Aaron Rodgers helps Packers, has Steelers on verge of AFC North title
In his 18 years in Green Bay, 15 as the starting quarterback, Aaron Rodgers won 147 games for the Packers.
Sunday he made it 148.
Three years removed from the Packers, Rodgers helped the team he spent most of his Hall of Fame career with when he led the Pittsburgh Steelers past the Detroit Lions in Detroit.
While the Steelers win made them 9-6 and gave them a two-game cushion over Baltimore (7-8) in the race for the AFC North title, the loss for the Lions (8-7) was a big help for the Packers (9-5-1).
Losers of two straight, including Saturday night’s last-minute collapse at Chicago, the Packers now need just one win in their last two games, or one Lions loss in their final two games to clinch a third straight playoff appearance since Rodgers left.
Green Bay could actually clinch before it plays Saturday night if the Lions lose at Minnesota, Christmas afternoon. The Lions finish the season at Chicago. The Packers end it in Minnesota.
The Packers can pay back Rodgers and the Steelers, Saturday night by beating Baltimore. That would not only clinch the playoff spot for Green Bay, but would give the Steelers the AFC North title.
Roll Tide
Two days after Alabama came from behind to knock out Oklahoma in the College Football Playoffs, former Tide quarterback Bryce Young outplayed former Sooner Baker Mayfield as Carolina knocked off Tampa Bay to take over first place in the NFC South.
Young engineered his sixth game-winning drive of the season and 12th of his career as the Panthers (8-7) moved into sole possession of first place over the Bucs (7-8) in a battle of two QBs who were the No. 1 overall picks of their respective drafts.
In the game Young completed 21 of 32 passes for 192 yards and two touchdowns for a QB rating of 102.5. Mayfield was 15 of 26 for 145 yards with a touchdown and an interception for a QB rating of 79.8.
What a Weekend
The craziness of this past weekend’s results cleared up the playoff situation for a lot of teams, especially in the NFC.
Here’s how it looks:
NFC East
The Eagles won the division for the second straight year the first team to repeat in the East since they did in 2003-04. No other team is the division is alive for a playoff spot.
NFC North
Chicago moved a game-and-a-half ahead of Green Bay for first place, while the Packers remained a game-and-a-half ahead of Detroit for the final wild-card spot. Green Bay can win the division if it beats Baltimore at home and Minnesota on the road, while Chicago loses at San Francisco and at home to Detroit. As stated earlier, the Packers need one win or one Lions loss to clinch the wild-card spot.
NFC South
Tampa and Carolina will meet one more time, the final week of the season and that will likely determine the division winner. The only way it will not would be if Carolina upsets Seattle this week and Tampa gets upset by Miami.
The odds of that? Well, if you were to bet a money line parlay of Carolina and Miami, it would pay +1050.
NFC West
Three teams are headed to the playoffs — Seattle, San Francisco and Los Angeles — just not sure in what order. Seattle, which plays at Carolina and at San Francisco, controls its destiny. Win them both, you win the West and get the No. 1 seed. But so do the 49ers, who host the Bears and the Seahawks. The Rams (at Atlanta, Arizona) have the easiest schedule but need help.
AFC East
New England (12-3) holds a one-game lead and has the tie-breaker on Buffalo (11-4). The Pats would have to lose at the Jets and at home to the Dolphins for the Bills to catch them. The bigger question is can NE get past Denver (12-3) for the No. 1 seed. The Bills are battling the Chargers (11-4) and Texans (10-5) for wild-card rankings.
AFC North
Pittsburgh wins the division if it beats Cleveland or if Baltimore loses to Green Bay. If neither happens it comes down to a head-to-head game the final week in Pittsburgh.
AFC South
Jacksonville (11-4) holds a one-game lead over Houston (10-5), but the Texans currently hold the tie-breaker of better division record. The Jags finish at Indy and home with Tennessee. Houston has the Chargers and the Colts.
AFC West
Denver (12-3) has a game lead on the Chargers (11-4) and the two meet on the final day of the season. In between the Broncos play at Kansas City, while the Chargers host Houston. The Chargers already have a head-to-head win over the Broncos.
