On paper, the Monday Night Football game appeared to be a dud between the Cleveland Browns and Denver Broncos. It wound up being an old-fashioned barn-burner, with the Broncos prevailing at home 41-32. Since this is an article that goes beyond the boxscores, I won’t mention that Jerry Jeudy caught nine passes for a career-high 235 yards and a blistering TD catch. I won’t mention that Jameis Winston passed for 497 yards with four TDs in a losing effort. Whoops, I guess I will mention it.
The win gets the Broncos to an 8-5 record and tied with the Ravens. That, in and of itself, is surprising enough, but of the two teams, the Broncos actually have a better point differential (+71 compared to the Ravens +65).
Heading into the last five weeks of the season, the main issues teams are facing are their mounting injuries, which will have a deep effect on their playoff chances, and some matchups, which will also have deep playoff implications.
The final bye week for teams is this week, and in many fantasy leagues, this is the first week of the playoffs. Make sure you have replacements for any significant players who have the week off. This week, the Ravens, Broncos, Texans, Colts, Patriots, and Commanders all have byes.
If you have Lamar Jackson, Derrick Henry, Mark Andrews, Zay Flowers, Bo Nix, Courtland Sutton, CJ Stroud, Nico Collins, Joe Mixon, Jonathan Taylor, or Jayden Daniels, hopefully you have viable replacements. For the astute, at your draft you would have looked ahead to this week and not relied on the waiver wire. For instance, yours truly snagged Stroud early and backed it up with a late-round pick of Jordan Love. And although he was on my bench for many weeks, it was all for this week, in the first round of the playoffs.
There are five intriguing games this week with major playoff implications:
Packers at Lions:
This is where the mettle meets the road, which is appropriate in Motor City. A Lions win really catapults them into a prime position to hold onto the No. 1 seed and bye in the NFC. But a loss drops them to 11-2, not only jeopardizing that no.1 seed, but also the division. If Minnesota wins their game, they would have matching 11-2 records and the Packers would only be one game back with a 10-3 record. And, if the Eagles win their game against the Panthers, they, too, will be 11-2. This is a must-watch game on Thursday Night.
Seahawks at Cardinals:
The first place 7-5 Seahawks are heading to Arizona to play the 6-6 Cardinals. A Seattle win gives them a two-game lead over everyone in the division if the Rams lose to the Bills in a very difficult matchup. But a Cardinals victory gets them back to even with the Seahawks with a 7-6 record. It is looking more and more like the winner of this division will be the only team coming out of the NFC West.
Falcons at Vikings:
The reeling Falcons are heading to Minnesota to face off against the 10-2 Vikings. Motivation won’t be an issue for them, but they will know the results of the Thursday game against the Packers and Lions. The Falcons are sitting at 6-6 and tied with the Tampa Buccaneers in the NFC South…and like the NFC West, only the division winner will likely be moving on into the playoffs.
Bills at Rams:
This year, more than others, Josh Allen is putting this team on his shoulders, and he is 100% in the MVP race. This is a sneaky, tough spot for them. With a 10-2 record and tiebreaker advantage against the Chiefs, they could wind up with the No. 1 seed and bye if they keep winning, and the Chiefs ever actually lose one of these crazy games they seem to play every week. And for the Rams, they are fighting for their playoff lives, sitting at 6-6.
Chargers at Chiefs:
It is awfully tough to bet against the Chiefs, but they just keep finding a way to dance between the raindrops this season, and sooner or later, it has to catch up on them. They just haven’t been playing great football all season. At 8-4, the Chargers actually have a better point differential than the 11-1 Chiefs (+72 to +54). And Jim Harbaugh is one of the few coaches who can match wits with Andy Reid.
So many of these games will determine the champs from the chumps. And for the teams like the Rams, Falcons, Seahawks, and Cardinals, all of these games the rest of the way will feel like playoff games, because any loss could prove to be the end of the line.
And speaking of the end of the line, there are a handful of injuries that are going to severely hurt their team’s chances of getting to the playoffs:
San Francisco 49ers:
Christian McCaffrey and Jordan Mason are bother effectively out for the rest of the season. Each has been put on the IR: McCaffrey for his knee and Mason for his ankle.
Washington Commanders:
Austin Ekeler has been put on IR with a concussion and has admitted to memory loss. They do have a bye this week, but especially when it comes to concussions, more time off is better than coming back too soon.
New Orleans Saints:
Taysom Hill is out for the year with a torn ACL. The Saints are now 4-8, and their season is over, too, so losing Hill isn’t a big deal on the field, but hopefully, he’ll be able to recover in time to play next season.
New York Giants:
Theo Johnson has been put on IR with a foot injury. The TE has had a serviceable season for the hapless Giants and could be a more integral piece on a team with a more cohesive offense next season.
Philadelphia Eagles:
Dallas Goedert is currently listed as questionable with a knee injury, but could wind up on injured reserve. The Eagles are running on all cylinders at the moment, and although they can withstand the loss of Goedert, having him healthy will go a long way to helping them make it to the Superbowl.
Los Angeles Chargers:
WR Ladd McConkey is currently listed as questionable this week against the Chiefs, but the news has not been encouraging, and there is a good chance he will be out for at least this week…and possibly longer.
And lastly, and most seriously, Jaguars QB Trevor Lawrence took a vicious hit by Azeez Al-Shaair and left the game on Sunday with a concussion. At this stage of their season, which by all accounts is over, there makes no sense in rushing to get him back on the field. Hopefully, we’ll see him back 100% healthy in 2025.
