Five to watch: Week 17
Dec 30, 2018, 12:00 AM | Updated: Jan 4, 2019, 11:38 am
INDIANAPOLIS, IN - NOVEMBER 18: T.Y. Hilton #13 of the Indianapolis Colts catches the ball in the game against the Tennessee Titans at Lucas Oil Stadium on November 18, 2018 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
(Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
by Andrew Pasquini – Sports 1140 KHTK
We are finally at the end of the NFL regular season but there’s still plenty of drama left before the playoffs are filled. There are five games on the schedule today that include teams trying to clinch a playoff spot and many more that will decide seeding.
We’re going to cheat a little and include the five games that will decide which teams are in and which are out:
Chicago Bears (11-4) at Minnesota Vikings (8-6-1), 1:25pm, FOX
With a win or tie, the Vikings clinch a playoff spot. Minnesota does have some wiggle room however because if they lose to the Bears and the Eagles lose to Washington, Minnesota is in. If Minnesota wins and the Seahawks lose to the Cardinals, Minnesota would clinch the fifth seed in the NFC and Seattle would drop to the sixth.
The Bears with a win coupled with a Rams loss to the 49ers would give the Bears the second seed in the NFC and a first-round bye.
Philadelphia Eagles (8-7) at Washington (7-8), 1:25pm, FOX
While Washington is eliminated, they can play the role of spoiler with a win over the Eagles. The Eagles need a win and a Minnesota loss to make the playoffs.
Cleveland Browns (7-7-1) at Baltimore Ravens (9-6), 1:25pm, CBS
The Browns were eliminated last week but can spoil the Ravens playoff hopes with a win and a Steelers win. The Ravens can clinch the AFC North with a win here and can even clinch a first-round bye with a win and a Patriots loss to the Jets, a Texans loss to the Jaguars, and a non-tie in the Colts-Titans game.
Cincinnati Bengals (6-9) at Pittsburgh Steelers (8-6-1), 1:25pm, CBS
The Steelers need a win with a Ravens loss to clinch the AFC North but a loss would eliminate Pittsburgh. The most chaos that could happen today would be a win by both the Steelers and the Ravens, which would give Baltimore the AFC North crown, and a tie in the Colts-Titans game, which would eliminate both Indianapolis and Tennessee, and give Pittsburgh the sixth seed in the AFC.
Indianapolis Colts (9-6) at Tennessee Titans (9-6), 5:20pm, NBC
The closest thing we have to a playoff game this week where the winner will be in the playoffs and the loser is eliminated. If the Texans beat the Jaguars, Houston with the AFC South champions while the winner of this game will be a wild-card but if Houston loses, the winner here will win the AFC South.
The highest seed the Colts can be in the AFC is the three-seed but if the Titans win, the Patriots lose to the Jets, the Ravens lose to the Browns, and the Texans lose to the Jaguars, Tennessee would move all the way to the second-seed in the AFC and clinch a first-round bye.
