Inside The Star
While the Dallas Cowboys were officially eliminated from the playoffs roughly 17 hours before playing their Week 16 contest, the rest of the NFC playoff chase was running red-hot.
Seattle’s shocking overtime win over the Rams catapulted the Seahawks into the NFC’s No. 1 seed. For now at least.
Seattle must win both of its remaining games to hold on to that spot.
They play at Carolina on Sunday and then play San Francisco to close out the season.
The 49ers are currently in the fifth seed as they hold the tie-breaker over the Rams, who fell from the No. 1 seed to No. 6 with just one loss.
Green Bay sits in 7th, still 1.5 games ahead of the Detroit Lions. Detroit had a win stolen from them on Sunday.
There’s just no other way to put it.
The OPI on Amon-Ra St. Brown was questionable.
The OPI called two plays earlier that wiped the game-winning touchdown off the board the first time was criminal.
It wasn’t offensive pass interference in any universe. Save for the official who threw the flag.
Something tells me he won’t be on the field for February’s Super Bowl.
Right now, only the NFC East has a locked-in division champion.
Carolina and Tampa Bay will battle for the NFC South over the next two weeks. One will be the No. 4 seed. The other will be home for the playoffs.
Which leaves six teams fighting for two divisional spots and the three wildcards.
The best the Lions can do is capture the final wildcard. They face the Vikings tomorrow and play at Chicago to end the season.
They must win both games and hope the Packers lose to the Ravens on Saturday and the Vikings in Week 18.
A single Lions’ loss or a single Packers’ win and the seven teams will be set.
All that will remain is determining the seeding. For now, only Seattle and San Francisco control their fate. The rest of the teams must win and get help to move up.
Both the Indianapolis Colts and Baltimore Ravens came into the week in dire need of a lot of help to make the playoffs.
Both the Colts’, after Monday night’s 21-point loss to the 49ers, and the Ravens’, after blowing an 11-point lead to New England, playoff chances are on life support.
And the Doctor has his hands on the plug. Because the path to either team making it to the postseason is very unlikely.
The Ravens only path now is winning the AFC North. However, they trail the Steelers by two games with two to play.
Baltimore must beat the Packers in Green Bay Saturday night and hope the Browns upset Pittsburgh Sunday afternoon in Cleveland.
The Ravens would then have to go up to Pennsylvania and win the season finale. D.K. Metcalf’s two-game suspension, if upheld, does give Baltimore a little more hope.
The Colts have only one...
