Breaking down the NFC Wild Card race
By Joel Deering
Locks to be out
- Atlanta Falcons (4-7)
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers (4-7)
- Detroit Lions (4-7)
- New York Giants (3-8)
- Arizona Cardinals (2-9)
- San Francisco 49ers (2-9)
While none of these teams have officially been eliminated, it’s safe to say they won’t be earning themselves a playoff spot this season. For the 49ers, Cardinals and Giants, there’s just no way.
These are some of the worst teams in the league right now. Between the Falcons, Buccaneers and Lions, I’d say the Falcons have the best chance to make the playoffs, but I don’t believe they have a real shot.
Atlanta’s high scoring offense hasn’t been so high scoring as of late, scoring 16, 19 and 17 points in their last three games. Take that combined with a defense who ranks 29th in points allowed per game (27.9), and the Falcons will find themselves at home come playoff time.
Tampa Bay has no consistency at QB this year. Although they stuck with Jameis Winston for the entire game against the 49ers, I wouldn’t be surprised if they make the switch back to Ryan Fitzpatrick at least one more time this season. That’s never a formula for making the playoffs.
Detroit has been underwhelming this season, and their remaining schedule won’t help them. Their next game is against the 10-1 Los Angeles Rams. Three weeks later they play the 6-4-1 Minnesota Vikings, followed by the Green Bay Packers to finish the season. I predict they’ll finish 6-10, which isn’t going to be good enough in this NFC Wild Card race.