The second-to-last week of the NFL regular season is in full swing. Six games are in the books following the Christmas Day doubleheader, Thursday night action and three Saturday contests. Nine more games follow Sunday, and then the action wraps Monday night with the Detroit Lions visiting the San Francisco 49ers.
Ten of 14 playoff spots are already spoken for. In the AFC, the Los Angeles Chargers on Saturday joined the Kansas City Chiefs (who have locked up the conference’s No. 1 seed), Buffalo Bills, Houston Texans, Baltimore Ravens and Pittsburgh Steelers in the postseason field. The Denver Broncos lost a chance to clinch the final AFC spot when they lost 30-24 in overtime to the Cincinnati Bengals on Saturday night. In the NFC, the Detroit Lions, Minnesota Vikings, Philadelphia Eagles and Green Bay Packers have qualified for the postseason. Does anyone else join them Sunday?
Here are five of the most compelling storylines to follow in Week 17’s Sunday and Monday games. (Find the full schedule here.)
Fans of the three-win Tennessee Titans, Jacksonville Jaguars, Las Vegas Raiders or Cleveland Browns, or the 2-13 New York Giants, may be conflicted about cheering for their teams this week and next. None of these teams’ seasons have played out favorably. But hope for the future remains strong as the race is on for the top pick in the 2025 draft. Players and coaches on these teams care about job security, not draft positioning, so they will do everything in their power to win this weekend. But a loss could mean more in the long run.
The Giants have a slight edge over the field. Sunday, they face an Indianapolis Colts team that, at 7-8, is clinging to a shred of hope for the playoffs but will be without quarterback Anthony Richardson (back/foot). Others in the mix:
• The Titans and Jaguars play each other, so, barring a tie, one will slip further away from picking No. 1.
• The Browns face the Miami Dolphins, who at 7-8 still have faint playoff hopes but may be without quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, who is doubtful due to a hip injury.
• The Raiders’ meeting with the 5-10 Saints has the makings of an unsightly affair, but don’t tell that to quarterbacks Aidan O’Connell and Spencer Rattler. This game is one of their final auditions for their teams’ starting quarterback jobs in 2025. They might seem like long shots, but given the limited star power expected to be available at QB through the draft and free agency, there’s always a chance.
(Titans at Jaguars, Raiders at Saints, Colts at Giants, 1 p.m. ET Sunday. Dolphins at Browns, 4:05 p.m. ET Sunday.)
In addition to making a strong case for MVP consideration, Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley is chasing history. He enters this week needing 268 yards to break Eric Dickerson’s 40-year-old single-season rushing record of 2,105 yards. Barkley, who leads the NFL with a career-high 1,838 rushing yards, must average 134 yards in the final two weeks of the season to catch Dickerson. That’s 12 yards more than his season average of 122.5 yards per game (also a league high), but Barkley gained 150 yards and two touchdowns on 29 carries in last week’s loss to Washington. The 29 rushing attempts were a season high for the 27-year-old Barkley.
Potentially helping Barkley’s cause is Sunday’s opponent, the Dallas Cowboys. Dallas surrenders 135.9 rushing yards per game, which ranks 27th in the NFL. Barkley’s season high is 255 yards, gained against the Rams in Week 12. The Eagles, who are 12-3 and can clinch the NFC East Sunday with a win or tie, or a Washington Commanders loss or tie, would be wise to lean on Barkley. That’s especially true with Kenny Pickett starting in place of a concussed Jalen Hurts. Philadelphia is 10-1 in games in which he tops the 100-yard mark. (Cowboys at Eagles, 1 p.m. ET Sunday.)
The Atlanta Falcons and Washington Commanders would love to win one of the final postseason tickets, and both have the opportunity to do so when they face each other Sunday night at Northwest Stadium.
The Commanders are riding a three-game win streak and coming off an electrifying comeback victory over Philadelphia last Sunday. Jayden Daniels threw five touchdown passes, including a strike to Jamison Crowder with six seconds left, to carry his team one step closer to its first playoff berth since 2020. Daniels, the leading candidate for Rookie of the Year honors, became the first Washington quarterback since Mark Rypien in 1991 to throw for five touchdowns in a game. The Commanders need a win or a tie Sunday, or a Tampa Bay loss or tie, to qualify for the postseason.
Washington welcomes an Atlanta team that hasn’t reached the playoffs since the 2017 season but has pinned its hopes on rookie Michael Penix Jr., who replaced Kirk Cousins as starting quarterback last week and helped blow out the Giants. Leaning heavily on a rushing attack led by Bijan Robinson (94 yards), Penix executed Atlanta’s offense well. But his performance came against the struggling Giants. Can he build on that outing and lead his team to victory, or will Washington’s defense make the Falcons one-dimensional and force Penix into mistakes? Or will Robinson gash Washington’s defense, just as Barkley did last week? The Falcons win the NFC South title with a victory and a Buccaneers loss Sunday.
Which team’s drought ends first? (Falcons at Commanders, 8:20 p.m. ET, Sunday.)
GO DEEPER
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After positioning themselves to leapfrog the Falcons in the NFC South standings last week, the Buccaneers suffered a painful 26-24 loss to the Cowboys. The Buccaneers racked up 410 yards but turnovers proved costly. Baker Mayfield threw a fourth-quarter interception, and five minutes later, running back Rachaad White fumbled, sealing the defeat.
Now 8-7, the Buccaneers need help to make the playoffs and have no margin for error. Sunday, they host the Carolina Panthers, who foiled the Arizona Cardinals’ playoff hopes last week with a 36-30 overtime victory in Charlotte. The last time Tampa Bay and Carolina met, in Week 13, the Bucs needed overtime to win 26-23. Bryce Young threw for 298 yards, and the Carolina defense picked Mayfield off twice. To keep their hopes alive against an improved Panthers team and return to the playoffs for a fifth straight season, the Buccaneers must cure their ball-security woes and be stingier on defense. (Panthers at Buccaneers, 1 p.m. ET, Sunday.)
A week after a painful loss to the Buffalo Bills, the Detroit Lions roared back with a 34-17 victory over the Chicago Bears. Now 13-2, the Lions have a chance to achieve two feats this weekend. With a win Monday night at San Francisco, and a Packers win over the Vikings on Sunday, the Lions can clinch the NFC North for a second straight year and the NFC’s No. 1 seed. That would give them a first-round bye and home-field advantage in the playoffs.
If the Vikings win Sunday, Minnesota and Detroit would play each other in Week 18 in a winner-takes-all game for the NFC North crown and the No. 1 seed.
San Francisco beat Detroit 34-31 in last season’s NFC Championship Game. Lions coach Dan Campbell said he expects that loss to motivate his players but also added they fully understand everything that’s at stake this week.
“We know we need another win, we understand where we’re at in the division, in the NFC. And, so, I think it’s all-encompassing,” Campbell told reporters this week. “Most importantly, it’s the next one, it’s the next one in front of us.” (Lions at 49ers, 8:15 p.m. ET Monday.)
(Top photo of Jordan Love: Steph Chambers / Getty Images)
