MichiganCardinal

They look like they may have been caught looking ahead to Detroit. What a world.

This is very likely to be correct. If the Lions go 3-1 and the Eagles go 4-0, they'd both be 15-2, but the Lions would have the one-seed via tiebreaker based on conference record (if the Lions loss is to the Bills), or very likely based on strength of victory (if the Lions loss is to the Bears, 49ers, or Vikings). The Lions are currently at an NFC best 0.510 in that mark, while Philly is at 0.400. I'm not doing the math, but I doubt they can catch up even if we lost to the Vikings (which would improve that mark the most). If the Lions go 3-1 and the Vikings go 4-0, they'd both be 15-2, but the Lions would have the one-seed and division based on record against common opponents, because the Vikings lost to the Rams. If the Lions go 3-1 and both the Eagles and Vikings go 4-0, all three would be 15-2, but my understanding (though I am not positive) is that the divisional tie is determined first, then the postseason seeding tie. Which means that the Lions would win the tiebreaker against the Vikings, then win the tiebreaker against the Eagles, and that there would be no three-way tiebreaker to determine the one-seed. Credit to @lordstanley for doing a lot of this work earlier in the thread.

Yes. If we were playing them with the defensive line that went against Green Bay, I would be concerned. If we can get Levi, Paschal, Reader, Alim, and maybe even Hutch back before we see them? We'll contain that run, force Hurts to throw, and be halfway to victory.

If he's going to actually play and contribute in the Super Bowl, I expect he would need to get some snaps in the NFCCG. Either way he may dress for the Super Bowl, but it may be in quasi decoy fashion, rather than actually an intended contributor.

The Eagles defense inspires zero fear in me whatsoever. At least not the team that played Carolina today. Bryce Young may be one of the worst QBs in NFL history and he nearly engineered a 98-yard drive there.

Panthers are going to get the ball down 6 with 3 minutes and no timeouts. Does Bryce have it in him?

Meanwhile, Carolina has taken a two-point lead over Philly with about 17 minutes left in the game.

On 3rd & 14 from inside the 25, Raheem Morris and Zac Robinson opt for a draw play to get a shorter field goal for Koo.

KOC is wasting a timeout/challenge on a textbook simultaneous possession.

Kind of crazy that this is a projected wildcard matchup right now.

And then wimp out with a chip shot. So, so bad.

An interior defensive lineman (#93) slipped on his initial charge, the interior offensive lineman fell on top of him, and they called a defensive hold on #93. While if #93 did grab and pull the lineman down so that someone behind him could rush the gap he created, it would be a good call, that's not at all what happened. A truly dreadful call that can have game altering consequences.

Four-point swing from the phantom defensive holding call on a field goal. And if they called it on 93 as just announced, what an awful call.

That's a potentially game changing penalty for them to not even announce an offending player.

I think that ball is out. But naturally, I'm wrong.

The tiers in the NFL have never been more clear watching this game. For being 6-6, this Falcons team looks bad compared to the Lions and Packers.

There have been multiple punts on 4th and short in this game. A Campbell-led team converts at least one of those into points.

I wouldn't be surprised if they do, as we get nearer the playoffs. I expect a lot of their load management strategies will be adjusted as individual wins matter more than a long-term vision does.

These teams are both just a clear step behind the elite company of the NFL.

It wouldn't surprise me if the Packers beat the Vikings by 10+ in their rematch.

Looking ahead, it might be nice if the Bears could beat the 49ers. The Niners may be shutting their hurt playmakers down for the year if they are 6-9 or 5-10 entering the Monday Night game against us. If they're 8-7 though, they'll be hot at the right time and right in the thick of the playoff hunt in the West.

I don't expect Carolina to beat Philly, but I do think an Atlanta team that is fighting for its playoff lives can beat a Minnesota team that has been playing with fire the last few weeks.

In the first year with no PAC-12, two of their former members are going to win their new conference championships. Good going Larry Scott & George Kliavkoff.

He reminds me a lot of watching Bryce Love's junior season at Stanford. He is going to end up with 100+ more carries than Love had that year, but watching the games, you just knew that he was going to pop at least one at some point. And he's probably also going to finish 2nd in Heisman voting to a flashier player.