NFL Week 17 Live Blog

Happy 2012, everyone!

As much as I hate being Captain Buzzkill on one of my favorite weekends of the NFL season, this is perhaps the least excited I have ever been for a Week 17.  That the Eagles are eliminated and playing a team that is also eliminated with Ron Pitts and Charles Davis on the call may or may not have anything to do with this.

Seeing as CoveritLive has a new system and I suck at figuring it out, for the second straight week, I failed to realize someone set up a live blog before me!   Ignore my invitation, wherever you received it.  Instead, log onto coveritlive.com, go to upcoming events, and launch "KSJ NFL Week 17 Live Blog".  That is the live blog we are using.  If this message does not pertain to you,

CLICK HERE TO GO TO LIVE BLOG!

While you do that, I will make a New Year's Resolution to better learn CoverItLive's new system.  Or something.

NFL Week 17 Schedule

It's the last week of what can only be described as an infuriating NFL Season on so many levels.  This is one season I will not miss any time soon.  I will probably have some sort of lengthy end of year reflection on the 2011 Philadelphia Eagles, but for now, here is the Week 17 Schedule.  There is nothing more depressing than on Week 17 turning on the TV to watch your team's last game of the season and hearing the words "Along with my partner Charles Davis, I'm Ron Pitts."

Maps of who gets what Sunday afternoon games

CBS early games

New York Jets vs. Miami Dolphins  1:00 (CBS - Greg Gumbel and Dan Dierdorf)
Tennessee Titans vs. Houston Texans  1:00 (CBS - Bill Macatee and Steve Tasker)
Indianapolis Colts vs. Jacksonville Jaguars  1:00 (CBS - Spero Dedes and Steve Beuerlein)
Buffalo Bills vs. New England Patriots  1:00 (CBS - Don Criqui and Randy Cross)

Fox early games

Carolina Panthers vs. New Orleans Saints  1:00 (Fox - Joe Buck and Troy Aikman, SR: Pam Oliver)
Chicago Bears vs. Minnesota Vikings  1:00 (Fox - Kenny Albert and Daryl Johnston, SA: Tony Siragusa)
Detroit Lions vs. Green Bay Packers  1:00 (Fox - Thom Brennaman and Brian Billick, SR: Laura Okmin)
San Francisco 49ers vs. St. Louis Rams  1:00 (Fox - Chris Myers and Tim Ryan)
Washington Redskins vs. Philadelphia Eagles  1:00 (Fox - Ron Pitts and Charles Davis)

CBS late games

Kansas City Chiefs vs. Denver Broncos  4:15 (CBS - Jim Nantz and Phil Simms)
Baltimore Ravens vs. Cincinnati Bengals  4:15 (CBS - Ian Eagle and Dan Fouts)
San Diego Chargers vs. Oakland Raiders  4:15 (CBS - Marv Albert and Rich Gannon)
Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Cleveland Browns  4:15 (CBS - Kevin Harlan and Solomon Wilcots)

Fox late games

Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. Atlanta Falcons  4:15 (Fox - Dick Stockton and John Lynch)
Seattle Seahawks vs. Arizona Cardinals  4:15 (Fox - Sam Rosen and Chad Pennington)

Sunday Night Football

Dallas Cowboys vs. New York Giants  8:20 (NBC - Al Michaels and Cris Collinsworth, SR: Michele Tafoya)

Eagles Week 17 Recap: Who Cares

On to the bullets of this pre-season game meaningless Week 17 football game.

•  The Dallas Cowboys played their healthy available starters.  The Philadelphia Eagles played all of their back-ups.  The Cowboys only won 14-13.  Yeah.
• What is there to take from this game?  Not much, really.  Only four regular starters (Maclin, Jean-Gilles, Patterson, and Fokou) saw any amount of time at all in this game.  Maclin played the first two series because Andy wanted to get him to 1,000 yards on the season (mission failed) and after that, the WR corps was all Chad Hall and Riley Cooper.
• Max Jean-Gillies was the only Eagle player to get injured.  It is unknown whether or not he will play on Sunday
• What to take from this game:  Stephen McGee is no Tony Romo, the Cowboys outside of DeMarcus Ware really are terrible, and the Eagles back-ups gave the Cowboys starters some stiff competition.
• Some people will say that the Eagles are limping into the playoffs with two straight losses.  My answer to that is 18 of the 22 Eagles that will start on Sunday were not on the field at all for tonight's game.  This game was irrelevant, the Eagles knew that, Andy Reid knew that, and the Eagles prepared for this game by recycling last month's and studying film on the Packers, Giants, and Buccaneers.
• If nothing else, this game showed that the Eagles should not be afraid to use Jerome Harrison during meaningful games.  Harrison used to be a starter in Cleveland last year and could probably start for some teams today.  If Andy Reid used him appropriately, he could and LeSean McCoy could make a legitimate 1-2 punch.
• The Eagles will host the Green Bay Packers Sunday at 4:30 ET.  The Packers are a team strengths match-up perfectly with the Eagles weaknesses.  The way I see it, if this game is a passing shootout, Green Bay will win.  The Eagles best offense and defense in this game will be LeSean McCoy.  The Eagles need to give him a huge workload in this game.  Not only do the Eagles need to run the ball to neutralize Green Bay's stellar pass defense, but they need to do so to control the clock, the tempo, and to keep Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay offense off the field.
• Lastly because the less said about this dull meaningless game the better, here is the win probability chart. (advancednflstats.com)

For Those Expecting An Eagles Week 17 Recap

You are going to have to at least wait a little bit.  I missed the last 3 quarters at dinner with my family.  Even though I DVR'd the game, I have not gotten around to watching it yet.  I'll probably sit through the rest of that game sometime after I get home from work tomorrow night and I will have a brief recap either tomorrow night or Tuesday.  The Cowboys won the game 14-13 and the Eagles played their back-ups.  The Eagles did not care about this game, so I will put little effort into this recap as there is little to be said about a game that meant nothing.

The Eagles wild card opponent is the Green Bay Packers, with the game taking place Sunday at 4:30 ET on Fox.

NFL Week 17 Live Blog

CLICK HERE TO GO TO THE LIVE BLOG

NFL Week 17 Schedule

It's the most exciting week of the season! Playoff spots are on the line, including an NFC West championship to determine a playoff spot and a Top 10 draft pick, an AFC South title is on the line to determine a playoff spot and a middle of the round draft pick, and 3 1st round byes are still up for grabs. It promises to be a wild ride, so without further ado, here is your Week 17 schedule! (all times ET)

Map of who gets what Fox early game.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. New Orleans Saints 1:00 (Fox - Thom Brennaman and Brian Billick)
Carolina Panthers vs. Atlanta Falcons 1:00 (Fox - Dick Stockton and Charles Davis)
Minnesota Vikings vs. Detroit Lions 1:00 (Fox - Ron Pitts and John Lynch)

Map of who gets what CBS early game.

Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Cleveland Browns 1:00 (CBS - Ian Eagle and Dan Fouts)
Cincinnati Bengals vs. Baltimore Ravens 1:00 (CBS - Kevin Harlan and Solomon Wilcots)
Buffalo Bills vs. New York Jets 1:00 (CBS - Gus Johnson and Steve Tasker)
Miami Dolphins vs. New England Patriots 1:00 (CBS - Bill Macatee and Rich Gannon)
Oakland Raiders vs. Kansas City Chiefs 1:00 (CBS - Spero Dedes and Randy Cross)

Map of who gets what Fox late game.

Chicago Bears vs. Green Bay Packers 4:15 (Fox - Joe Buck and Troy Aikman)
Dallas Cowboys vs. Philadelphia Eagles 4:15 (Fox - Kenny Albert, Daryl Johnston, and Tony Siragusa)
New York Giants vs. Washington Redskins 4:15 (Fox - Sam Rosen and Tim Ryan)
Arizona Cardinals vs. San Francisco 49ers 4:15 (Fox - Chris Myers and Jim Mora, Jr.)

Map of who gets what CBS late game.

Tennessee Titans vs. Indianapolis Colts 4:15 (CBS - Jim Nantz and Phil Simms)
Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Houston Texans 4:15 (CBS - Greg Gumbel and Dan Dierdorf)
San Diego Chargers vs. Denver Broncos 4:15 (CBS - Don Criqui and Steve Beuerlein)

Sunday Night Football

St. Louis Rams vs. Seattle Seahawks 8:20 (NBC - Al Michaels and Cris Collinsworth)

Your (Unprecedented) 2010 Wildcard Schedule

Suffice to say, I am stunned at the desperation of a struggling network.

First of all, we have 3 week 17 re-matches. That is unprecedented in it of itself. But that is just chance more than anything and is not something I will spend anymore time now.

However, it is a precedent that I noticed several years ago that Fox and CBS alternate with the 1:00 PM ET and 4:30 PM ET playoff games. CBS had the 1:00 last year and Fox had the 4:30 last year, therefore the precedent would be Fox to have the 1:00 this year and CBS to have the 4:30. Now Arizona cannot play at the 1:00 PM ET Fox game because games cannot start before 12 noon local time. And a 1:00 ET start would mean that the Cards would kickoff at 10:00 AM local time and that can't happen.

So what does that mean? The Cardinals would be playing on Saturday at either 4:30 or 8:00 alongside an AFC playoff game. However, that is not the case.

Now one would think that NBC would be giddy with the possibility of a Ravens-Patriots playoff match up as love them or hate them, everyone has feelings towards the Patriots and the Ravens have well known players (Lewis, Reed, etc.) and are in a pretty big market. But either NBC did not want that and wanted the juggular, the NFL did not want to give the Pats another primetime game, or CBS did not want another network to air the Patriots when Nantz and Simms have followed them around so much this year that it's borderline stalkerish. Whatever the reason, the Ravens and the Patriots are on CBS. At 1:00.

I know. My first, second, third, and fourth thoughts of learning of this change was "WHAT THE HELL???". Instead of being on 1:00 on Fox like everyone thought Eagles-Cowboys would be, including Terry Bradshaw who was so bold as to say that that would be the game on Fox, the Birds and the 'Boys are now the 8:00 primetime game on NBC. Like I said, WHAT THE HELL?

So what does that leave the Cards who can't play at 1:00 ET? They are on 4:30 PM ET on Fox. So for the second year in a row, CBS has a Sunday 1:00 wildcard game and Fox has a 4:30 wildcard game.

Here is your schedule with confirmed announcers. (all times PM eastern)

Saturday, January 9
#5 New York Jets @ #4 Cincinnati Bengals 4:30 (NBC - Tom Hammond, Joe Theismann, and Joe Gibbs, SR: Tiki Barber)
#6 Philadelphia Eagles @ #3 Dallas Cowboys 8:00 (NBC - Al Michaels and Cris Collinsworth, SR: Andrea Kremer)

Sunday, January 10
#6 Baltimore Ravens @ #3 New England Patriots 1:00 (CBS - Jim Nantz and Phil Simms)
#5 Green Bay Packers @ #4 Arizona Cardinals 4:30 (Fox - Joe Buck and Troy Aikman, SR: Pam Oliver and Chris Myers)

Simply unbelievable. But when you are the lowest rated TV network and you have a deal with the NFL, I guess you can beg and plead and cry that you don't want 2 unappealing playoff matches and the NFL will grant you or wish. Or something. I have no idea what the hell happened other than executives at NBC are jumping up and down and doing cartwheels because of it.

And no, I will not say a word about the Eagles debacle in Week 17. I'm too embarrassed to even critique that all-around lack of effort and execution against a team that was hot and wanted to win.

NFL Week 17 Live Blog

Sorry for the lateness, I was under the impression that JC was hosting this week, although it appears as if he is not around.

Come and comment as you wish, but don't be a troll (I'm looking at you people who talk about their unmentionables, Nathan Brice, and guy with no life who likes to comment about how we have no lives for "doing play by play" of the games).

Your Week 17 NFL Schedule

Here it is! It seems like just yesterday that we were counting down the days to the start of the season and here we are at it's climax. Week 17 with significant seeding on the line in the NFC and a clusterfuck of teams trying to get into the playoffs in the AFC. It is a double double header this week, meaning that most of you will be seeing 4 regional games this week unless you are in a city where a blackout applies. So here are your maps, your schedule of games along with the announcers of each game. Week 17 is upon us. Are you ready?

Map of who gets what CBS early game

Pittsburgh Steelers @ Miami Dolphins 1:00 (CBS - Greg Gumbel and Dan Dierdorf)
New England Patriots @ Houston Texans 1:00 (CBS - Kevin Harlan and Solomon Wilcots)
Jacksonville Jaguars @ Cleveland Browns 1:00 (CBS - Gus Johnson and Steve Tasker)
Indianapolis Colts @ Buffalo Bills 1:00 (CBS - Bill Macatee and Steve Beuerlein)

Map of who gets what Fox early game

New York Giants @ Minnesota Vikings 1:00 (Fox - Kenny Albert, Daryl Johnston, and Tony Siragusa)
New Orleans Saints @ Carolina Panthers 1:00 (Fox - Thom Brennaman and Brian Billick)
Atlanta Falcons @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers 1:00 (Fox - Dick Stockton and Charles Davis)
San Francisco 49ers @ St. Louis Rams 1:00 (Fox - Matt Vasgersian and Ross Tucker)
Chicago Bears @ Detroit Lions 1:00 (Fox - Chris Rose and Trent Green)

Map of who gets what CBS late game

Baltimore Ravens @ Oakland Raiders 4:15 (CBS - Jim Nantz and Phil Simms)
Kansas City Chiefs @ Denver Broncos 4:15 (CBS - Dick Enberg and Dan Fouts)
Tennessee Titans @ Seattle Seahawks 4:15 (CBS - Ian Eagle and Rich Gannon)

Map of who gets what Fox late game

Philadelphia Eagles @ Dallas Cowboys 4:15 (Fox - Joe Buck and Troy Aikman)
Green Bay Packers @ Arizona Cardinals 4:15 (Fox - Sam Rosen and Tim Ryan)
Washington Redskins @ San Diego Chargers 4:15 (Fox - Ron Pitts and John Lynch)

Sunday Night Football

Cincinnati Bengals @ New York Jets 8:25 (NBC - Al Michaels and Cris Collinsworth)

It is a week like this that I am certainly thankful that I am home during this time of year and that I get NFL Sunday Ticket and their edition of the popular RedZone Channel. Nothing is more thrilling or more dramatic than Week 17 of the NFL especially when there is so much on the line once all of the seeing is cleared up in the NFC, there will be one team and one fanbase watching at NBC at 8:25 PM ET cheering and screaming at the tops of their lungs saying "LET'S GO BENGALS! LET'S GO BENGALS!". And I'm not talking about the Bengals themselves or their fans.

WE'RE IN THE PLAYOFFS!!! WE'RE IN THE PLAYOFFS!!! WE'RE IN THE PLAYOFFS!!! Your Eagles Week 17 Recap

"BUSH!!!!!! BUSH!!!!!!!!! TOUCHDOWN!!!!!!!!!!!"

My voice has not been the same since. It was gone before the Eagles even took the field for the season finale. For that's where the drama was. And oh boy, was there drama.

The Texans disposed of the the Bears fairly easily after a shaky start. There was little doubt in my mind that either Chicago and Minnesota would both win against teams superior to them. And while the Minnesota game was exciting, it was nothing, absolutely nothing compared to the drama in Raymond James Stadium.

Down 24-14 in the 4th quarter to the Bucs, the Oakland Raiders pulled off one of the greatest comebacks in Philadelphia Eagles history. There are no words that I can use that I haven't already used to describe it. Enjoy the sheer amazingness of Michael Bush.

Unbelieveable. Who would have thought?

And then there was the kickoff in the Linc. And believe it or not, a certain Eagle who would end up playing a key role in the first half in turning the game into a blowout was not made aware of the scores in Houston and Tampa Bay.

It started out as a back-and-forth defensive battle which was a lot of what I expected. "But JFein, the Week 2 was a shootout, how could you have possibly thought this would be a defensive battle?" The answer is what has since happened. Neither offense was coming in that sharp and the Eagles' defense has been lights out ever since the Sunday Night game that the Eagles lost against the Giants. The teams traded field goals before Buckhalter started the fun with a 59 yard catch-and-run by Correll Buckhalter. That would eventually lead to a McNabb QB sneak for a TD. And get this. On 2nd and goal from the 1, the Eagles ran a sneak and it didn't work. But then he stuck with it, ran the sneak again and got in. It's amazing what happens when you run a sneak with a big QB. Just for that I'm adding the "Andy Reid Actually Does Something Right" tag.

The Eagles would complete another TD drive making it 17-3 before the game-changer occured. Dallas was trying to make a game of it before halftime and were driving. But then Romo threw the ultimate WTF happened interception on a pass intended for Roy Williams that went directly to the Eagle who had no idea the Eagles were in "Win and In" game, Sheldon Brown. That set up a TD to Celek. 24-3.

On the ensuing kickoff Adam "Don't Call Me Pacman" Jones fumbled the ball, the Eagles recovered, and Akers kicked a field goal to make it 27-3 at halftime.

Two redzone fumbles by the Cowboys that were returned for touchdowns by Chris Clemons and Joselio Hanson, respectively turned this one into the biggest laugher in Cowboys-Eagles history. 44-6 was the final and I'm still in shock. Not just that we absolutely creamed the Cowboys but the Raiders actually beat the Buccaneers! Repeat after me: THE RAIDERS BEAT THE BUCCANEERS!!! And remember the frequently played call by Gene Deckerhoff after the Matt Bryant kicked a 63-yard field goal to beat the Eagles. "MATT BRYANT IS MY HERO!" Well, today, to him I say, "MICHAEL BUSH IS MY HERO!"

The Eagles have been on an absolutely roller coaster ride this season. There have been highs. There have been lows. There have been lows so low that I went on a Keith Olbermann-esque Special Comment. And then there was today. The Houston Texans. Michael Bush. 44-6. It was the perfect day. The Eagles are now off to Minnesota to play the Vikings on Sunday at 4:30 on Fox. I'll have a preview of that game on Friday. Not only that, but throughtout the week, I post an exclusive preview of the other 3 wild-card games starting tomorrow with the Falcons @ Arizona.

Lastly, I have a couple points about the announcers followed by one strong point that you don't miss. First of all, what in the blue hell was up with all the pink ties today? Good lord. First it was Kevin Harlan in Tampa and then Joe Buck in Philly. Whatever was up with it, it brought good luck to the Eagles, that's for sure.

And aspeaking of our good friend, Joseph Francis Buck, I'll end by expanding on a point he said. Joe Buck takes a lot of heat, some of it deserved, some of it not. While not my favorite announcer, I think that I like him more than most other people do. However, there can be little arguing with his point at the end when they were discussing the Cowboys. Despite being blownout at this point, Aikman still called Dallas the most talented team in the NFL. Joe Buck would hit the nail on the head though.

"The Dallas Cowboys are just a bunch of talented individuals", he said, and he could not be more right. There is no camaraderie in Dallas. They are just a bunch of talented individuals wearing matching jerseys. That's it. They are not a team. And Jerry Jones thinks that money can buy championships. Guess what, Jerry, money can't buy championships. It never will. Look at the Patriots last year. Look at the Redskins every year. Look at you, Jerry. Mr. Publicity. Mr. Money Bags. What did it all get you? It got you blownout in Philly 44-6. Are you proud of yourself? And what are you going to do, Jerry? Spend more money? Try to build another team around the best collection of players. Instead, focus on building a team. Meanwhile, say what you want about Philly fans, but the Eagles are a team. They don't turn on each other. They don't complain when others are getting more playing time. They play together. They play with heart. I mentioned the roller coaster season earlier, well through all of it, one thing remained constant. The Philadelphia Eagles remained together. They were a team that never stopped believing in each other. They kept fighting when everyone had them written off. They never quit. And if you doubt that sincerity, then look at Sheldon Brown. Not even having been made aware of the situation, he played his heart out and made the interception that turned the game around. That's pride. That's passion. That's the work of a teammate. And the end result was that of what happens when a team plays up against a group of individuals.

44-6.

Eagles Week 17 Preview

Who: Dallas Cowboys @ Philadelphia Eagles
Where: Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
When: 4:15 PM EST
What Channel: Fox
Weather Forecast: 60 degrees with a 40% of showers
Announcers: Joe Buck and Troy Aikman (For the first time since the Philadelphia Phillies won the World Series, Joe Buck is back on Broad Street!)
Announcers' Talking Point of the Game: DA COWBOYS CAN MAKE THE PLAYOFFS! DA COWBOYS CAN MAKE THE PLAYOFFS! OFMG DALLAS CAN DO THIS! THEY CAN DO THIS!

King Leonidas (and the poor guy who got knocked into the pit of death) said it best. "THIS IS MADNESS!" "NO, THIS IS THE NFL!" Wait, what? Damn, close enough, I guess.

For the 4058th time, in order to make the playoffs, the Eagles need 3 things to happen.
1. Eagles beat Dallas. AND
2. Tampa lose to Oakland. AND
3. Either Minnesota to lose to the New York Football Giants OR Chicago to lose to the Houston

When the schedule came out at the beginning of the year, you saw Week 17 Dallas @ Eagles and you knew that it would be an all-out slobberknocker, to quote good ol' JR. And to quote Keith Jackson, whoa nelly, do we have one.

The Eagles will know before the game starts whether or not they have a chance to make the playoffs. Tampa, Minnesota, and Chicago all play at 1 and barring an exceedingly long game, the Eagles will know what they're playoff fate is. Whether or not they evan have a chance at the post-season.

But, this regardless this still could be the Eagles' game of the year. Misery loves company and the Eagles can make Jerry Jones absolutely miserable by beating Dallas. Because regardless of what happens earlier, this game will mean something for Dallas. If they win, they're in. If they can't beat the Eagles, then they are out of the playoffs.

Everyone remembers the thriller Week 2 on Monday Night Football, although I'm sure most people remember it for DeSean Jackson dropping the ball before getting in the endzone and/or Dr. Tony Kornheiser's awkward on-air apology for his bad joke comment insulting everyone of Spanish ancestry during Spanish Heritage month. But alas, there was a game played that day and that game was a thriller in Texas Stadium. Back and forth they went before Dallas picked up a win after the Eagles thought they were Boise State and attempted an epic fail hook-n' ladder.

This game won't be nearly as high-scoring though. I just don't see it happen. The Eagles defense has been downright awesome the past few weeks (that has absolutely been forgotten thanks to the futility and inconsistency of the offense) and the Cowboys offense does not have the juice they seemed to have at the beginning of the year, even with Tony Romo back in the line-up. The million dollar question in this game is this: Will the Eagles offense show-up in a sense more than the physical? If there are a bunch of brain-dead bodies on offense as was apparent last week at Washington, the Cowboys are in the playoffs, regardless of how the Eagles' D plays. However, if the offense does show up, I think that regardless of what the Eagles' situation is, we will have a thriller on our hands with the Eagles beating Dallas 28-24.

All that can be said has been said. This is it. Everybody reading this, close your eyes right now and picture a successful finish, the Eagles are in the post-season. We're going up north to play the NFC North champion Chicago Bears/Minnesota Vikings. Picture it. See it. See the success. See the Vikings choking again. See the Bears finally getting a result that indicates how well they actually played the past few weeks. Jon Gruden shaking hands with Tom Cable, a little more humble having just went to the place he used to Coach and lost. See the Eagles game with 10 seconds left and Donovan McNabb throwing a 30-yard pass touchdown pass to DeSean Jackson to clinch the playoff spot for the Eagles. Close your eyes. See these outcomes. Believe. Believe! BELIEVE! For it is only if we the fans believe, can we truly witness The second miracle in South Philly this year.......

Week 17 NFL Preview

Greetings! Happy Hanukkah! Merry Christmas! Happy Kwanza! Happy Festivus! I hope everyone's day was better than mine (long story, not getting into it).

I'm going to preview both the NFL and the Eagles game today, but first, the NFL as a whole. Aside from the Pats-Giants game last year, there really was not a whole lot to be determined Week 17. This year, however, let's just say, prepare for a wild ride. From The506

Fox 1 PM (Map)

Carolina @ New Orleans: Kenny Albert, Daryl Johnston, and Tony Siragusa
New York Giants @ Minnesota: Dick Stockton and Brian Baldinger (To be shown on Philly Fox 29, WTXV-TV)
St. Louis @ Atlanta: Sam Rosen and Tim Ryan
Chicago @ Houston: Matt Vasgersian and J.C. Pearson
Detroit @ Green Bay: Chris Rose and John Lynch

CBS 1 PM (Map)

New England @ Buffalo: Greg Gumbel and Dan Dierdorf
Oakland @ Tampa Bay: Kevin Harlan and Rich Gannon (To be shown on Philly CBS 3, KYW-TV)
Cleveland @ Pittsburgh: Gus Johnson and Steve Tasker
Tennessee @ Indianapolis: Ian Eagle and Solomon Wilcots
Kansas City @ Cincinnati: Bill Macatee and Beuerlein

Fox 4 PM (Map)

Dallas @ Philadelphia: Joe Buck and Troy Aikman (To be seen on Philly Fox 29, WTXV-TV)
Seattle @ Arizona: Thom Brennaman and Brian Billick
Washington @ San Francisco: Ron Pitts and Tony Boselli

CBS 4 PM (Map)

Miami @ New York Jets: Jim Nantz and Phil Simms (To be shown on Philly CBS 3, KYW-TV)
Jacksonville @ Baltimore: Dick Enberg and Randy Cross

Sunday Night Football (NBC 8:15 to be seen nationally)

Denver @ San Diego: Al Michaels and John Madden

Several games are very meaningful this week. In the NFC, all the Cowboys need to do is win and they are in the playoffs. However, if they lose, they will not be advancing to the post-season. The NFC North is still up for grabs. If the Vikings lose and the Bears win, the Bears have come from the depths of nowhere to be NFC North champions. If Tampa wins and Dallas loses, the Bucs are in the wildcard. If Carolina loses and Atlanta wins, the Falcons are NFC South champions and the Panthers go from having a shot at home-field advantage to the 5-seed (which is like a bye, seeing as they would play Arizona). And as if that's not exciting enough, history could be made on Sunday! The Detroit Lions could be the first team in NFL history to become 0-16. All they have to do is lose to Green Bay, something that well, may be difficult to do.

If that was head-scratching, then I have bad news. The AFC is even more complicated! Let's start with the AFC West Championship game though, that's simple. The winner of Denver-San Diego will claim the title of AFC West champions and become the 4-seed in the AFC and will host the 5-seeded Colts. The loser will miss the playoffs. Now to the AFC East. If the Dolphins win, they are in, no matter what. If the Pats lose, then the Dolphins-Jets game becomes an AFC East Championship game. But if the Pats win and the Jets win, the New England Patriots would become AFC East champions. The Jets are not solely dependent on the Pats though. The Bretts can clinch a wild-card with a Patriots win and a Baltimore Ravens loss (assuming they beat Miami, if they lose they are done). Aspeaking of Baltimore, they can lock up a playoffs spot by beating Jacksonville. But if they lose, they are not done. A loss gets them into the playoffs if the Bills and Dolphins both win.

Well then, how's everyone's brains? Are they fried like mine are? We know one thing is for sure, expect some dramatic moments and epic heartbreaks, and if the rest of this season is any indication, maybe even a little controversy.

I'll be back later for your Eagles Week 17 preview.

Week 17 Playoff Scenarios

Great thanks to Awful Announcing who did an absolute yeoman's work putting all of this together. I've never had to think so much when trying to figure out a playoff picture in quite some time.

NFC:New York Giants- Clinched top seed and first round bye with Week Sixteen win over Panthers, will have homefield advantage throughout the Playoffs.

Carolina Panthers- Can clinch the second seed and first round bye with a win over New Orleans, or a Falcons loss. If Carolina loses, and the Falcons win, they will secure the 5th seed

Minnesota Vikings- Can clinch the NFC North with a win against the Giants or a Bears loss on Monday Night (Green Bay), or in Week Seventeen. They have no shot at a Wild Card spot.

Arizona Cardinals- Have locked up the 4th Seed by winning the NFC West. Cannot move up to the 3rd seed under any scenario

Atlanta Falcons- Secured a Playoff spot by beating Minnesota in Week Sixteen. With a win at home against St. Louis, and a Panthers loss in New Orleans, the Falcons will get the 2nd seed and a first round bye. If the Philly beats Dallas, they will end up with the 5th seed, if Dallas wins...they get the 6th spot.

Dallas Cowboys- Win and they're in. With an Atlanta loss against the Rams, and a win, they're the 5th seed. Otherwise they're in the 6th spot.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers- Has to win at Oakland, and needs losses from both Chicago (in one of their remaining two games) and Dallas. Can only clinch the sixth seed.

Philadelphia Eagles- Need to beat Dallas, have Tampa Bay lose to Oakland, and have Chicago lose on of their next two. Can also clinch if Chicago wins both games and they beat Dallas.

Chicago Bears- Can still win the NFC North with two wins and a Minnesota loss. Can also obtain the 6th seed with two wins, a Vikings win, and losses from Dallas, Atlanta and Tampa Bay.

AFC:

Tennessee Titans- Clinched the top spot and homefield advangage with win over Steelers in Week Sixteen.

Pittsburgh Steelers- Have won the AFC North and have secured the 2nd seed, as well as a first round bye.

Indianaoplis Colts- Have clinched the top Wild Card spot by finishing second in the AFC South.

Denver Broncos/San Diego Chargers- Whoever wins their Week Seventeen Matchup will clinch the 4th seed by winning the AFC West.

Baltimore Ravens- Clinch only clinch the 6th spot. They can do so with a win over the Jaguars in Week Seventeen. They can also get in with a loss as long as the Dolphins beat the Jets, and the Bills beat the Patriots.

Miami Dolphins- Can win the AFC East with a win over the Jets and will have the 3rd seed. Lose and they're out.

New England Patriots- Can win the AFC East, and the 3rd seed, with a win over the Bills and a Jets win over Miami. They can also lock up the 6th seed with a Dolphins win, and a Ravens loss to the Jags.

New York Jets- Can win the AFC East, and the 3rd spot, with a win against the Dolphins and a Patriots loss to the Bills. Can lock up the sixth seed with a win against the Dolphins, a Patriots win, and a Ravens loss

Just to clarify the Eagles' scenario with the Bears winning would involve the Bears winning the NFC North, which would mean them winning out and a Vikings' loss to New York.

For more fun on the playoffs, I encourage you to visit these links. I would like to warn you ahead of time. That Yahoo Sports! NFL playoff scenario generator is addicting.

Your Full NFL Playoff Scenario List (Awful Announcing)
If The Season Ended Today... (NFL.com)
NFL Playoff Scenario Generator (Yahoo! Sports)