Forget all those scenarios involving teams still trying to make it to the postseason. The highlight of the final week of the regular season is the history that will be played out in Green Bay on Sunday.
That history, of course, belongs to the Detroit Lions, who already are the first team to go 0-15. Now they can complete the first 0-16 season if they lose to the Packers.
“When you think about it like that it almost seems impossible,” center Dominic Raiola says. “But anything can happen. This team’s got enough to beat Green Bay.”
True at one level because the Lions have had their share of close calls, including two tight games with Minnesota, which is a game away from clinching the NFC North. But they won neither of those, nor any of the 13 other contests on their schedule, and gave up 48 points in their first meeting with the Packers at Ford Field.
Green Bay is a disappointment itself.
ns have lost, the more their opponents have feared being the first to lose to them.
The only other team to finish a season winless was Tampa Bay, which went 0-14 in 1976. But those Bucs were an expansion team; these Lions are anything but – they’ve been in the NFL in some form since 1930, when as the Portsmouth Spartans, they went 5-6-3 under the not-so-legendary Hal “Tubby” Griffen.
The Packers managed to lose 20-17 in overtime to Chicago on Monday night, their fifth straight loss in a game they controlled most of the way. So Mike McCarthy just wants a win and isn’t concerned about history.
“We’re going to treat the Lions no different than any other opponent we’re playing,” the Packers coach says.
“You talk about what you feel their strengths are and their weaknesses and how we’re going to attack them. I’m sure there will be a lot of outside media attention around the situation, but we’re not going to spend any time on that. We have no control of that. We have no input on that. We have no opinion on it.”
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There are three playoff berths open in the AFC and two in the NFC in the NFL’s final weekend
In the AFC, Tennessee has won the South and has home-field advantage throughout the playoffs; Pittsburgh has won the North and has a first-round bye; and Indianapolis has a wild-card spot and the fifth seed.
takes the West; Miami wins the East if it beats the New York Jets at the Meadowlands; and Baltimore gets the second wild-card spot if it wins at home against Jacksonville.
New England gets the East title if it wins in Buffalo and the Jets beat the Dolphins, and it can get a wild card if it wins and the Ravens lose. If the Jets win and the Patriots lose, New York wins the East. If the Jets and Patriots both win, New York can get a wild card if the Ravens lose.
In the NFC, the New York Giants have won the East and clinched home-field advantage throughout. Arizona has won the West and both Carolina and Atlanta have qualified for the playoffs but don’t know where they will be seeded.
If the Panthers win in New Orleans, they will be the NFC South champions and get a bye as the No. 2 seed. Atlanta, which is the No. 5 seed in that case, can win the South if it beats St. Louis at home and Carolina loses. Then the Panthers will be the No. 5 seed.
Minnesota can win the North by beating the Giants at home or if Chicago loses in Houston.
give the Bears the title in the North.
In other games Sunday, Cleveland is at Pittsburgh; Tennessee at Indianapolis; Kansas City at Cincinnati; Seattle at Arizona; and Washington at San Francisco.
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Miami (10-5) at New York Jets (9-6)
New England (10-5) at Buffalo (7-8)
There are a lot of story lines in the AFC East, but the most compelling involves Brett Favre and Chad Pennington. Favre was obtained to get the Jets to the playoffs – and, potentially, the Super Bowl. Pennington, who was competing in preseason with Kellen Clemens with the Jets, was cut when Favre arrived and signed by the Dolphins.
Now Pennington is the main reason Miami is a contender after going 1-15 a year ago. He can bury Favre and the Jets, who have lost three of their last four, including 13-3 to Seattle last week. Favre has one TD pass and six interceptions in those games and acknowledges that his arm doesn’t feel as strong as usual.
As for the Patriots: “We are always happy to see teams in our division lose,” says Bill Belichick, whose team could become only the second ever to finish 11-5 and miss the playoffs; the 1985 Broncos were the other.
down, and Belichick left for New England. There also is hostility between Belichick and Jets coach Eric Mangini, his former defensive coordinator.
Denver (8-7) at San Diego (7-8)
It seems like for almost half the season that the Broncos have needed one more win or one more Chargers loss to win the AFC West. Not quite. But Denver has lost two straight and San Diego has won three, so the division comes down to this game.
An acknowledged error by referee Ed Hochuli, who will be in Green Bay on Sunday, handed Denver the first meeting. But the Broncos’ slump gives San Diego a chance to fulfill what was supposed to be its destiny after it entered the season as one of the favorites in the AFC.
If Denver wins, it would become just the fifth team in NFL history to have sole possession of first place in its division after every game in a season. Tennessee also accomplished the feat when it clinched the AFC South three weeks ago.
New York Giants (12-3) at Minnesota (9-6)
Chicago (9-6) at Houston (7-8)
Minnesota can take the NFC North by winning or if the Bears lose. The Vikings missed a shot last Sunday when Adrian Peterson lost two fumbles in a 24-17 loss that gave Atlanta a playoff spot. They missed another when the Bears rallied Monday night to beat the Packers 20-17 in overtime, blocking a late Green Bay field-goal attempt.
hard after helping propel themselves to the Super Bowl last season by nearly beating the unbeaten Patriots in the finale. But he also says: “No years are the same. No situations are the same.” And New York’s PR staff trotted out backup QB David Carr to meet the media, which means he may play.
Assuming Brandon Jacobs sits, Derrick Ward, who had 215 yards rushing in the game that clinched home-field advantage for New York last week, needs 52 to make the Giants the fifth team ever to have two 1,000-yard rushers in the same season.
Carolina (11-4) at New Orleans (8-7)
St. Louis (2-13) at Atlanta (10-5)
The 50-yard field-goal attempt by John Kasay that the Meadowlands wind pushed wide left against the Giants would have given the Panthers the NFC’s top seed. Now if they lose in New Orleans – and no home team has won a division road game in the NFC South – they can fall to the fifth seed and a wild-card spot if (when?) the Falcons beat the Rams.
“It would be just awful not to get that first-round bye,” Pro Bowl linebacker Jon Beason says. “I think we owe it to ourselves to finish off what we have done this season.”
Mike Smith is pointing out to his Falcons the “no division road winners” oddity. “There’s still a lot that’s going to change in how this tournament is put together,” the Falcons coach says.
Dallas (9-6) at Philadelphia (8-6-1)
) at Tampa Bay (9-6)
The Cowboys got new life after losing to Baltimore on Saturday night when the Bucs and Eagles lost last Sunday. So Dallas gets in with a win, although that might be difficult. Philadelphia has been erratic all season, but given its rivalry with the Cowboys and the Terrell Owens factor, it will play hard to knock off the Eagles.
Getting in is a long shot for the Eagles, whose loss in Washington last week was due in part to the failure of the receiving corps, especially rookie DeSean Jackson, who dropped a potential tying TD pass.
Philadelphia would be eliminated if the Bucs beat the Raiders or Chicago beats Houston in early games. Tampa Bay would be in if it wins and Philly beats Dallas; Chicago would be in if Tampa Bay loses, an unlikely scenario. And every contender has to lose for the Eagles to have a shot at making it.
Jacksonville (5-10) at Baltimore (10-5)
Win and in for the Ravens against a Jaguars team that has started to play decently again, scaring Indianapolis last week after beating Green Bay two weeks ago. But it’s hard to see Baltimore losing given the stakes.
ain from a separated shoulder yet starred in the win against Dallas.
Tennessee (13-2) at Indianapolis (11-4)
Cleveland (4-11) at Pittsburgh (11-4)
Seattle (4-11) at Arizona (8-7)
The Titans, Colts, Steelers and Cardinals are all in the playoffs with their seedings established. So none needs to win. Arizona has lost four of five, all to teams with winning records, and surrendered an average of almost 42 points a game in those defeats. A win over the Seahawks in Mike Holmgren’s final game with Seattle won’t improve Arizona’s position but might provide confidence in what seems likely to be a one-and-out playoff scenario.
The Tennessee-Indy game is a reprise of last year’s finale, the annual Jim Sorgi sighting at QB for the Colts after Peyton Manning plays a series or two to prolong his starting streak. Last year, the Titans won to make the playoffs, something they hardly need this season.
Pittsburgh will play reasonably hard because of its rivalry with Cleveland, which will have newly signed Bruce Gradkowski at QB. This is almost surely the last game for Romeo Crennel as Browns coach – unlike Holmgren, who is retiring, he is likely to be fired.
Kansas City (2-13) at Cincinnati (3-11-1)
Washington (8-7) at San Francisco (6-9)
San Francisco is 4-4 under Mike Singletary, who is about to be designated the permanent head coach.
Now that Carl Peterson is gone as Chiefs GM, that might not be the case for Herman Edwards with the Chiefs. But Marvin Lewis is probably safe with the Bengals, who have won two straight. Even if the penurious Mike Brown was inclined to fire him, which he’s not, he wouldn’t want to pay Lewis for not coaching.