3 NFL Storylines to Watch in Week 17
Outside Looking In
The Los Angeles Chargers, Buffalo Bills, and Seattle Seahawks are the three teams that are still technically alive in the playoff hunt but are going to need to win their Week 17 matchups as well as get help in order to sneak into the postseason.
Let's start in the AFC because both of these teams are going to be living with some regrets over the offseason if they indeed fall short of making the playoffs.
AFC playoff seeding scenarios based on the outcome of Week 17 games with playoff implications: pic.twitter.com/L2Y6XqHAyl
— NFL Research (@NFLResearch) December 26, 2017
Now on their fourth kicker, the Chargers -- who started the season 0-4 -- might have been in position to capitalize on the mid-season collapse of the Kansas City Chiefs to steal AFC West away if not for the rash of missed field goals they saw over and over again early in the season.
As for the Bills, coach Sean McDermott had an interesting solution to a two-game losing streak in which his run defense -- which collapsed after Marcell Dareus was traded away -- gave up nearly 500 rushing yards in those two games. His solution was to bench his quarterback. Back in Week 11, against the aforementioned Chargers, rookie Nathan Peterman was intercepted five (yes, five) times in the first half before he was mercifully lifted for Tyrod Taylor, who scored two meaningless touchdowns in relief. That loss could keep the Bills out of the postseason.
In the NFC, Seattle needs to beat the Arizona Cardinals while also rooting for the Carolina Panthers to topple the Atlanta Falcons.
