In Week 14, all 5 broadcast home windows featured high-stakes video games — with three of them occurring concurrently at 1:00 p.m. ET.
In Week 15, that is not the case.
Still, even with 9 groups (almost a 3rd of your entire league) eradicated from playoff rivalry, only one game will probably be really meaningless: Commanders at Giants. The different 15, beginning with Thursday night time’s Falcons-Bucs game, have at the least one group that has postseason aspirations.
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The undeniable fact that the Falcons, who’re out, upended the Bucs, who’re desperately making an attempt to get in, underscores the fact that the groups taking part in for nothing will not essentially be checking one of the few remaining bins earlier than it is time to get a much-deserved break from soccer.
The largest video games imply one thing for each groups. In Bills-Patriots (1:00 p.m. ET), it is Buffalo’s last-ditch effort to remain within the division race. And a loss will influence their capacity to safe one of the three AFC wild-card berths. The Patriots, in flip, hope to clinch their first AFC East title since 2019 whereas additionally persevering with to push for the lone AFC first-round bye.
For the 9-4 Chargers and the 6-7 Chiefs, L.A.’s alternative for its first sweep of the Chiefs since 2013 additionally contains an opportunity to make sure that the AFC playoff tree will omit the group that has climbed to the highest of it 5 instances in six seasons. A loss by the Chargers will make it tougher for them to get a seat on the playoff desk.
Packers-Broncos at 4:25 p.m. ET might be a Super Bowl preview. Both groups have been persistently successful of late, and each try to carry leads of their respective divisions. The winner can have a a lot better probability at getting the highest seed of their respective conferences.
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Lions-Rams (4:25 p.m. ET) has the apparent storyline that includes the quarterbacks who have been traded for one another (with the Lions additionally getting two first-round picks and a third-round choose) almost 5 years in the past. But the 8-5 Lions are presently on the surface trying in, and the 10-3 Rams have very real looking No. 1 seed aspirations.
In the Sunday night time window, it is a literal elimination game for the 5-8 Vikings — and a de facto go-home proposition for the 6-6-1 Cowboys.
All of the opposite video games have some extent of drama. The 6-7 Ravens, who’ve misplaced three in a row, cannot afford to slide two video games behind the Steelers with three to play. And the 4-9 Bengals’ skinny playoff hopes will evaporate with a loss.
The 8-5 Texans, winners of 5 in a row, cannot afford a letdown in opposition to the 3-10 Cardinals.
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The 9-4 Jaguars, who quietly have surged to the highest of the AFC South, want to remain centered in opposition to the Jets and (checks roster) undrafted rookie quarterback Brady Cook.
The 8-5 Eagles have to show to the world that they are not slipping and sliding out of the NFC East lead in opposition to a 3-10 Raiders group with nothing to lose (besides their eighth game in a row).
The 8-5 Colts have actually dusted off 44-year-old Philip Rivers in a determined effort to keep away from changing into the sixth group for the reason that merger to start out 7-1 or higher and miss the playoffs. Good luck with that in opposition to the 10-3 Seahawks, who’ve grow to be dominant in current weeks.
The 7-6 Panthers, who have been upset at house by the 3-10 Saints, have an opportunity to grab a one-game lead within the NFC South.
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The 9-4 49ers, who’re rising from a bye, cannot let themselves get caught flat-footed in opposition to the 2-11 Titans, who surprised the Browns with a 31-point outburst in Week 14.
And on Monday night time, the 7-6 Steelers will not have T.J. Watt as a consequence of a freak dry-needling incident (phrases I by no means would have excepted to sort in that order), will probably be dealing with a red-hot Dolphins group that has received 5 in a row — and that has an opportunity to win one other game within the form of temperatures throughout which they sometimes, and actually, freeze.
So, sure, each Week 15 game will probably be price watching. Except one. Enjoy it, as a result of that positively will not be the case in Weeks 16, 17, and 18.