WITH ALL BUT one week 16 fixture complete, we now know nine of the 12 teams that will compete in the playoffs.
While the Patriots and Bears look to be timing their Super Bowl charge perfectly, the New York Jets look anything but contenders.
This column will obviously never learn. Last Thursday it suggested that Tom Brady and the New England Patriots had taken their foot off the gas against the Green Bay Packers and were, potentially, vulnerable against a Buffalo Bills team that had run them close earlier in the season.
Tom Brady then went and put on a QB masterclass, completing his 319th pass in a row without an interception.
Incredibly, this means Brady has thrown 24 touchdowns and 0 interceptions in his past 10 games, surpassing an NFL record that stood for nearly 20 years.
Meanwhile, their AFC East rivals, the New York Jets, stuttered into the playoffs despite a four-point loss to the Chicago Bears. The Jets have now lost three of their last four games and look like a team running out of ideas.
While there is no disgrace in losing to a team as good as the Bears, the Jets’ Head Coach, Rex Ryan, must be worried that they lost this one on the ground to a team ranked 24th of 32 in that department. The one bright light for the Jets is Mark Sanchez who is showing that he may well turn into the franchise QB that many believed he would.
In the NFC the St Louis Rams know a win against the Seahawks will see them clinch the West (a division known as the NFC Worst in certain quarters) next week.
Elsewhere, the Atlanta Falcons’ hopes of securing top seeding in the NFC were dealt a blow by a rare home loss against the New Orleans Saints last night. Despite Saints QB Drew Brees throwing two fourth quarter interceptions, the defending Super Bowl champions pulled through when it mattered.
AFC playoff picture:
New England – AFC East winners
NY Jets – playoff spot
Pittsburgh – playoff spot
Baltimore – playoff spot
Kansas City – AFC West winners
NFC playoff picture:
Atlanta – playoff spot
Chicago – NFC North winners
Philadelphia – NFC East winners
Week 16 results:
Carolina Panthers 3-27 Pittsburgh Steelers
Dallas Cowboys 26-27 Arizona Cardinals
New England Patriots 34-3 Buffalo Bills
New York Jets 34-38 Chicago Bears
Baltimore Ravens 20-10 Cleveland Browns
Washington Redskins 20-17 Jacksonville Jaguars
Tennessee Titans 14-34 Kansas City Chiefs
Detroit Lions 34-27 Miami Dolphins
San Francisco 49ers 17-25 St Louis Rams
Seattle Seahawks 15-38 Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Houston Texans 23-24 Denver Broncos
Indianapolis Colts 31-26 Oakland Raiders
New York Giants 21-45 Green Bay Packers
San Diego Chargers 20-34 Cincinnati Bengals
New Orleans Saints 17-14 Atlanta Falcons
Minnesota Vikings @ Philadelphia Eagles – postponed until tonight because of heavy snow.
