5 months ago
Game of nan week
Seattle Seahawks (13-3) v San Francisco 49ers (12-4)
The last information of nan regular play has delivered and past some, pinch 2 knockout nail-biters deciding nan last playoff spots. Will nan Ravens return revenge connected nan Steelers? Can nan Panthers cling connected against nan Buccaneers? Will either victor make it past nan first information adjacent week? Who knows.
What we tin beryllium much assured astir is this: erstwhile nan particulate settles successful Tampa, nan pick of nan NFC will collide connected nan westbound coast. Seattle caput to nan Bay Area for a Saturday nighttime showdown pinch San Francisco, pinch nan No 1 seed astatine stake. Both rivals get reddish basking connected six-game winning streaks, hopeless to debar a conclusion that would forfeit a bye week and unit a wildcard roadworthy trip. The hostility will beryllium entity high.
What nan Seahawks request to do to win
Nothing. Absolutely nothing. Do not moreover see tinkering pinch a defense playing this well. Seattle person conceded 18.1 points per crippled this season, nan second-fewest successful nan NFL, and their 44 sacks rank eighth overall. Brock Purdy will person his activity trim retired against a fierce walk unreserved and whitethorn person to do it without early Hall of Fame near tackle Trent Williams, who injured a hamstring against nan Bears. Without his protector-in-chief, Purdy could beryllium spraying pick-ready passes each complete nan field.
The offense, meanwhile, needs to relax. The 49ers person a wont of making quarterbacks look for illustration world-beaters, nary effort required. Remind Sam Darnold that Cardinals journeyman Jacoby Brissett group an NFL grounds for completions against San Francisco this season. Get nan shot to Jaxson Smith-Njigba and fto nan points flow. Interceptions should not beryllium a awesome concern: moreover though Darnold leads nan convention pinch 20, nan 49ers person managed conscionable six each season. Easy does it.
What nan 49ers request to do to win
Stop nan run. Seattle person thrived done Kenneth Walker and Zach Charbonnet arsenic defenses stay wary of Smith-Njigba’s heavy threat. Run defense is nan only consistently coagulated facet of San Francisco’s unit. In nan play opener betwixt these teams, nan 49ers held Charbonnet to 47 yards connected 12 carries and Walker to 20 yards connected 10 attempts. Seattle stalled, and San Francisco escaped pinch a 17-13 win.
Nick Bosa’s last-gasp strip-sack that time killed a precocious comeback astatine Lumen Field. Without him, however, nan walk unreserved has been abysmal, producing a league-worst 18 sacks. For context, nan Jets person 8 much successful 31st place, while nan Broncos person 46 much astatine nan top. Without unit connected nan sometimes shaky Darnold, nan 49ers must waste retired to unopen down nan run. Force Seattle to spot nan No 1 seed connected Darnold’s shoulders – a large inquire for a backmost pinch a wont of retreating into his ammunition nether nan spotlight, arsenic seen successful past season’s wildcard nonaccomplishment to nan Rams.
Rising: Houston Texans
Houston stay strangely nether nan Super Bowl contender radar contempt being nan NFL’s shape team, riding a league-best eight-game winning streak. How are nan 11-5 Texans pulling this off? A operation of factors. Sitting 2nd to Jacksonville successful nan AFC South helps, though they tin still clinch nan section by beating nan Colts if nan Jaguars suffer to nan Titans. Their 3-5 start, marred by a sputtering offense, besides lingers successful perception.
Will CJ Stroud and co regress erstwhile nan stakes rise? Possibly. But if Jacksonville and Houston some triumph connected Sunday, a comparatively forgiving travel to Baltimore aliases Pittsburgh awaits. The Texans’ ferocious defense should overwhelm either opponent, mounting Stroud up for a 3rd consecutive AFC divisional-round appearance. With battle-hardened acquisition from 2 erstwhile failures – and a imaginable matchup successful Denver, wherever defenses person rattled Bo Nix – Houston could beryllium poised for a first convention title quality successful franchise history.
Falling: Los Angeles Rams
The Rams’ Christmas play has been brutal. Successive defeats person knocked them from nan apical of nan NFC West to nan sixth seed. Their only way to avoiding a daunting roadworthy travel to Philadelphia successful nan wildcard information is to hit nan Cardinals and dream Seattle return attraction of San Francisco.
Before Monday’s disastrous nonaccomplishment to Atlanta, Matthew Stafford was nan runaway favourite for MVP. After throwing 3 interceptions, nan grant now appears safe successful Drake Maye’s hands.
So what has gone incorrect for Sean McVay’s Rams? The discourtesy has unravelled. Wide receiver Davante Adams has been a glaring absence successful nan reddish zone. Stafford’s MVP lawsuit was built connected Adams finishing drives pinch his one-on-one dominance. An 11-touchdown burst crossed six games fuelled a 5-1 midseason run. His return cannot travel soon enough. Nor tin that of near tackle Alaric Jackson and correct defender Kevin Dotson. Constant reshuffling up beforehand has near nan Rams disjointed, culminating successful conscionable nan 3rd first-half shutout of nan McVay era since 2017. Unless reinforcements get quickly, this descent whitethorn proceed consecutive retired of nan playoffs.
Race for nan No 1 pick
The Raiders person almost done it. Placing their 2 prima players connected injured reserve produced nan desired catastrophic consequence against nan Giants, leaving Las Vegas pinch nan league’s worst grounds astatine 2-14. A nonaccomplishment to different surgery side, nan Chiefs, would unafraid nan apical prime – but will Andy Reid really beryllium outfoxed by a squad actively trying to suffer successful what whitethorn beryllium Travis Kelce’s last game? Unlikely.
The title for No 2 is moreover messier. Four teams beryllium astatine 3-13: nan Jets, Giants, Titans and Cardinals. Their opponents – nan Bills, Cowboys, Jaguars and Rams – see 3 playoff teams and an angry Dallas side. Relief is unlikely, pinch nary eager to remainder starters. If each 4 lose, nan draught bid falls to nan Giants second, Jets third, Titans 4th and Cardinals 5th connected spot of schedule.
If nan play ended coming …
AFC 1) Denver 13-3; 2) New England 13-3; 3) Jacksonville 12-4; 4) Pittsburgh 9-7; 5) Houston 11-5; 6) LA Chargers 11-5; 7) Buffalo 11-5. Bubble: Baltimore 8-8
NFC 1) Seattle 13-3; 2) Chicago 11-5; 3) Philadelphia 11-5; 4) Carolina 8-8; 5) San Francisco 12-4; 6) LA Rams 11-5; 7) Green Bay 9-6-1. Bubble: Tampa Bay 7-9
