Brady now spent most of his life in NFL than he is out of the league – he was drafted at age 22 years and eight months (8,292 days) on April 16, 2000, and by the time the Bucks face their division rival Carolina Panthers on Sunday, from that date 8295 days will pass. .

Few seasons have been as tumultuous for the seven-time Super Bowl winner, who retired and didn’t retire for weeks into the off-season.

The Bucks are 7-8, leading the NFC South but only one game ahead of the Panthers.

Losing in Tampa on Sunday would have left the teams with equal records last week, and Carolina would have taken the lead thanks to a head-to-head tiebreak – not something Brady or head coach Todd Bowles could have foreseen when the team started the year with two wins. .

The Carolinas will be buoyed by their 21-3 win over Tampa in Week 7, even though it happened to PJ Walker in the quarterback slot. Sam Darnold is taking up that mantle this weekend, looking to bolster his 250-yard run against the Detroit Lions with another winning performance from last time.

The start is scheduled for 13:00 ET on Sunday.

Brady during the second half against the Arizona Cardinals on December 25, 2022.

While Monday Night Football may not be a playoff hazard like the Carolinas @ Tampa Bay, it does represent something just as enticing – a late-season clash between two teams with a genuine Super Bowl track record and two of the league’s best quarterbacks.

Josh Allen is looking to fuel the Bills’ 13th win this year and seventh in a row as the team already clinched the AFC East Division.

With the same record as the ever-rivaling Kansas City Chiefs, but with a head-to-head tiebreak advantage, the Bills win this weekend will secure the all-important No. 1 seed in the AFC, giving them a playoff run bye-bye and home. . advantage on the field throughout the playoffs of the conference.

For the Bengals, Joe Burrow has been in power lately.

The 26-year-old received AFC Offensive Player of the Week honors for his 375-yard three-touchdown pass against the New England Patriots, and his relationship with fellow LSU alum Ja’Marr Chase was the driving force behind his own seven-game winning streak.

The game starts at 8:30 pm ET on Monday.

Baltimore has already secured a spot in the postseason, but the final two games of the regular season will have major implications for a potential Super Bowl path.

Star guard Lamar Jackson has missed three games in a row with a knee injury. failed to practice tenth day in a row on Wednesday. This suggests that Tyler Huntley will prepare for another start instead of the 2019 MVP this weekend.

A Ravens victory would make their Week 18 clash with the Bengals the deciding factor of the AFC North Championship following their Week 5 victory over the same opponent. It would also give Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin the first losing season of his 15-year career.

The Steelers’ weak playoff hopes took another blow when the Los Angeles Chargers secured a spot with a win over Indianapolis on Monday, but it’s not just Tomlin’s impressive track record that’s at stake Sunday night.

The Steelers-Ravens rivalry is one of the most legendary and intense in the NFL, with the AFC North teams meeting four times in postseason history and winning four combined Super Bowl titles.

Tune in to us at 8:20 pm ET on Sunday to see who gets the trophies.

Tyler Huntley passes the ball against the Atlanta Falcons, December 24.

A loss against the Philadelphia Eagles in late November seemed to put an end to any realistic dreams of Aaron Rodgers winning a second Super Bowl title, but the Packers and their Cheeseheaded backers have seen a recent upswing in fortunes, coupled with the collapse of some NFC rivals. an unlikely path to football on the weekend.

Standing in their way are the division champion Minnesota Vikings, who defeated the Packers in a one-sided matchup in week one.

It was one of Minnesota’s few comfortable wins this season, with the team displaying admirable bravery in difficult situations as they won 11 games with a tie. They are the first team History of the NFL so many victories.

A big part of that was the electric form of three-year-old wide receiver Justin Jefferson, who has been a defensive nightmare all season.

His latest virtuoso performance against the New York Giants last weekend saw him surpass Viking legend Randy Moss’s record for most receiving yards in a single season in franchise history — and the 23-year-old is now just 209 yards behind Calvin’s record. Johnson in the league. 1964 receiving yards for the season.

Game kicks off at Lambo Field at 4:25 pm ET Sunday.

For most of the season, the team looked destined for the franchise’s first playoff spot since 2016. Miami Dolphins now faced with the very real possibility of wasting another seemingly promising year by losing the last four games.

Adding to Miami’s troubles this week was a report that quarterback Tua Tagovailoa suffered a second concussion in a controversial season during Sunday’s loss to the Green Bay Packers.

This injury means the team is likely to move forward with backup Teddy Bridgewater in his place.

The Dolphins haven’t won a game without Tua this season and will need at least one win in their remaining two AFC East games to end the playoff drought, depending on other league results.

The Patriots, meanwhile, are in territory that needs to be won if they are to maintain their postseason hopes.

Their pitiful defenses have given way fifth– Fewest points per game this year, but the team struggled on the other side of the ball, sophomore defenseman Mack Jones ranked 32nd QBR ESPN metrics.

Watch the competition at Gillette Stadium at 1 pm ET Sunday.

Tua Tagovailoa suffered his second concussion of the season.

Here’s how to see these and other teams across the league in action, no matter where you are.

Australia: NFL Game Pass, ESPN, 7Plus

Brazil: NFL Game Pass, ESPN

Canada: CTV, TSN, RDS, NFL Game Pass on DAZN

Germany: NFL Game Pass, ProSieben MAXX, DAZN

Mexico: NFL Game Pass, TUDN, ESPN, Fox Sports, Sky Sports

UK: NFL Game Pass, Sky Sports, ITV, Channel 5

USA: NFL Game Pass, CBS Sports, Fox Sports, ESPN, Amazon Prime