By Travers Cummings
Rams over Panthers (Saturday afternoon): Well, even though they lost last week to the Bucs, the Panthers still find themselves in the playoff tournament thanks to the Atlanta Falcons’ victory over the New Orleans Saints. The Panthers, Bucs, and Saints all had the same 8–9 record, but the Panthers had the better record within the division, so they took the NFC South crown. Now they will host the Los Angeles Rams, a team they surprisingly beat during the regular season. I don’t see a repeat of that happening. Even though the Rams aren’t quite the juggernaut they were during the middle part of the year, offensively they should be able to outplay the Panthers’ defence.
Packers over Bears (Saturday night): One of the NFL’s longest-standing rivalries will write another chapter on Saturday night when the #2-seeded Chicago Bears host the Green Bay Packers. Both teams are coming off losses last week (although the Packers didn’t play any of their starters against the Vikings), so I’m sure nothing will give either team more pleasure than eliminating their foe from the playoffs. Packers quarterback Jordan Love is good to go after missing the last few games with a concussion. It took some very late-game heroics from Caleb Williams in their Week 16 matchup to get the victory for the Bears. Since then, they’ve actually lost back-to-back games in the final minute of play. Green Bay should learn from their past mistakes and put the hammer down if they gain a lead, and not let the Bears creep back into it.
Eagles over 49ers (Sunday afternoon): It pains my soul to do this, but I have to pick against my team this weekend, sadly. Seattle manhandled the 49ers last week. Their defence shut down Christian McCaffrey, holding him to only 23 rushing yards, and Brock Purdy was under siege the entire time. With that loss, San Fran fell to the 6th seed in the NFC and now has probably the worst matchup they could have hoped for. The Eagles’ defence is always a fierce bunch to deal with, especially up front, so the Niners’ already shaky offensive line will once again have its work cut out. If, by some measure, San Fran manages to get their offence going, I don’t know how they will slow down the Eagles’ offence. The Niners are so injured on defence right now that the backups to the backups are hurt, and they have signed guys off the street and inserted them into the starting lineup just to have enough capable bodies to play. It makes me very sad, because they dealt with a lot of adversity all year and, despite all of it, managed to overachieve and get to the playoffs.
Last week: 0–3
Season overall: 33–21