The NFL season is getting down to the nitty-gritty with just three games remaining on the schedule. Most of the teams that won’t take part in the playoffs have already been eliminated. But the teams within the playoff picture and right on the edges can still move around a ton over the final three weeks.
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There are only a couple of teams that have actually secured their spots in the 14-team playoff tournament. Everybody else could either fall in or fall out depending on what happens over the final three weeks.
The few teams that are still on the outside looking in with a tiny chance to make it, however, will have their seasons all come down to their matchups in Week 16. Teams like the Baltimore Ravens and Detroit Lions have their backs against the wall. But they can both lose this week and still get in with wins in their two final games. But there are three teams whose playoff hopes die entirely with a loss in Week 16.
Cowboys, Panthers, Colts all NEED wins in Week 16 to stay alive
The Dallas Cowboys have really put themselves in a pinch here after another disappointing loss to the Minnesota Vikings in prime time in Week 15. They are 6-7-1 and hanging on by a thread. They can essentially only make the playoffs by winning the NFC East at this point.
And to do that, the Cowboys need to win all three of their remaining games. And that is very possible for Dallas, as they host the Los Angeles Chargers (the toughest of the bunch) and play away to their awful division rivals in the Washington Commanders and New York Giants. Unfortunately, Dallas also needs the 9-5 Philadelphia Eagles to lose all of their final three games, two of which come against those four-win Commanders. Their chances currently sit at one percent.
The Carolina Panthers are in the same boat: they cannot get into the postseason by way of a Wild Card spot. They must win the NFC South to get in. They are currently tied with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at 7-7, but they play each other in Week 16 and Week 18. This week’s matchup could essentially decide it because Tampa has most of the tiebreakers.
If Carolina loses this week, they’d need to beat the 12-win Seattle Seahawks in Week 17 and beat the Bucs in the rematch in Week 18 while Tampa also loses to them and the Miami Dolphins, who will be starting a seventh-round rookie. Almost impossible. But if the Panthers win this week, they give themselves a very reasonable chance of getting in.
Lastly are the sad sack Colts. They started out so hot and made all of those win-now trades at the deadline, only to falter spectacularly in the final months. They are now 8-6, and have fallen behind a 9-5 Houston Texans team on whom they used to have a seemingly unassailable division lead.
The Colts take on the 10-win San Francisco 49ers on Monday Night Football in Week 16, and if they lose that, they fall irretrievably behind the Texans, who have a strong lead in the division record tiebreaker.
The Cowboys, Panthers, and Colts need a win more than any other teams in the league. But that doesn’t mean they’ll get it.
