As the playoff picture takes shape heading into Week 11 of the 2015 NFL season, the urgency increases.
Most of the teams facing must-win situations this week are the teams with 4-5 records in the NFC that aren’t in the NFC East and therefore can’t pin their playoff hopes on winning the division.
There’s a lot of football left to be played, but much of that football will be meaningless for these teams if they don’t win in Week 11.
Seahawks
The Seahawks (4-5) are in danger of missing the playoffs after two straight Super Bowl seasons, and unlike the 1999 Broncos they don’t have the retirement of a Hall of Fame quarterback as an excuse. The Seahawks are two games out of the final playoff spot in the NFC and have lost to the Packers, one of the teams they’re chasing. So they wouldn’t have the tiebreaker there. Seattle hosts the 49ers Sunday in the middle game of a three-game homestand. The 12th Man couldn’t lift the Seahawks to a win over the Cardinals Sunday night, and the alarm bells would really go off if they can’t beat San Francisco (3-6).
Despite fifth loss, Seahawks still have 42.3% chance of making playoffs, highest of any four-win team in the NFC. https://t.co/c7AWOpYhTy
— Sheil Kapadia (@SheilKapadia) November 18, 2015
Rams
It’s basically a must-win weekend for the middle class of the NFC West. The Rams (4-5) are in the same boat as the Seahawks. Their most realistic route to the playoffs is a wild-card berth, but they’re two games out of that spot. Case Keenum has taken over for Nick Foles as the starting quarterback and will face the Ravens’ 26th-ranked pass defense Sunday at Baltimore. Like the Seahawks, the Rams’ loss to the Packers (6-3) will hurt them in the wild-card chase. Their 37-13 home loss to the Bears last week gives another 4-5 team the tiebreaker over them.
Bears
The Bears (4-5) are sneaking into the background of the NFC playoff picture with two straight wins, both on the road. They could fully photobomb that picture if they upset the Broncos (7-2) Sunday at Chicago. If the struggling Packers (6-3) lose at Minnesota and the Bears win, Chicago would be a game out of second place in the NFC North and possibly a game out of the wild card with a Week 12 appointment at Green Bay on their calendar. The Bears have to keep winning to dig themselves out of the 2-5 hole they dug for themselves.
Buccaneers
The Buccaneers (4-5) have a couple of decent road wins (New Orleans, Atlanta) on their resumé and they’re not totally out of playoff contention. If they lose Sunday at Philadelphia, however, they probably will be. They can get themselves on the radar with a victory and put the heat on the reeling Falcons (6-3) in the NFC South.
Cowboys
This one comes from the “No Kidding” Department. The Cowboys (2-7) need to win the rest of their games just to get to 9-7. Perhaps they can lose a game and still emerge as the winner of the motley crew that is the NFC East, but they pretty much need to treat the rest of their games as must-wins, starting with Sunday’s game at Miami. Tony Romo’s return might be too late, but if he can get the Cowboys into the playoffs, they might make a movie about it.
.@tonyromo lifetime is 2-0 in return-from-injury games for #Cowboys @1053
— mike fisher ✭ (@fishsports) November 18, 2015
Dolphins
The Cowboys won’t be the only team at Sun Life Stadium in a must-win situation Sunday. The Dolphins (4-5) are only a game behind the Bills (5-4) for the final AFC wild-card spot. The Bills own the tiebreaker, however, because they beat the Dolphins twice. The Dolphins also have lost to the Jets (5-4) and are 0-4 in the AFC East. Even if they earn a split with the Jets by beating them on the road in Week 12, that division record won’t help them. If the Dolphins lose Sunday, they risk more teams moving between them and the holder of the final wild-card spot.