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Preamble
Happy holidays football fans, may week 16 be merry and bright for you all! And good luck to all in your fantasy playoff semi-finals … if you made it that is! Now, on we march to the harsh reality of the NFL in deepest December. There are playoffs places, seedings and stragglers still to sort out and eliminate, we begin in the early window of seven games starting at 12pm CST/1pm EST/6pm GMT (home teams listed first):
(7-7) Carolina Panthers v Tampa Bay Buccaneers (7-7)
(3-11) Cleveland Browns v Buffalo Bills (10-4)
(6-7-1) Dallas Cowboys v Los Angeles Chargers (10-4)
(6-8) Miami Dolphins v Cincinnati Bengals (4-10)
(4-10) New Orleans Saints v New York Jets (3-11)
(2-12) New York Giants v Minnesota Vikings (6-8)
(2-12) Tennessee Titans v Kansas City Chiefs (6-8)
There is high drama occurring in the ever-iffy NFC South. Carolina and Tampa Bay are locked at the division’s summit with seven wins and seven losses each. Only the odds of making the postseason are far from even between these rivals.
The Bucs hold the tie-breaker at present with a better record against common opponents (5-5 v Carolina’s 4-6) so a win against the Panthers would further improve their standing while pushing their chances of clinching the title to 95% (per NFL.com). Thus Carolina only have a 5% shot if they lose today. That slim shot requires the Bucs to lose their next game to the eliminated Dolphins and lose to the Panthers at home when they play again in week 18 while Carolina would have to beat mighty Seattle next week as well.
So far, so complicated. What it means to say realistically is that this is a win or go home game for Carolina. Victory keeps their season alive. Keep pounding!