Philly Front Office

The final week of the regular season is here. Some races (like the NFC East) are long over while others (NFC South and AFC North) fight to the death in a winner take all Thunderdome! The best part though? No Thursday game! At the risk of being a very old man, does anyone find football interrupting the week to be annoying? The quality is always poor and it upsets the natural order of the week. Who can differentiate a Thursday night from any other night (plus I never know who is playing). It’s like when baseball starts a week early in Japan. Anyway, let’s get to all the reasons to watch each game this week including all the playoff and draft scenarios…

Saturday Games

• Carolina Panthers at Tampa Bay Buccaneers at 4:30p
  • The Panthers have been the feel good story of the season and damn near everyone is rooting for them to win this game (I personally hate the city of Tampa with the fire of a thousand suns). A win and they win the division. However, that’s not their only path. If Carolina loses AND the Falcons win, a 3way tiebreaker occurs which Carolina wins.
  • As nice of a story as the Panthers are this year, it’s really just the total collapse of the Buccaneers. They started the year 6-2 and are now 7-9. They are outdoing the 2023 Eagles in terms of collapse but don’t have enough wins to already bank a playoff appearance. They not only need to beat Carolina, but need the Falcons to lose too. If that happens, then the Bucs win the South and get the #4 seed where they will be destroyed by the first wild card.
• Seattle Seahawks at San Francisco 49ers at 8pm
  • GAME OF THE WEEK
  • Seattle clinches the #1 seed with a win as the only 3 loss team in the conference. Seattle has been drafting at an elite rate for years and are just as deep and good as any team in the league… except at QB. The knock is that Sam Darnold makes too many mistakes in big games. We’ll see. A loss knocks them down to the 5th seed and the chance to demolish the Panthers or Bucs.
  • The 49ers don’t have any let down losses (Tampa was good back then) and seem to have a very high floor. That makes them a tough out in the playoffs. Now, since they beat Seattle to start the season, they are in position to grab the #1 seed with another win against the Seahawks. It’s that simple. A loss though and they will drop to either 5 or 6 depending on whether the Rams win or lose. This game is very important for the Eagles as the 6 seed is our most obvious matchup. Would you rather have SF or LA? It’s close, but I like our defense against the SF offense which is susceptible to exactly what we bring (neither will be easy though).
  • ANTI EAGLES BULLSHIT ALERT: why is this game on Saturday night? If the 49ers win then the Rams have nothing to play for and basically get a bye this week before facing the Eagles. There should not be Saturday Games in week 18!

1pm Games

• New Orleans Saints at Atlanta Falcons
  • New Orleans has won 4 in a row and not only played themselves out of the #1 pick, but probably out of drafting a QB completely (for another year at least). Good for Kellen Moore. Another win and they could drop as high as 12 but can do no better than 8.
  • This might be the most important game no one cares about come Sunday due to how it affects the Bucs. If the Bucs beat the Panthers, they still need the Falcons to lose. Atlanta has no reason to tank either since their brilliant GM already traded their first round pick to the Rams.
• Cleveland Browns at Cincinnati Bengals
  • It’s hard to find a dumber organization than Cleveland. I know you can’t make the team lose, but you can try. They went from contending for the #1 pick to eliminated from contention with that win against Pittsburgh.  They can finish between 2nd and 7th now. For a desperate team, that’s bad business.
  • Could the Bengals really trade Joe Burrow? He’s probably the only reason this sad sack team isn’t bankrupt. For those wondering, it’s VERY possible. A trade after June 1 would only mean $20m in dead cap for Cincy and a treasure trove of picks. That said, shut up. Under no circumstances should the Bengals even consider it. Why should their fans expect them to use those picks wisely anyway? Do everything BUT trade Burrow.
• Green Bay Packers at Minnesota Vikings
  • The Packers feel like dead meat entering these playoffs. They already seemed like a step behind the “pack” (not sorry), then they lost Parsons for the year. They are set in the 7 spot in the NFC waiting to see if they play the Bears or the Eagles in the first round.
  • The Vikings are a good team with good coaches. They just have no idea whether they have a QB or not. That’s an awful place to be with so many good players in their prime. Do they waste another year of Jefferson’s prime with McCarthy? They probably have to. Unfortunately that means more years of finding another guy after that if he doesn’t work out. How about Tanner McKee for that mid first round pick you’ve got?
• Tennessee Titans at Jacksonville Jaguars
  • Cam Ward and the Titans are finishing up a forgettable season that saw their coach fired and very little to be happy about. They can’t get the #1 pick again, but they will finish between 2nd and 7th. They need all the help they can get.
  • The Titans can also really mess up the AFC with a trap game win over the Jags. Despite having their best season in forever, they have not wrapped up the AFC South yet. A loss for Jacksonville and a win for Houston gives the division to the Texans while bouncing the Jags down to possibly even 7th. A win though and losses by Denver and New England means the AFC goes through Jacksonville.
• Dallas Cowboys at New York Giants
  • The Trevon Diggs fiasco is weird. Diggs either rubbed the Cowboys the wrong way for awhile or Dallas was being unreasonable. Either way, it’s a bad look for a franchise celebrating 30 years of futility. They are still a mess internally. Now they are in a can’t win situation with George Pickens and his next contract. I’m sure that will go great.
  • Despite losing Tank Bowl 25, the Giants can still get the #1 pick in the draft with a loss and a Raiders win. A win though could drop them down to 7th. They will fuck this up.
• Indianapolis Colts at Houston Texans
  • Sorry Colts fans. Ever wonder why Eagles fans are always distraught even when we are good? Because we are afraid of what just happened in Indy. They went from best record to missing the playoffs in a month. Now what the hell are they going to do with Daniel Jones and missing Sauce draft picks?
  • A Houston win would be 9 in a row and combined with a Jacksonville loss would give them the 3 seed. Without winning the division but winning the game they are the 5th seed. I’m not a betting man, but I’d feel real good about this defense winning the AFC.

4pm Games

• Los Angeles Chargers at Denver Broncos
  • The Chargers lose the tie break to the Texans and will be sitting Justin Herbert for this game. Basically this is a bye week and they will settle into the 6th or 7th seed depending on what happens with Buffalo.
  • This is not a bye week for the Broncos. They need to win in order to clinch the #1 seed. They can still get it with losses by the Jags and Pats, but NE is playing at the same time. The Jags will have put the pressure on them by start time. A loss could drop them to #3 which might be preferable rather than playing the Texans
• Kansas City Chiefs at Las Vegas Raiders
  • MOST DEPRESSING GAME OF THE WEEK
  • KC went from Super Bowl contender to the possible 8th pick in the draft. This team is more messy than it seems though. This season wasn’t lost because of injury, it was lost because the Chiefs lines have deteriorated and the team is stale. Couldn’t be happier about it.
  • The Raiders death march has just one loss left before the #1 pick. KC is using it’s 3rd string QB and they are nearly as dead, but this needs to be a loss for LV. They can get cocky. Even a win over the carcass of last year’s Super Bowl losers would move them no worse than #2. The Giants would never be so lucky though
• Arizona Cardinals at Los Angeles Rams
  • The Cards are sitting in the 5th spot in the draft and could range from up to 2 or down to 7. I feel like Jonathan Gannon’s job is safe due to the mess he inherited at QB, but he could get fired too. He’s a hilarious forever villain in Philly.
  • The Rams will know whether they can rest starters by Saturday night. If the 49ers win, the Rams are the 6 seed and will likely face the Eagles. If Seattle wins then the Rams would need to win this game in order to face either Tampa or Carolina which sure as hell beats going to Philly.
• Miami Dolphins at New England Patriots
  • The Dolphins had an awful year and are in major trouble but they also hate the Patriots. They always play well in the division once they have already been eliminated. This is definitely a trap game for New England. That being said, I can’t wait to deep dive into Miami’s finances. They are a shit show.
  • A Pats win and a Denver loss makes NE the #1 seed. However, they could drop to 3 if they both lose and the Jags win. We’ll know this by game time though. Drake Maye will be a shoe in for MVP with the best record in the conference though.
• New York Jets at Buffalo Bills
  • The Jets do not have a chance at the #1 pick. Sorry guys. However, the #2 pick is still there with a combination of wins from either the Raiders or Giants. They could fall as low as 7th.
  • The Eagles beating Buffalo in Buffalo felt really damn good. Allen looking like an absolute fool against a good defense was extra sweet. Because of that loss, Buffalo still gets a bye though since they are relegated to either the 6th or 7th seed and will likely rest their starters against the Jets.
• Detroit Lions at Chicago Bears
  • I feel bad for Lions fans. This team deserved a shot. Injuries ravaged them but they just didn’t seem to have that little bit extra all year. They aren’t close to done with a young core of players but need to get their offensive line in order first. This week they are playing for pride.
  • Part of that pride is beating a rival who they pulverized earlier in the year. The Bears are a much different team now though. A win and they are the 2 seed and ready to take on the Packers. A loss combined with an Eagles win makes them the 3 seed and a date with the NFC West. That’s a huge difference. No rest for the weary. We are obviously rooting for the Lions here for the same reasons.
• Washington Commanders at Philadelphia Eagles
  • Dan Quinn had some real tough talk after losing to the Birds two weeks ago. I don’t think he realizes how irrelevant his team is. Last year was a feel good story that they botched badly. Have fun with Josh Harris guys. Washington is currently 7th in draft positioning but can move up all the way to 2nd with a loss and a ton of other improbable wins.
  • Resting starters is the way to go for this one, sorry everyone who thinks otherwise. I’ve heard playing football games as the equivalent of getting hit by a truck. If I had the option, I would choose not to get hit by a truck. We aren’t going to work anything out on offense by playing the starters. I still like our chances of winning with McKee. A win and a Bears loss puts us at #2 against the Packers.

Sunday Night Football

• Baltimore Ravens at Pittsburgh Steelers
  • Winner take all, but let’s face it, both these teams suck. They have both been battling mediocrity all year and their QBs are notorious for coming up short in the playoffs. This is a pure crapshoot. I trust Lamar Jackson more than Aaron Rodgers with the season on the line though.
  • The Steelers are simply unimpressive. What do they do well exactly? For their sake, lose this game, get rid of Rodgers, and rebuild this thing right. Finishing .500 or better every year doesn’t mean anything if the team is a sitting duck.