Tag: division title

Twitter reacts to Chiefs winning eighth-straight AFC West title

Twitter reacted to the #Chiefs’ accomplishment of clinching their eighth-straight AFC West title after Sunday’s victory over the #Bengals.

The Kansas City Chiefs’ run of dominance in the AFC West is the stuff of legend, and with their win over the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 17, the team has officially won its eighth-straight division title.

In a season where the reigning Super Bowl champions have looked more like pretenders than contenders, the remarkable streak’s continuation is a good sign for Kansas City’s future.

The Chiefs’ ticket to the playoffs is officially punched heading into the final week of the regular season, and with the momentum built from their win over Cincinnati, the team may be able to parlay their victory into a hot streak just in time for the postseason.

Kansas City’s outstanding accomplishment on New Year’s Eve seemed to take the edge off for fans on social media who have been frustrated by the Chiefs’ losses in recent weeks.

Check out some of Twitter’s top reactions to Kansas City’s historic win over the Bengals:

Studs and Duds for the Lions division-winning victory over the Vikings

The Detroit Lions have clinched the NFC North with a win over the Minnesota Vikings and here this week’s Lions Studs and Duds.

Today marks a historic moment as the Detroit Lions secure their first division title in three decades, triumphing over the Minnesota Vikings with a hard-fought 30-24 victory. Despite the hurdles faced, this win epitomizes the resilient spirit of the Lions.

While the victory may not be characterized as flawless, with several self-inflicted mistakes threatening the outcome, the Lions demonstrated remarkable composure and determination to secure the division. The defense faced formidable challenges from key Vikings players, yet unexpected contributors stepped up when needed, while the offense relied on its stars to seize crucial moments and propel them to victory.

In light of this division-clinching triumph over the Vikings, let’s take a closer look at the Studs and Duds for the Lions this week.

There is only one possible way the Lions don’t win the NFC North title

The NFC North title is all but clinched for the Lions after Week 15, with just one possible set of outcomes that keeps it from happening

The Detroit Lions are poised to win their first-ever NFC North division crown. The outcomes around the division in Week 15 made it almost a certainty.

Well, technically not a mathematical certainty. There is still a pathway to the Lions not capturing the divisional crown. But after Minnesota and Green Bay each lost over the weekend, it feels like quite a longshot that any outcome other than the Lions winning the division will happen.

Detroit’s dominant win over Denver elevated the Lions to 10-4. The Vikings lost to the Bengals earlier on Saturday, dropping them to 7-7. Green Bay was eliminated from the divisional race when Detroit won, but the Packers getting run by the Buccaneers put a capstone on Green Bay’s tomb. The Packers are 6-8. Chicago lost in heartbreaking fashion in Cleveland on Sunday to fall to 5-9.

The Lions and Vikings meet in Week 16 and also in Week 18. For the Vikings to win the division, they need to win all three of their remaining games and also have the Lions lose all three of Detroit’s games. When they’re not facing each other, the Vikings play the Packers in Week 17, and the Lions visit the Cowboys. Detroit is an early road favorite for the Week 16 game in Minnesota.

Minnesota has lost three of its last four games, with the win a 3-0 snoozer over the Raiders in Week 14. The Vikings and Packers are both still very much alive in the NFC wild card race.

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PFF analysts overwhelmingly pick Chiefs to win AFC West

Four PFF analysts picked the #Chiefs to win the AFC West for the eighth consecutive season.

The Kansas City Chiefs have been the most dominant team in the AFC West for nearly a decade, and analysts at Pro Football Focus overwhelmingly picked the defending Super Bowl champions to win the division again in 2023.

PFF’s Gordon McGuinness, Trevor Sikkema, Sam Monson, and Brad Spielberger all chose Kansas City as their projected AFC West winner in a tweet put out by the revered analytics website on Friday.

Their decision to pick the Chiefs shouldn’t come as a surprise to fans who have watched the AFC West in recent years. The Las Vegas Raiders and Denver Broncos have both taken a back seat in the division with re-tread quarterbacks Jimmy Garoppolo and Russell Wilson while the Los Angeles Chargers have moved up the power rankings with phenom Justin Herbert under center.

The Chargers would be a clear second-best pick for the AFC West but are still far behind Kansas City in terms of viability for championship contention.

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Seahawks back into top 5 of Touchdown Wire’s NFL power rankings

After beating the Rams to win the NFC West, the Seattle Seahawks have jumped back up into the top 5 of Touchdown Wire’s NFL power rankings.

The Seattle Seahawks clinched a playoff spot in Week 15 against Washington and won the NFC West on Sunday over the Los Angeles Rams at Lumen Field.

For their efforts in securing the division title, the Seahawks have jumped all the way up from No. 8 to No. 5 in Touchdown Wire’s post-Week 16 NFL power rankings.

“With the NFC West secured, the Seahawks can now think about positioning. They still have an outside shot at the first-round bye, if they win in Week 17 and the Green Bay Packers and the New Orleans Saints both lose,” writes Mark Scofield. “Oh, and remember Seattle fans, that was a damn good defense that the Seahawks faced Sunday.

“And yours might just be getting better at the right time.”

The Seahawks square off against the 49ers next Sunday to close out their regular season – here’s how Seattle has an outside chance of clinching a first-round bye.

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Seahawks clinch NFC West division title in Week 16 win over Rams

The Seattle Seahawks clinched the NFC West division title for the first time since 2016 with a Week 16 win over the Los Angeles Rams.

The Seattle Seahawks have clinched the NFC West for the first time since 2016 with a Week 16 victory over the Los Angeles Rams. Sunday marks the 11th time in franchise history and the fifth time under coach Pete Carroll the Seahawks have won the division title.

Seattle beat Los Angeles 20-9 to advance to 11-4 on the year. The Seahawks had already clinched a playoff berth last Sunday at Washington.

The Rams kept it almost too close for comfort, until midway through the fourth quarter when Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson was able to connect with tight end Jacob Hollister on a 13-yard touchdown pass for what would be Seattle’s winning score.

With the division title clinched, the Seahawks can breathe a little this week ahead of their final regular-season game of the year next Sunday against the 49ers.

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Week 16 halftime stats: Seattle Seahawks, Los Angeles Rams tied 6-6

The Seattle Seahawks are tied 6-6 with the Los Angeles Rams in Week 16 at the half. Here’s a look at the stats after two quarters of play.

The Seattle Seahawks are hosting the Los Angeles Rams in Week 16 with the hopes of clinching the NFC West division title.

At the half, the Seahawks and the Rams are tied 6-6.  Here’s a look at the stats after two quarters of play.

NFL flexes Washington-Panthers to keep intrigue in Cowboys-Eagles

There’s still something to play for, so one of the most viewed rivalries in sports gets other things shifted to maintain it’s relevance.

  • The NFL flexed Washington-Carolina so that the outcome won’t be known by the time Dallas and Philadelphia kick off.
  • Entering Week 16, the NFC East title is still up for grabs with no teams capable of finishing above .500.
  • All four clubs have a path to the division title, but only Washington controls their own destiny.
  • One more Washington win will eliminate both the Cowboys and Eagles.

The Dallas Cowboys are just two days removed from their Sunday afternoon affair which was meant to be played on Sunday night. The NFL decided, rightfully so, that a matchup between a floundering Cowboys team and a flailing San Francisco 49ers did not deserve to be the flagship game of Week 15 and flexed them out of the primetime slot and into the early games. Little did they know Cowboys-49ers was going to be one of the most entertaining matchups of the weekend and the game that replaced it, Browns-Giants, was going to be a snoozer.

Now the NFL is continuing to shuffle the scheduling deck, this time to keep as many eyeballs on the Cowboys game instead of trying to avert the glare. Thanks to their win on Sunday, Dallas maintains the slimmest of hopes of winning the NFC East, so the league wants its premiere Week 16 matchup for FOX to have as much importance as possible.

That intrigue is dependent on both the Cowboys and Philadelphia Eagles still having something to play for, which means they have to manipulate a different game altogether. The NFL has moved the Washington Football Team and Carolina Panthers from a Noon CT kickoff to a 3:05 p.m. CT start.

There will still be intrigue for the Cowboys and Eagles when they kickoff at 3:25 p.m. CT.

Here’s why.

Washington currently leads the division with a 6-8 record, a game ahead of the New York Giants and Dallas Cowboys (5-9), and a game and a half ahead of Philadelphia (4-9-1).

The New York Giants play the Baltimore Ravens at noon. Due to sweeping Washington, they would win a tiebreaker  if both teams end with the same record. Therefore, their game matters to them regardless.

A loss by New York, means Washington can clinch the division with a win in their game against Carolina.

Dallas and Philadelphia would have nothing to play for but their rivalry without a Washington loss. An early-game WFT victory` would’ve meant both the Cowboys and Eagles could turn to resting the few remaining uninjured stars and take away from the intrigue in the game.

Their destiny still won’t be completely in their hands, but now they will have to play like it is.

Whomever emerges from the Cowboys-Eagles game victorious still has a chance to win the division in Week 17, but only if Washington loses.

Dallas would then need to win over the Eagles on Sunday, beat the New York Giants in Week 17 and have the Eagles take out Washington that week in order to win the NFC East for the third time in three seasons.

Philadelphia (following a Washington loss to the Panthers) would need to beat Dallas and Washington, and have New York lose to either the Ravens or Cowboys.

The Giants would need to win their last two games over the Ravens and Cowboys and also have Washington lose one of their last two games.

Don’t even get us started if either of the games during the final two weeks ends up in ties.

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NFL flexes Washington-Panthers to keep intrigue in Cowboys-Eagles

There’s still something to play for, so one of the most viewed rivalries in sports gets other things shifted to maintain it’s relevance.

  • The NFL flexed Washington-Carolina so that the outcome won’t be known by the time Dallas and Philadelphia kick off.
  • Entering Week 16, the NFC East title is still up for grabs with no teams capable of finishing above .500.
  • All four clubs have a path to the division title, but only Washington controls their own destiny.
  • One more Washington win will eliminate both the Cowboys and Eagles.

The Dallas Cowboys are just two days removed from their Sunday afternoon affair which was meant to be played on Sunday night. The NFL decided, rightfully so, that a matchup between a floundering Cowboys team and a flailing San Francisco 49ers did not deserve to be the flagship game of Week 15 and flexed them out of the primetime slot and into the early games. Little did they know Cowboys-49ers was going to be one of the most entertaining matchups of the weekend and the game that replaced it, Browns-Giants, was going to be a snoozer.

Now the NFL is continuing to shuffle the scheduling deck, this time to keep as many eyeballs on the Cowboys game instead of trying to avert the glare. Thanks to their win on Sunday, Dallas maintains the slimmest of hopes of winning the NFC East, so the league wants its premiere Week 16 matchup for FOX to have as much importance as possible.

That intrigue is dependent on both the Cowboys and Philadelphia Eagles still having something to play for, which means they have to manipulate a different game altogether. The NFL has moved the Washington Football Team and Carolina Panthers from a Noon CT kickoff to a 3:05 p.m. CT start.

There will still be intrigue for the Cowboys and Eagles when they kickoff at 3:25 p.m. CT.

Here’s why.

Washington currently leads the division with a 6-8 record, a game ahead of the New York Giants and Dallas Cowboys (5-9), and a game and a half ahead of Philadelphia (4-9-1).

The New York Giants play the Baltimore Ravens at noon. Due to sweeping Washington, they would win a tiebreaker  if both teams end with the same record. Therefore, their game matters to them regardless.

A loss by New York, means Washington can clinch the division with a win in their game against Carolina.

Dallas and Philadelphia would have nothing to play for but their rivalry without a Washington loss. An early-game WFT victory` would’ve meant both the Cowboys and Eagles could turn to resting the few remaining uninjured stars and take away from the intrigue in the game.

Their destiny still won’t be completely in their hands, but now they will have to play like it is.

Whomever emerges from the Cowboys-Eagles game victorious still has a chance to win the division in Week 17, but only if Washington loses.

Dallas would then need to win over the Eagles on Sunday, beat the New York Giants in Week 17 and have the Eagles take out Washington that week in order to win the NFC East for the third time in three seasons.

Philadelphia (following a Washington loss to the Panthers) would need to beat Dallas and Washington, and have New York lose to either the Ravens or Cowboys.

The Giants would need to win their last two games over the Ravens and Cowboys and also have Washington lose one of their last two games.

Don’t even get us started if either of the games during the final two weeks ends up in ties.

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