Can you imagine the uproar if the Cowboys lose this game? It was bad enough when they gave up a 26-3

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Week 15 was full of surprises, with the Vikings blowing out the Eagles; the Titans mounting a 17-point comeback against the Cardinals, only to lose in OT; the Broncos, Patriots, and Bengals get motivated seminar american airlines center dallas all losing; and the Ravens winning in Detroit on a 61-yard field goal in the final minute. Amazingly, only one additional team claimed a playoff berth (Kansas City, after demolishing Oakland 56-31), even though plenty were in place to punch their postseason ticket. This week, there are nine different teams with the potential to clinch a playoff berth, but not all of them can make it (four of the 12 spots have already been filled). How many of them will pull it off? Let’s take a look at each of this week’s matchups. For your convenience, I will note any playoff implications for each individual matchup.
It’s hard to know whether or not this will truly be the week’s best game, but it’s certainly the best matchup. The division title is on the line at Bank of America Stadium: New Orleans needs a win to lock up the South; Carolina needs to win out to take it. When these two teams met in New Orleans in Week 14, the Saints absolutely dominated the game from start to finish. Now that the rivalry returns to Charlotte with both teams at 10-4, the stakes are higher, and Carolina hopes that it can pull out a much-needed victory. Panthers QB Cam Newton has really rebounded from last year’s sophomore slump, putting up a career high in completion percentage (62.3%), tied for a career high in touchdown passes (21), and tied for a career low in turnovers (12). The team’s defense get motivated seminar american airlines center dallas has also drastically improved since last year. Last year’s unit gave up 22.7 PPG (18th in NFL); this year’s unit has allowed 7.8 PPG fewer (14.9; 2nd in NFL). The team’s turnover differential is also up 10 points from last year (+11 in 2013 vs. +1 in 2012).
The Panthers defense get motivated seminar american airlines center dallas isn’t the only one drastically improved from 2012. The Saints get motivated seminar american airlines center dallas defense has also been incredibly better. After giving up the most yards in a season in NFL history last year, new DC Rob Ryan has turned the unit into a Top 5 defense. Astonishingly, the Saints defense is giving up an average of 127.3 YPG and 9.1 PPG fewer than in 2012. That kind of defensive turnaround is basically unheard-of. While the defense isn’t generating as many turnovers (26 in 2012 vs. 17 in 2013), the defense unit as a whole is making up for it by limiting both yards and points. Going into Charlotte, where the Panthers are 6-1 so far this year, and playing as well as they did in Week 14 will be very difficult, especially with the way the Saints have played on the road this year. They’re 3-4 in road games, with two wins (Tampa Bay and Atlanta) and two losses (New York Jets, St. Louis) against teams with losing records. They’ve also lost two of their three road games against teams with winning records get motivated seminar american airlines center dallas (New England get motivated seminar american airlines center dallas and Seattle), beating only Chicago. This doesn’t bode well for them in Sunday’s game, but based on how they played get motivated seminar american airlines center dallas Carolina only two weeks ago, they can’t be counted out.
It was hard to pick between this game and Cleveland-New York, but at least the latter has playoff implications get motivated seminar american airlines center dallas (though not for either team actually playing in it). Tennessee-Jacksonville is a matchup between two mediocre teams fighting for draft position instead of playoff seeding, and one of the head coaches’ job is on the line. While the Titans have struggled with injuries get motivated seminar american airlines center dallas to regular starting QB Jake Locker, there have been plenty of issues with the play of the team’s healthy players too. RB Chris Johnson has been completely ineffective, even behind a revamped offensive get motivated seminar american airlines center dallas line. The team will most certainly cut him in the offseason. There’s little to no chance that he’ll return to the magic of his 2,000 rushing yard/2,500 all-purpose yard 2009 season. get motivated seminar american airlines center dallas The Titans started the year 3-1, and were even still very alive at 4-4, but now they find themselves at 5-9 and out of playoffs for a 5th straight year.
Jacksonville finds itself trending get motivated seminar american airlines center dallas in the opposite direction. After starting the year 0-8 and losing each of their first 8 games by double digits, the Jaguars have won four of their past six games, including three road wins. Yes, those four wins were against Tennessee, Houston (twice), and Cleveland, but the pre-bye week Jaguars wouldn’t have even been competitive in those games, much less victorious. Winning games against lesser (or at least equal) opponents is what differentiates middling teams from bad teams. The 0-8 Jags were a bad team, historically so. The 4-10 Jags aren’t good, but they’re playing so much better than they were at the season’s halfway point. HC Gus Bradley get motivated seminar american airlines center dallas has done a fantastic job of not letting his team give up. Many teams might look at an 0-8 record as a reason to look toward the draft, but Bradley’s Jaguars get motivated seminar american airlines center dallas dug in and didn’t give up. They’ve already doubled their win total from 2012, and they could win as many as six games. A win over Tennessee would bring their record against the AFC South to 4-1, an impressive feat, but unfortunately for Jacksonville, I don’t see them pulling a win out this time. Titans HC Mike Munchak is too desperate for a win to allow yet another winnable game to slip away.
2013 has been a lost season for the Atlanta Falcons. For a team that was 10 yards away from a Super Bowl appearance less than 12 months ago, the Falcons sure haven’t looked like it this year. This game marks a rematch of last year’s NFC Championship Game, but it has far lower implications. The 49ers can punch a ticket to the playoffs with a win, but the Falcons have been out of the picture for weeks (since Nov. 25th, to be exact). Pretty much everything that could’ve gone wrong for Atlanta did. They lost WR Julio Jones for the season back in Week 5. WR Roddy White (3 games) and RB Steven Jackson (4 games) have both missed extended time with injuries get motivated seminar american airlines center dallas of their own. The defense has regressed significantly, especially in PPG allowed (18.7 in 2012 vs. 27.7 in 2013) and takeaways (31 in 2012 vs. 19 in 2013). The offense has struggled to convert red zone trips. get motivated seminar american airlines center dallas Atlanta get motivated seminar american airlines center dallas will need to retool their defense get motivated seminar american airlines center dallas for 2014 via free agency and the draft, and they’ll need their players to get healthy. If they can do that, they can have a quick turnaround and be back in the playoff picture as soon as next season.
For the 49ers, their 2013 hopes are still very much alive, as they are only one win away from the playoffs. Their offense hasn’t jelled as well as last year, and they’re still struggling to get yards, but they’re not struggling with putting up points. Their Top 3 defense is a big reason why they’ve managed a 10-4 record, even with an oft-anemic offense. They’re allowing get motivated seminar american airlines center dallas less than 16.5 points and 300 yards per game, and are third in the NFL in both categories. QB Colin Kaepernick hasn’t found nearly as much success as he did in half a season get motivated seminar american airlines center dallas of play last year, as opposing defenses have figured get motivated seminar american airlines center dallas out his option attack, but he’s done a somewhat better job of producing in the team’s past four games than he did in the first 10. San Francisco will always be a run-first team, so Kap doesn’t need to carry the offense as Peyton Manning and Tom Brady have done for most of their careers, but it would still be nice to see a slightly better output than 224 all-purpose yards, 1.5 touchdowns, and 1.27 turnovers per game. The team has found success even without a large dose of Kaepernicking, so maybe he’s just not as essential as he was last year. Barring some sort of incredible meltdown by Kap, I don’t see the Niners losing this game.
Can you imagine the uproar if the Cowboys lose this game? It was bad enough when they gave up a 26-3 halftime lead, at home, to a playoff contender, and lost by one. If they lose to a 3-11 Redskins team that has given up the most points in the NFL, with the division title and a playoff berth on the line, heads will roll, no matter what owner Jerry Jones has said up to this point. And no matter what people say, this absolutely get motivated seminar american airlines center dallas cannot be placed entirely on QB Tony Romo, as many fans and analysts alike often do. Yes, Romo sometimes makes poor decisions in key moments – last-minute INTs in losses to Denver and Green Bay come to mind – but he’s also the main reason this team is ever in key moments. The defense certainly isn’t doing anything to help. It gives up the most YPG and the 7th-most PPG in the league. Really get motivated seminar american airlines center dallas the only thing the defense does do well is force turnovers; their 26 takeaways on the year are tied for 6th in the NFC, and 8th in the NFL.
Despite all the struggles Dallas has been through this year, they still control their own playoff destiny. If they win their final two games (this week at Washington and next week at home against Philadelphia), they’ll return to the playoffs for the first time since 2009. A win this week guarantees them a 3rd-straight Week 17 win-or-go-home game (they lost at New York in 2011 and at Washington in 2012). This year’s game against the Eagles would be their first Week 17 home game with division title implications get motivated seminar american airlines center dallas since 2009.
Very much like the Falcons, the Redskins’ 2013 campaign has been a lost season. They too have struggled with an ineffective offense and a horrendous defense. Unlike Atlanta, Washington’s main struggle on offense has been with its QB, reigning Offensive Rookie of the Year Robert Griffin III. After spending the offseason rehabbing a torn ACL suffered in the team’s playoff loss to Seattle, RGIII has had a difficult time adapting his game to one that involves more pocket passing and fewer read-option plays. For the majority of the season