The weather at the National Football League’s ten outdoor sites today is rather mild for the last Sunday in December. Snow is expected in Chicago, where the Bears host the Atlanta Falcons, and late in the game snow is in the forecast for the New England Patriots visit to the Buffalo Bills. But neither of those sites expect severe winter weather and it is cloudy and sunny at the other eight outdoor sites.
Over the first 16 weeks of the NFL season eight teams have been eliminated from postseason competition and seven have clinched a playoff spot. That leaves 17 teams vying for the remaining seven seeds in the American and National Football Conferences.
Some are in better shape than others, while a few would need victories and a lot of help to crack the playoff field. Mathematically, the Las Vegas Raiders still have a chance to win the AFC West Division and eliminate the defending Super Bowl Champion Kansas City Chiefs from postseason play.
The Raiders are at the Indianapolis Colts today, and Indianapolis is in the hunt with eight wins and seven losses, good enough to be tied for first place with the Jacksonville Jaguars and Houston Texans in the AFC South Division. A few weeks ago, it appeared Jacksonville had a shot at the top seed in the AFC, but four straight losses and the absence of their starting quarterback today, Trevor Lawrence, puts this three team race into question.
The Houston Texans, who spent the second overall pick in last year’s draft to select Ohio State signal caller C.J. Stroud, get the gifted rookie back for today’s game against the last place team in their division, the Tennessee Titans. The Houston story has been a good one for fans of the team with first-year head coach DeMeco Ryans and rookie quarterback Stroud providing plenty of entertainment, a possible playoff berth, and a bright future for a fan base that has suffered through some lean times in recent seasons.
The Buffalo Bills opened this season as one of the favorites to vie for a Super Bowl title, but after a mid-season slump that left them with as many losses as wins after twelve weeks, they have not even yet clinched a playoff spot. Today, they host the New England Patriots, who upset them ten weeks ago. According to our numbers, the Bills should get revenge for that loss and cover the huge two-touchdown point spread in the process.