FOOTBALL NFL ARTICLES

The Detroit Lions are taking a longer look in their rearview mirror and the object that is closer than it appears is the Packers. The Lions still sit atop the NFC North, but their lead shrunk last week and another loss could leave them in a tie heading into a showdown with the Pack in the regular season finale. That scenario, at least for Detroit, looks quite possible with a Week 16 road matchup against the Dallas Cowboys, the best team in the NFC.... 

At least one former Seahawks defensive coordinator is having success as a head coach. Dan Quinn’s Atlanta Falcons can move one step closer to a NFC South title by knocking off the reigning three-time champion Carolina Panthers in Week 16. Known for his defense while running the show in Seattle, Quinn has turned the Falcons into an offensive powerhouse. He’s the last remaining former Seattle D coordinator in the league after his good friend Gus Bradley was let go on Sunday night.... 

The Miami Dolphins cleared the first hurdle in their quest for a playoff berth without Ryan Tannehill. The next step gets a little tougher. The Dolphins whacked the Jets last week with Matt Moore doing his best Tom Brady imitation by throwing four scoring passes in a lopsided victory. To reach the postseason for the first time since 2008, the Fins just need to win out. With Rex Ryan’s job on the line, it won’t be easy in the Week 16 matchup with the Buffalo Bills.... 

We didn’t think it would take 14 years for the Oakland Raiders to make it back to the postseason, but they ended the prolonged drought and are in position to claim a division title. The Raiders made it to the Super Bowl back in the 2002 season and it certainly didn’t appear that an epic slump was in the making. Because it happened then, Jack Del Rio wants to make sure his club is prepared to go deep this postseason. The No. 1 seed in the AFC and a first-round bye are in the balance in a Week 16 matchup with the Indianapolis Colts.... 

The San Diego Chargers are masters at giving away games this season, but they may have a difficult time coughing one up to the Cleveland Browns in their Week 16 confrontation. San Diego let another fourth quarter lead slip away in a loss to the Raiders, eliminating them from postseason contention. With a contest against Pittsburgh in the finale, this is Cleveland’s last shot at getting a victory to avoid becoming the second team in NFL history to go 0-16.... 

If this game is anything like the earlier meeting, football fans are in for a treat on Christmas Day. All the pressure is on the Denver Broncos, who have lost two straight and three of four to fall out of the playoff hunt in the AFC. Their slide began when the Kansas City Chiefs posted an epic overtime victory in Denver last month. Now, the Broncos can put a damper on the Chiefs postseason plans with a much-needed win when the clubs hook up at Arrowhead in Week 16.... 

The Houston Texans now have the highest paid backup quarterback in the NFL after Bill O’Brien benched Brock Osweiler and turned the club over to Tom Savage. The coach made the only move he could when announcing Savage as the starter for the Week 16 contest with the Cincinnati Bengals, leaving Osweiler’s status in limbo. I’m sure Marvin Lewis would love to have that situation with a playoff berth hanging in the balance. The Bengals had their run of six straight postseason appearances come to an end with last week’s loss.... 

The Jacksonville Jaguars just couldn’t wait any longer. After another dismal performance down the stretch, the Jags lost their eighth straight game and again blew a second half lead. It wasn’t if, rather when the Jags would cut ties with Gus Bradley. And that time came after Sunday’s loss to the Texans. There is plenty of blame to go around for a team that was expected to compete for a division title. But in the end it’s always the head coach that takes the fall. The Jags will move forward with interim Doug Marrone taking on the Tennessee Titans in Week 16.... 

There have been some monumental matchups between these AFC North rivals, but the Week 16 encounter looms as the largest. The division winner could be decided on Christmas Day when the Baltimore Ravens and Pittsburgh Steelers square off. Pittsburgh will lock up the title with a win while Baltimore will hold the tie-break advantage with one game remaining should they prevail. The NFL got its perfect playoff scenario with this bitter battle and both clubs wouldn’t want it any other way.... 

A few weeks back Aaron Rodgers said the Green Bay Packers would have to run the table to make the playoffs. Well, the Pack moved a step closer by beating the Bears for their fourth straight win. There is still work to be done, but the Packers are playing their best football of the season at a time when they need it most. It’s been the opposite for the Minnesota Vikings, who had their proud defense get torched in a loss that all but eliminated them from the postseason. They’ll get a chance to dent the Pack’s playoff hopes in a Week 16 tilt.... 

We might as well put a tent over the New York Jets because the circus is still in town. From the quarterback situation which remains as unsettled as the San Andreas fault, to some recent online videos that were taken in the locker room before Saturday’s game no less, the dysfunction has reached new heights. Meanwhile, the New England Patriots remain a model of consistency, an organization that all others in the NFL strive to emulate. The Pats have had some laughers this season and this Week 16 home bout could be the worst.... 

The Philadelphia Eagles had lost four straight games and six of seven, the playoff dream ended several weeks ago and they were on the road with a chance to win a football game. You have to hand it to Doug Pederson and his decision to attempt a 2-point conversion down by a point. But you have to hate the execution of his team. And that’s what the last three months have been like for Philly with several near misses. The Eagles will pull out all the stops again in an effort to stem the tide when they face the division rival New York Giants in Week 16.... 

The NFC West battle between the Arizona Cardinals and Seattle Seahawks in Week 16 lost some of its luster with the division title already secured by the home team and the Cards officially eliminated from playoff contention. But there still is a score to settle between the clubs after the first meeting this season ended a tie. We have to wonder just how motivated the Seahawks will be after securing their playoff spot, but a look at their record at the Link tells us all we need to know.... 

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers proved they could run with the big boys. However, what they really needed was a victory, and they didn’t get that last week, putting an end to their five-game winning streak with a loss at Dallas. Now, the Bucs need help in order to break their nine-year playoff drought, but don’t expect the New Orleans Saints to roll over. In order to keep its playoff hopes alive, Tampa Bay will have to slow down an explosive offense in this Week 16 confrontation.... 

A change at the head coach position didn’t do anything for the Los Angeles Rams last week. But it was a move that needed to me made before the team fell off the landscape in the crowded Southern California market. As bad as the Rams have been this season, the San Francisco 49ers are even worse. They may not catch the Browns for the worst record in the NFL, but the Niners haven’t won a game since their season-opening victory over L.A. The teams meet up again in a Week 16 tilt.... 

Santa Clause is coming to town in Week 16 of the NFL season! But before all of the teams unwrap their presents on Christmas Day, many have business to tend to on Christmas Eve in a rare Saturday-heavy slate of NFL betting action on the Week 16 odds that could determine who does and does not make the playoffs in January.... 

It’s been quite the turnaround season for the Tennessee Titans, and one they don’t want to see end on January 1. The Titans are in the playoff hunt this late in a season for the first time since 2011 and they need to finish with a better record than Houston to reach the second season. While a showdown with the Texans looms at the end of the season, Tennessee has two hurdles to clear before then and their Week 15 contest against the Kansas City Chiefs is the biggest.... 

You can bet the NFL will keep a close eye on this one with two teams that have a strong dislike for one another. The first meeting of the season was civil, but the main instigator from last season’s playoff dust up didn’t suit up. This time Vontaze Burfict will be in uniform and Antonio Brown better have his head on a swivel, as all Steelers should. The Bengals were eliminated from the postseason by the Steelers last season and have a chance to put them in a tight spot if they can end a three-game slide to their AFC North rival in a Week 15 battle.... 

It’s been another disappointing season for the San Diego Chargers, who not only compete in the strongest division in football, but have come up with creative ways to lose games all season. One of those losses was against the Oakland Raiders when a botched hold on a potential game-tying field goal cost the Chargers a shot at winning the game. But with their luck, the field goal would have sailed wide anyway. San Diego is hoping for a change in their fortunes in this Week 15 contest.... 

It’s hard to push a Tom Brady vs. Trevor Siemian matchup when the New England Patriots visit the Denver Broncos in a rematch of last season’s AFC Championship game. The storyline has changed since Peyton Manning retired and the Broncos are in a struggle just to make the postseason. Denver denied Brady and the Pats a chance to repeat as Super Bowl champions with their win in the conference title game last season. New England has a chance to do the same by preventing the Broncos from reaching the postseason this year.... 

The Washington Redskins need a victory to stay on the fringe of the playoff picture in the NFC, but the fireworks in this Week 15 matchup are likely to come from Josh Norman as he faces the team he helped lead to the Super Bowl last season. The Carolina Panthers dumped Norman during the offseason, likely to avoid an expected holdout by the star cornerback. And why the Panthers disappointing season isn’t directly related to Norman’s release, he’ll tell us otherwise.... 

It might be time to start taking the New York Giants seriously. They never looked like a dominant team, even during a six-game winning streak that put them near the top of the NFC. And the offense continues to lack explosiveness despite having several play makers. But the defense has looked world-class and the upgrades the team made during the offseason have paid off. The Giants mad another statement by taking down the Cowboys on Sunday night and get another NFC contender in the Detroit Lions in Week 15.... 

Considering where the Baltimore Ravens were this time last year, they’d gladly accept the task at hand. Nothing has ever come easy for John Harbaugh and the Ravens, so why should this be any different. The task facing them in their quest for a postseason berth is simple: win their remaining three games and they’re in. Given that the Ravens barely had enough bodies to field a team let alone win games last season, the chore seems easy. The first step begins in Week 15 against the Philadelphia Eagles.... 

The playoff hopes of the Miami Dolphins probably went down late in the third quarter of Sunday’s game when Ryan Tannehill took a low hit and sustained a knee injury that will keep him out for a few games at the very least. There is hope the quarterback can return if the Dolphins make it to the postseason, but their chances are severely hindered by his absence. The New York Jets will continue to audition young Bryce Petty to see if he’s their signal-caller of the future when the AFC East rivals hook up in a Week 15 tilt.... 

Given the state of the AFC South, the Indianapolis Colts can hardly be counted out. But Indy failed in its quest to regain the division lead and has to win its remaining games and get some help in order to avoid missing the postseason in consecutive seasons for the first time in nearly 20 years. The Minnesota Vikings are faced with a similar dilemma and this Week 15 tussle could be an elimination game for two teams that entered the season with playoff aspirations....