NFL playoff teams finally set as Panthers, Ravens punch their tickets

NFL playoff teams finally set as Panthers, Ravens punch their tickets

In the final week of the regular season, the Carolina Panthers and Baltimore Ravens became the last two NFL teams to clinch playoff spots.

The NFL regular season wrapped up on Sunday with division opponents squaring off against each other, as home-field advantage, first-round byes, division titles – and the final AFC and NFC playoff spots – hung in the balance. And in dramatic fashion (is there any other kind in the NFL?), several teams made emphatic statements in winning, while others disappointed their fanbases by losing. Perhaps most notably, the Carolina Panthers became the final remaining NFC playoff team, winning the much maligned NFC South division in a winner-take-all showdown against the Atlanta Falcons, 34-3. In the AFC, the Baltimore Ravens earned the final conference playoff spot by defeating the Cleveland Browns, 20-10.

But with so many key games and different playoff implications at stake on Sunday, it is important to identify key winners and losers from yesterday’s gridiron action. Please note that the following evaluations are based upon several factors, including  a team’s roster (talent), and what the team was fighting to win (playoff spot, division title, etc.). And on a day with so much drama unfolding, it is fitting that there are several teams that emerged as “winners,” while others were “losers.”

Winners

Seattle Seahawks: Over the last month+, the defending Super Bowl champions have regained their swagger, and have announced to the rest of the NFL that they are most definitely back. In addition, the road to this year’s Super Bowl might well run through the city of coffee and grunge, as the Seahawks locked up a the NFC West division, a first-round bye, and homefield advantage throughout the playoffs – for the second consecutive year – by defeating the St. Louis Rams, 20-6, in Seattle.

The ‘Hawks overcame a sluggish, inconsistent first half of the season to win their final six games, finishing 12-4. And just like last year’s Super Bowl-winning squad, Seattle is riding dynamic quarterback Russell Wilson’s play-making, overpowering running back Marshawn Lynch’s legs, and its intimidating defense to wins. The Seahawks are poised to become the first repeat Super Bowl champions since the 2003-2004 New England Patriots.

Green Bay Packers: Although the Pack failed to clinch the no. 1 seed in the NFC, Aaron Rodgers and co. bested division rival the Detroit Lions at home, 30-20, to grab the NFC North title from the Lions. By winning, Green Bay becomes the no. 2 seed in the NFC, securing a first-round bye. This might prove to be especially important since Rodgers, the Packers quarterback some expect to win his second MVP award, temporarily left the game with an injury. (He returned to action and, in typical Rodgers form, engineered two touchdown drives in the second half).

The Packers won their fourth straight NFC North crown, leaving the Lions at 11-5 and as the no. 5 seed in the NFC. The Packers have beaten the Lions every year at Green Bay’s Lambeau Field since 1991, the longest active home winning streak against an opponent in the league. Detroit will now travel to take on the Dallas Cowboys next weekend in the NFC Wild Card round.

Dallas Cowboys: The team did not earn one of the two first-round byes that was available, but Dallas did everything it could in a 44-17 drubbing over fellow NFC East team the Washington Redskins. The Cowboys looked unstoppable on offense, as quarterback Tony Romo, running back DeMarco Murray, and wide receiver Dez Bryant capped off record-setting years by embarrassing the porous ‘Skins defense. For first time in franchise history, Dallas scored 40 or more points in four consecutive games. In its convincing victory against Washington, the team is entering the playoffs as one of the hottest teams in the league, and is hitting its stride when previous Cowboys teams have failed. The Cowboys had lost three win-or-go-home games to end the regular season the past three years, failing to make the playoffs those years. Yet head coach Jason Garrett and his team look as dangerous as any NFC team to go on a deep run into the playoffs.

Carolina Panthers: The Panthers appeared completely dead not too long ago, it seems, as the team had fallen to a 3-8-1 record, one that almost assuredly would end seasons. Yet because the Panthers play in the awful NFC South, its playoff hopes remained alive. And the team won four games in a row to win the weak division, including dominant road victories against division foes the Saints and the Falcons. Quarterback Cam Newton and head coach Ron Rivera enter the playoffs with a 7-8-1 record, but the team will host a playoff game next weekend against the 11-5 Arizona Cardinals.

Baltimore Ravens: The Ravens won the AFC’s sixth and final playoff spot by beating the offensively-challenged Cleveland Browns, 20-10, at home. The Browns were playing former practice squad quarterback Connor Shaw as starter due to injuries to quarterbacks Brian Hoyer and Johnny Manziel. Even though the Ravens trailed 10-3, its seasoned team – which made the playoffs for the sixth time in seven years – managed to score 17 fourth quarter points en route to the victory. The Ravens earned the spot not only by beating Cleveland, but also due to help from the San Diego Chargers, who lost to the Kansas City Chiefs, 19-7.

Losers

Atlanta Falcons: The Falcons boast some of the most talented players in the league, particularly on offense, with quarterback Matt Ryan, and wide receivers Julio Jones and Roddy White. Yet the team got shelled by the Panthers, 34-3, at home no less. It needed a win to clinch the shoddy NFC South title, yet it surrendered six sacks and two interception returns for touchdowns. Head coach Mike Smith survived a disastrous 2013 season of 4-12 largely because his team suffered numerous injuries last year, including ones to Pro Bowl receivers Jones and White. He also had helped put the Falcons back on the NFL map, so to speak, following the Michael Vick dogfighting scandal, and the failed Bobby Petrino-as-head coach experiment. But with two consecutive losing seasons, Smith might well have coached his final game on the Falcons sideline.

San Diego Chargers: The Chargers were in the best position of any of the remaining AFC playoff hopefuls: they, unlike the Ravens, Houston Texans, or their opponent (the Kansas City Chiefs), were the only team that could clinch the no. 6 seed by simply winning. Yet the Chargers completely whiffed, losing 19-7 at Kansas City. Losing to Kansas City at Arrowhead Stadium is no embarrassment, as Arrowhead is notoriously one of the most difficult road stadiums in which to play. Yet quarterback Philip Rivers threw two interceptions as San Diego lost to Kansas City and its backup quarterback, Chase Daniel. It controlled its own destiny, had everything to play for, but failed miserably.

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