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 [December 09, 2023]
Jacksonville Jaguars (8-4) at Cleveland Browns (7-5): Browns
head coach Kevin Stefanski said the team is preparing for both
Trevor Lawrence (ankle) and C.J. Beathard to play for the Jaguars.
Lawrence limped through practice Thursday but has a high-ankle
sprain and his mobility would be minimal if he tries to play six
days after being injured in the Jaguars' loss to the Bengals. The
Browns have allowed the fewest yards per game in the NFL at 260.5,
and pass rusher Myles Garrett and cornerback Denzel Ward are both
playing with shoulder ailments. It'll likely be Joe Flacco
shouldering the load for the Browns at quarterback. He is 1-9 in his
past 10 starts but had the Browns driving to take the lead when he
threw an interception in Cleveland's loss at the Rams last week.
Detroit Lions (9-3) at Chicago Bears (4-8): Urgency is being
encouraged up and down the Lions' locker room in the rematch with
the Bears, who nearly upset Detroit in the first meeting. The Lions
scored two touchdowns in the final three minutes to defeat the Bears
31-26 last month. The Lions subsequently lost to Green Bay and
defeated the New Orleans Saints to hold a three-game lead over the
Minnesota Vikings and the Packers in the division with five games
remaining. They're nipping at the heels of the Eagles and 49ers in
the NFC playoff race, but that push would be deflated by another
defeat. Balance is becoming the calling card for the Lions, who are
fourth in the NFL in rushing and passing. The Bears haven't won
back-to-back games since 2021.
Carolina Panthers (1-11) at New Orleans Saints (5-7): Two
concussions and a rib injury are among the injuries for Saints QB
Derek Carr in the past month, and New Orleans weighed turning the
offense over to Jameis Winston this week. The Panthers are
eliminated from playoff consideration and lost the first meeting to
the Saints, 20-17 in Week 2. But New Orleans' playoff hopes are in
peril thanks to three consecutive losses. The Saints were in sole
possession of first place in the NFC South before losing to the
Atlanta Falcons two weeks ago. To remain in the mix, the Saints are
in a must-win spot this week. Carolina swept the Saints in 2022.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers (5-7) at Atlanta Falcons (6-6): Atlanta can
accelerate its march toward its first playoff game since 2017 by
sweeping Tampa Bay. The Bucs can pull even in the standings with a
victory. The Falcons already own a win over the Bucs -- 16-13 on
Oct. 22 -- who understand the gravity of this NFC South game and the
stakes the rest of the season. The Falcons are 3-0 in division games
but last won the NFC South in their Super Bowl runner-up season
(2016). Quarterback Desmond Ridder is 2-0 against Tampa Bay, beating
them in the regular-season finale as a rookie and on Younghoe Koo's
51-yard field goal earlier this season. He said the Falcons left
"meat on the bone" in the three-point win at Tampa this season, a
game in which Atlanta didn't have a healthy Bijan Robinson
(illness).
Houston Texans (7-5) at New York Jets (4-8): Any faint prayer for
the playoffs rests in the hands of Jets QB Zach Wilson, who bounds
back up the depth chart from the No. 3 role in the latest spin of
the carousel by head coach Robert Saleh. Houston won for the fourth
time in five weeks last Sunday, defeating the Denver Broncos 22-17.
After facing the Jets, the Texans play three division games in the
final four weeks -- including two against the last-place Tennessee
Titans. Houston and Indianapolis are tied one game behind
Jacksonville in the AFC South entering the home stretch. The Texans
are firmly in the wild-card mix and jumped into the No. 7 playoff
spot in the AFC thanks to Pittsburgh's loss to New England on
Thursday night.
Indianapolis Colts (7-5) at Cincinnati Bengals (6-6): Pittsburgh's
loss Thursday pushed the Colts into the No. 6 seed in the AFC
playoff picture. Cincinnati has pep in its step on the heels of the
historic effort from quarterback Jake Browning at Jacksonville.
Making just his second career start after Joe Burrow's season-ending
right wrist surgery. Browning completed 32 of 37 passes for 354
yards and a touchdown, while also rushing for 22 yards and another
score, calmly rallying the Bengals from TD deficits of 7-0, 14-7 and
28-21. The Colts won their fourth consecutive game last week,
downing the Titans in overtime, and have the Steelers, Falcons and
Raiders left on the schedule before hosting Houston in the Week 18
finale.
Los Angeles Rams (6-6) at Baltimore Ravens (9-3): The Rams answered
a three-game losing streak with three wins in a row, scoring 37
points at Arizona and 36 last week to beat Cleveland in their
highest outputs of the season. Baltimore has only one loss in the
past seven games, thriving behind the No. 1 rushing attack (158.6
yards per game) and No. 2 defense (273.2 yards per game). The Ravens
lead the NFL with 22 rushing TDs. Baltimore is coming out of the bye
week and 12-3 in that situation under coach John Harbaugh. Rookie RB
Kyren Williams keys the Rams' offense, looking like the missing link
the past two games in accounting for 317 total yards and three
touchdowns. Rams QB Matthew Stafford has also picked up the pace,
throwing seven touchdown passes with just one interception in the
past two games.
Minnesota Vikings (6-6) at Las Vegas Raiders (5-7): The Vikings
welcome back their best offensive player when they visit the
Raiders. All-Pro WR Justin Jefferson missed the past seven games
because of a hamstring injury that he sustained Oct. 8. The
24-year-old was off to a terrific start to the season before it was
interrupted by injury. He hauled in 36 catches for 571 yards and
three touchdowns and had at least 149 receiving yards in three of
those five games. Interim Raiders coach Antonio Pierce is 2-2 since
taking over for Josh McDaniels, who was fired on Oct. 31. QB Aidan
O'Connell is set to make the sixth start of his rookie campaign. The
Purdue product has posted a 76.4 passer rating while completing 63.5
percent of his passes for 1,194 yards, four touchdowns and six
interceptions.
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Seattle Seahawks (6-6) at San Francisco 49ers
(9-3): After a 41-35 loss last Thursday at Dallas, the Seahawks face
the 49ers for the second time in 17 days. San Francisco won 31-13 at
Lumen Field on Thanksgiving night as Christian McCaffrey rushed for
114 yards and two touchdowns. The Seahawks' offense got untracked
against Dallas, after entering the game with 20 consecutive
possessions without a touchdown. Geno Smith threw for 334 yards and
three TDs -- all to DK Metcalf -- and also rushed for a score. But
Seattle's defense allowed 25 or more points for the fourth time in
the past five games. The 49ers have won four consecutive games, one
shy of their season high. After starting 5-0, they lost three in a
row before rebounding following a bye week. Their biggest victory
came last Sunday in Philadelphia, when they avenged a defeat in last
season's NFC Championship Game by trouncing the Eagles 42-19,
scoring touchdowns on six consecutive possessions. 49ers QB Brock
Purdy is 3-0 in his career against the Seahawks, averaging 31 points
against the division rival.
Buffalo Bills (6-6) at Kansas City Chiefs (8-4): The Bills are
making their fifth visit to Kansas City in 34-plus months and
sandwiched between playoff disappointments at Arrowhead, Buffalo has
won consecutive regular-season games at the raucous road venue.
That's a welcome trend for a team embracing the must-win feel of
this game having lost four of its past six games before a bye last
week. If the playoffs began today, the Bills aren't in the
postseason picture. For the first time in recent memory there is
some doubt about the Chiefs keeping pace with the Bills, who are
fifth in the NFL in scoring at 27.3 points per game. The Chiefs
suffered losses in three of their past five games and have multiple
key injuries to navigate, including the NFL's fifth-leading rusher Isiah Pacheco (shoulder) and left tackle Donovan Smith (neck
stinger). Last Sunday's 27-19 loss to the host Green Bay Packers
marked the fourth time Kansas City scored 21 or fewer points during
the five-game stretch. Patrick Mahomes, who threw for 424 yards in
an October victory over the Los Angeles Chargers, has been held to
210 or fewer yards in three of the past four games.
Denver Broncos (6-6) at Los Angeles Chargers (5-7): Los Angeles has
no less than five teams to jump over in the season's final five
weeks if it wants to earn an AFC playoff spot. Only the Kansas City
Chiefs have a winning record among the Chargers' final opponents.
They have two meetings with Denver, a Thursday night game next week
in Las Vegas against the Raiders and a Dec. 23 encounter with the
visiting Buffalo Bills. Los Angeles' defense is going strong behind
NFL sack leader Khalil Mack, who has 15 sacks this season, all in
the last nine games. Denver saw its five-game winning streak end
last week with a 22-17 loss in Houston. The Broncos nearly erased a
16-3 deficit in the third quarter but Russell Wilson tossed his
third interception with nine seconds left to deal their playoff
chances a major blow.
Philadelphia Eagles (10-2) at Dallas Cowboys (9-3): With an 0-2
record this season against teams that currently have winning
records, the Cowboys still have a lot to prove -- and gain --
against the Eagles in Arlington, Texas. It will be the 130th meeting
in the 63-year rivalry and the stakes could not be higher. Dallas is
flying high on a four-game winning streak, while Philadelphia comes
to Texas trying to shake off an ugly 23-point home loss to San
Francisco. The Eagles are clinging to a one-game lead over the
Cowboys in the NFC East and in the race for the No. 1 overall seed
in the NFC playoffs. The 49ers and the Lions are also 9-3.
Philadelphia won the first meeting against Dallas 28-23 at home in
Week 9. The Eagles also won the signature of free agent linebacker
Shaquille Leonard, who agreed to terms with Philadelphia this week
after meeting with both teams. Sunday is also a primetime
opportunity for quarterbacks Dak Prescott of the Cowboys and Jalen
Hurts of the Eagles to perhaps take the lead in the race for NFL
Most Valuable Player honors.
Tennessee Titans (4-8) at Miami Dolphins (9-3): Tennessee has two
wins since Oct. 1, and the Dolphins have two losses in the same
span. The Titans have seven losses in which they scored 16 points or
fewer. Miami has a 70-point outing and has put up less than 17
points once in 12 games. The Titans have 20 offensive touchdowns in
2023. The Dolphins have 22 rushing touchdowns and 25 passing
touchdowns. The Titans have a healthy Derrick Henry, which gives
them a chance to execute a ball-possession plan to limit Miami's
offensive opportunities. Henry was over 100 yards with two
touchdowns last week when he was sent to the locker room and didn't
return. Henry insists he's ready to roll for Monday's visit to
Miami. The Dolphins have won three in a row with 99 total points and
have a firm grip on the AFC East.
Green Bay Packers (6-6) at New York Giants (4-8): Tommy DeVito kept
the starting QB job even with Tyrod Taylor returning from a rib
injury after leading back-to-back wins to give the Giants a
reasonable chance to finish with a winning record. New York's
offense isn't a big-play machine, relying instead on RB Saquon
Barkley -- 865 yards from scrimmage -- and a collection of wide
receivers without a lead option since losing TE Darren Waller to a
hamstring injury last month. The Packers are a different story with
Jordan Love coming up clutch to win three consecutive games,
steering Green Bay back into the playoff picture. Green Bay's
third-down offense (44 percent conversions) and the emergence of
rookie WR Jayden Reed, one of three Packers' receivers with five or
more TDs, has helped cover in the absence of injured RB Aaron Jones.
The Packers last allowed more than 24 points Sept. 28 at Detroit
(34-20 loss). The Giants have scored more than 17 points once -- 31
at Washington on Nov. 19 -- since Sept. 17.
--Field Level Media
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