A look at the rest of the NFC playoff picture heading into Sunday
First and foremost, the San Francisco 49ers have to take care of business. The Niners control their own destiny with five weeks remaining in the season.
We can use this thread for the early morning games as well. Below is a look at the NFC playoff picture according to NFL’s official site:
1) Arizona Cardinals 9-2 – Bye
2) Green Bay Packers 8-3 – vs. Rams
3) Tampa Bay Buccaneers 7-3 – @ Indianapolis Colts
4) Dallas Cowboys 7-4 – vs. Raiders (Dallas lost on Thanksgiving)
5) Los Angeles Rams 7-3 – @ Packers
6) Minnesota Vikings 5-5 – @ 49ers
7) San Francisco 49ers 5-5 – vs. Vikings
8) Philadelphia Eagles 5-6 – @ New York Giants
9) Carolina Panthers 5-6 – @ Miami Dolphins
10) New Orleans Saints 5-6 – Buffalo Bills (New Orleans lost on Thanksgiving)
11) Washington 4-6 – Seattle
12) Atlanta Falcons 4-6 – @ Jacksonville Jaguars
I don’t want to get too far ahead of ourselves but a Rams loss paired with a Niner win puts an incredible amount of pressure on Los Angeles as they already have a 1-2 NFC West divisional record.
Despite the game being in Lambeau, McVay is the favorite by two points at DraftKings Sportsbook. So here’s to hoping Rodgers wills his toe and his team to a victory.
Tom Brady is winning that division. Would you rather face Rodgers in Lambeau, Brady at home, or Dak in Jerry’s world? I don’t think there’s any correct answer. The Cowboys at full strength would be a handful for the 49ers’ defense. My answer would be Green Bay.
Again, none of this matters if the now 7-seed doesn’t win. Not that today is an elimination game, but you get what I’m saying. For those that watched Ohio State and Michigan on Saturday, football is a game that’s won in the trenches. San Francisco has the advantage on both sides, which should affect the impact Minnesota’s stud receivers have. Dalvin Cook can’t carry the ball from the sideline.
The Eagles have won two in a row and have been competitive all season. I have a sneaky feeling the Jalen Hurts love stops today. The Giants fired their offensive coordinator, and teams tend to rally around their new play-caller. In this case, it’s Freddie Kitchens.
You may remember Kitchens as a disastrous head coach, but he was a superb play-caller. New York is a sneaky good upset pick today and could burst Philly’s playoff bubble.
I’m not going to lie to you and say that Miami is a good football team. They’ve won two games in a row. One was on Thursday night against the Ravens. The other two were against the Jets and the Texans. This is a team that lost to the Jaguars and Falcons in recent weeks. Miami should make it interesting, at least. Hopefully, Brian Flores confuses Cam Newton enough to pull off an upset.
Big picture, Washington lost Chase Young, and they have a -55 point differential. Seattle has a -15 point differential, but they look like a team without a pulse. A Seahawks win means one fewer team for San Francisco to have to worry about a month from now potentially.
The Falcons have lost two in a row and are small favorites on the road against a Jags team we saw the 49ers stomp last week. It’s hard to take Atlanta seriously as it is, but if they struggle against Jacksonville….
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