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The NFL does everything it can to get interesting matchups at the end of the season. It’s not always easy.
Injuries affect teams, some teams lock up early and others are eliminated before Christmas. The league sometimes has to be creative. This year it designated five matches, three of which could be moved to Saturday for a tripleheader. The NFL announced its Week 17 games for Saturday last week. All three have some playoff implications.
All three games will be on NFL+as well as NFL Network.
Here are the top stories from each of Saturday’s three games:
Chargers against Patriots: Los Angeles can ensure
Making the playoffs is not entirely new for the Los Angeles Chargers. But given the talent on the roster, they should have more on their resume from 2018 than a playoff berth, known for one of the biggest collapses in NFL history. The Jacksonville Jaguars rallied from a 27-point deficit to beat the Chargers in a 2022 season wild-card round game. That’s Los Angeles’ only playoff appearance in the last five seasons.
The Chargers will clinch another playoff berth if they beat the New England Patriots in Saturday’s opener. The Chargers are also clinched with a Dolphins loss or tie combined with a Colts loss or tie, but it would be more satisfying to come away with a win.
The Patriots are 3-12 and maybe playing on a national stage on Saturday will motivate them. New England gave the Buffalo Bills a scare last week in a 24-21 loss, so the Patriots are still playing hard. They are getting solid play from rookie quarterback Drake Maye. The best the NFL can hope for is that a three-win team keeps the first game of a tripleheader interesting.
Broncos at Bengals: Cincinnati tries to get into the postseason
The Cincinnati Bengals’ playoff hopes aren’t dead, but they don’t look good either. The only thing Cincinnati can do is win and hope, and that starts Saturday afternoon against the Denver Broncos.
The story of the Bengals’ season is unusual. It’s rare for your quarterback to play at an MVP level and still have a losing record. Joe Burrow has been great, leading the NFL with 4,229 yards and 39 touchdown passes, and the Bengals are still stuck with a 7-8 record and little chance of making the postseason. The Bengals defense has let the team down many times this season.
The Broncos have also had an unexpected season but with positive results. Bo Nix was the sixth quarterback selected in the NFL Draft, but he has had a very strong rookie season and the Broncos are 9-6. They clinch a playoff spot with a win or a draw on Saturday. That would be the team’s first playoff appearance since the end of the 2015 season, when Peyton Manning started his final game and the Broncos won Super Bowl 50. A fantastic one-on-one matchup will feature Broncos cornerback Patrick Surtain II, an NFL Defensive Player of the Year candidate, against Bengals star receiver Ja’Marr Chase, who has a shot at NFL Offensive Player of the Year.
Cardinals vs. Rams: Rams can clinch NFC West
This game would have been a lot more exciting if the Arizona Cardinals hadn’t been eliminated from the playoffs with a loss last week. Still, the Rams have a lot to play for.
The Rams had a chance to clinch the NFC West title heading into this week. They needed a win and a loss or a tie for the Seahawks, a tie and a loss for Seattle, or (take a deep breath) get the strength of the schedule tiebreaker over Seattle that required more than 3.5 wins between the Vikings, Bills, 49ers, Commanders, Bengals and Browns. according to the NFL.
No matter what happens, the Rams have put themselves in a great position to win the division. They started the season 1-4 and there was a lot of speculation that they could trade Matthew Stafford or Cooper Kupp. The Rams enter Saturday’s game with a 9-6 record. The 49ers have been disappointing due to multiple injuries, the Seahawks have been inconsistent all season and the Cardinals suffered a late-season slump. That gave the Rams, who were without Puka Nacua and Kupp earlier in the season, a chance to clinch the division.
The Cardinals are playing to build some momentum for next season, if that’s possible after losing four of five and falling out of the playoff race. At least Kyler Murray and Marvin Harrison Jr. can use the last two games to establish a better connection, something that has been an issue for the Cardinals this season.
But the Rams are the story on Saturday night. Sean McVay has already established himself as one of the best coaches in the NFL. A division title after losing four of five to start the season would simply add to their reputation.