Teams and prognosticators prep for final week

Seventeen weeks worth of practices, sacrifices, and road trips in the National Football League have come down to the final games of the regular season this weekend, and though most of the invitations to the playoffs have been sent out, a handful of teams need wins to get in.

After starting the season at 1-5, the Buffalo Bills has circled the wagons in the AFC to give them a chance at the post-season by finishing the last nine games with an 8-1 record. They need to win against the Pittsburgh Steelers (14-1) and still need for either the Denver Broncos (9-6) or the N.Y. Jets (10-5) to lose in order to squeak in. The Bills will have the benefit of playing at home against a Pittsburgh team with the luxury of being able to rest rookie sensation Ben Roethlisberger, and seasoned veteran Jerome Bettis. The bad news is that back-up quarterback Tommy Maddox isn’t too shabby, and he may have something to prove in his first game since his injury in Week 2 that allowed Roethlisberger to get his shot.

It’s a ‘win and you’re in’ for the Broncos this weekend, as they face the Indianapolis Colts (12-3) at home in the lofty comforts of Mile High. In what will be a meaningless game for the Peyton Manning and company, the Indy offensive starters will be in the game to allow the record setting quarterback to get into a rhythm before the playoffs.

Manning’s limited play could help the Broncos, but the Colts QB may have more success on three or so drives than Jake Plummer has all game.

The Jets are in a similar situation this week as well, as they need to beat the St. Louis Rams (7-8) or get a loss or tie from either the Bills or the Broncos to get into post-season play. There is still an outside shot for the Baltimore Ravens (8-7) and the Jacksonville Jaguars (8-7), but aside from them winning their games against the Miami Dolphins (4-11) and Oakland Raiders (5-10) respectively, they need plenty of help.

In the NFC, there is another group of teams that are fighting for their playoff lives, as the Minnesota Vikings (8-7), Carolina Panthers (7-8), New Orleans Saints (7-8) and the St. Louis Rams (7-8) still have a shot at playing next week.

The Vikings are in the best position of all of them, as they need only win or tie the Washington Redskins (5-10) this weekend, but the Panthers and Saints have the benefit of playing head-to-head—the winner of that game still needs a loss from one of the others. The Rams and Seahawks could shuffle a bit in the standings as well, but where the Hawks have already clinched a berth in the playoffs, the Rams can clinch their division if they beat the Jets and Seattle loses to Atlanta.

Just about all of the NFC teams on the bubble need some help, but John Blanco didn’t need any help in emerging from Week 16 with a 13-3 record to lead our local prognosticators. The Chairman of the Commonwealth Football League flexed his football knowledge by going out on a limb and taking the Rams over the Eagles. As expected, Will played it safe by opting for the favorites, but it proved to be the right thing to do as he finished in second place at 11-5. The Big Tuna scored the same record, but he opted to take the Jets over the Pats, whereas Will took the Buccaneers over the Panthers. Jennifer was a game behind at 10-6, but picked five Sea Biscuit-like long shots to try to catch Will before the end of the season. Only one of them paid off, but she still did better going against conventional wisdom than Rich did using his gut. “Big Daddy” Brooks eked out a 9-7 by picking the Giants over the Bengals and the Browns over the Dolphins. Both failed, but in his defense, the Santa cap he was wearing may have distracted Rich.