Tag: NFL Week 17

Texans-Titans Week 17 rematch flexed to 3:25 p.m. CT kickoff

The Houston Texans versus the Tennessee Titans Week 17 season finale has been flexed to a 3:25 p.m. CT kickoff at NRG Stadium.

The NFL has announced they have moved the kickoff up for the Houston Texans versus Tennessee Titans rematch at NRG Stadium from a noon kickoff in Week 17 to a 3:25 p.m. start time.

https://twitter.com/KDPomp/status/1208929828034031617

The 3:25 p.m. kickoff will be the third late afternoon game of the year for the Texans, who have played a slew of noon games on Sunday this season.

The game will also be the first time since 2008 the Texans will have had two home games in the late afternoon time slot.

For the Titans, they are currently the No. 6 seed thanks to a loss from the Pittsburgh Steelers Sunday to the New York Jets. Even though the Titans fell to the New Orleans Saints, Tennessee’s tiebreakers over the Steelers put them in the final wild-card spot.

A win and the Titans are assured a spot on the dance floor in January.

For the Texans, they can’t get out of wild-card weekend as the Baltimore Ravens are 13-2 and the New England Patriots are 12-3. To get to the No. 3 seed, which would mean the Texans might face the Titans, they would need to beat Tennessee in Week 17 along with the Kansas City Chiefs losing to the Chicago Bears on Sunday Night Football or to the Los Angeles Chargers at Arrowhead Stadium.

Ravens officially clinch No. 1 seed in AFC

The Ravens handled their business, beating the Browns in Week 16 to clinch the No. 1 seed and make the playoffs go through Baltimore

The Baltimore Ravens continued their amazing season, beating the Cleveland Browns in Week 16 by a final score of 31-15. It marks Baltimore’s 11th consecutive win this season and pushes them to 13-2 with just one more game remaining.

But more importantly, the win means the Ravens have officially clinched the No. 1 seed in the AFC playoff picture — the first time in franchise history they’ve done that. The top seed gives Baltimore a first-round bye and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs.

The question now becomes how the Ravens will handle Week 17 against the Pittsburgh Steelers. The game means nothing to Baltimore outside of a chance to sweep Pittsburgh this season and potentially alter who gets into the playoffs. But with a few players going down with injuries today, it could be wise for the Ravens to rest some key starters in an effort to walk into the postseason as healthy as possible.

Regardless of how they handle next week, they now know the road to Super Bowl LIV goes through Baltimore for the first time.

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Report: Ravens to rest Lamar Jackson in Week 17 if they lock in playoff seeding early

If the Baltimore Ravens have nothing to play for in Week 17, they’ll sit quarterback Lamar Jackson against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

The Baltimore Ravens have an interesting question to answer in the final week of the season. If they have their playoff seeding already figured out, do they rest their starters against the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 17 or play postseason matchmaker by going all-in?

According to NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo, the Ravens could sit at least quarterback Lamar Jackson and start Robert Griffin III against the Steelers in that case.

That could be seen as a controversial decision since Pittsburgh could very well be fighting for their postseason lives in Week 17. While Baltimore beat the Steelers back in Week 5 to start their now nine-game winning streak, it took overtime to get the job done. The Steelers have been surging since that point themselves and could be quite the dangerous foe to allow into the playoffs.

On the other hand, there wouldn’t be much reason for Baltimore to put their key players in harm’s way unnecessarily either. The Ravens could potentially lock up the No. 1 seed this week and while the notion of kicking the Steelers from the postseason sounds great, it would be foolish for it to potentially come at the loss of an impact player as Baltimore eyes Super Bowl LIV.

Instead, the Ravens could use that time to rest key players in order to get as healthy as possible for the playoffs. If they have the first or second seed already by Week 17, they’ll be guaranteed a first-round bye. Meaning sitting players like Jackson would effectively give them two weeks of rest before taking on the winner of the wild card round. That extra rest could very well be the difference in Baltimore making Super Bowl LIV or not.

It’s a tough call for the Ravens’ coaching staff and one that will be criticized heavily if it doesn’t pan out while universally beloved if they make it to the Super Bowl. But sitting at 11-2 entering Week 15 and currently the best team in the league, it’s best to trust what coach John Harbaugh and his staff choose to do.