SAN FRANCISCO 49ers @ Arizona Cardinals
PHOENIX - The race to the finish line in the NFC West is on after the Arizona Cardinals beat the visiting 49ers 23-20 Sunday. San Francisco needed a win to lock up the division but couldn't get it done as Arizona (9-6, 3-2 NFC West) used a late field goal to win it.
San Francisco (9-5-1, 2-3) was down a large portion of their roster due to injury and it showed. Especially detrimental to their game plan was having both Julio Jones and Tyler Boyd out with injuries. "No excuses." Coach Kyle Shanahan said, "Next man up. This is the NFL. Everyone is dealing with injuries."
Alvin Kamara did what he could, rushing for 83 yards and two touchdowns, but it wasn't enough. Now San Francisco heads into week 17 with everything on the line. Winner of their game against Seattle (9-6) takes the division. With a loss, the Niners would need a loss by either Arizona (9-6) or Atlanta (9-6) to get in as a wild card.
Seattle and San Francisco for the division in week 17? Sign us up.
Tennessee Titans @ GREEN BAY PACKERS
GREEN BAY - The Packers continued their hot second half of the season beating up the Tennessee Titans 28-3 in a snowy Sunday night game at Lambeau Field. With the weather impacting game plans, Green Bay (10-4-1) turned to the running game and Damien Williams. The running back out of Oklahoma did all the heavy lifting, rushing for 126 yards and 3 touchdowns.
On the other side Derrick Henry struggled to get going for Tennessee (6-9) and the Titans didn't have a game plan for playing from behind. In a critical moment late in the 2nd quarter and Green Bay up 7-0, Tennessee decided to go for it on a 4th and goal from the one-yard line. Henry was stuffed by rookie linebacker Zack Baun. The Packers went down, kicked a field goal on the ensuing drive and the Titans were never close again.
The Packers (10-4-1) locked up a playoff berth with the win but now need some help if they want to win the division. Green Bay would need to beat Chicago next week and hope for a Detroit upset of Minnesota to take the NFC North. Anything other than exact scenario locks the Pack into the 5-seed and a trip to the winner of the NFC East in the playoffs.
Cincinnati Bengals @ HOUSTON TEXANS
HOUSTON - The streak continues! The Texans took down the visiting Bengals 34-17 Sunday. The win was Houston's 4th in a row and keeps their slim playoff hopes alive. Cincinnati (7-8) was greatly impacted by the absence of first overall pick Joe Burrow. Backup DeShone Kizer did admirably but it wasn't enough as the Texans came out hot.
Houston (6-9) scored on their first two drives of the game (touchdown and field goal) then used a forced fumble on the ensuing kickoff to score again on a Le'Veon Bell touchdown. "This team is clicking." Bell said, "I told y'all when I signed here that I was playing to win."
The Texans now sit in 2nd place in the division in a three way tie at 6-9 with Tennessee and Indianapolis. Jacksonville is ahead of all three by one game at 7-8. If Indianapolis can take down the Jaguars next week and the Texans can beat the Titans, there would be a three way tie at the top of the division with Jacksonville, Houston, and Indianapolis all at 7-9. NFL tiebreakers would then come into effect, potentially causing chaos after a full 256 games have been played.
Buckle up folks. Week 17 in the 3GML is going to be a good one.
