It’s no fun in the NFL if halfway through the season you have no shot at making the playoffs.
These five teams can forget about playing in January if they don’t win this weekend.
Chargers
The Chargers (2-5) bring a three-game losing streak to Baltimore (1-6) Sunday.
Last Sunday the Chargers lost at home to the Raiders for the first time since 2011. The final score was 37-29, but they trailed 37-6 in the third quarter.
Just a week earlier, the Chargers gave the unbeaten Packers all they could handle in Green Bay, erasing a 17-3 deficit before falling 27-20.
The Chargers need a win over the shockingly bad Ravens to end their freefall. They’re a game and half behind the second-place Raiders (3-3) in the AFC West and their last-second loss to the Steelers in Week 5 could come back to haunt them when it comes to tiebreakers in the race for a wild-card berth.
Chiefs
England is going to love us. Even though last week’s Bills-Jaguars game in London turned out to be exciting, it was still the Bills and Jaguars. Now we export a thriller between the Chiefs (2-5) and Lions (1-6).
The Chiefs and Chargers are roommates in the AFC West basement. But they’re heading in different directions. The Chargers are going backwards and the Chiefs are going, well, sideways at least after ending their five-game losing streak against the Steelers without Ben Roethlisberger.
Of course, tiebreakers don’t take injuries into account and Sunday’s win over the Steelers could come in handy if the Chiefs can get into the wild-card race.
“We bounced back, collectively as a unit.” New o-line combo found their stride Sunday: https://t.co/pSt3hta2rZ pic.twitter.com/FHIO9tvbv8
— Kansas City Chiefs (@chiefs) October 28, 2015
When the Chiefs get back to the States they have a Week 9 bye, then road games against the Broncos and Chargers. Before trying to keep their playoff hopes alive during that brutal stretch in their schedule, the Chiefs need to stock up on a win over a weak opponent Sunday.
Seahawks
It’s looking like only one NFC wild-card spot will be up for grabs after the Panthers (6-0) and Falcons (6-1) settle the NFC South. The Vikings (4-2) currently sit in that spot and the Rams (3-3) are a game behind.
The Seahawks (3-4) need this win to keep pace. They are one of two 3-4 teams in the NFC who don’t have the good fortune of playing in the mediocre NFC East. The Saints are the other. The Saints, however, have three games against teams with winning records the rest of the way. The Seahawks have four games against teams with winning records, including two against NFC West-leading Arizona, and a game against the .500 Rams.
The Seahawks need to take advantage of a Cowboys team that’s reeling without Tony Romo.
Browns
The words “Browns” and “must-win” are rarely seen in the same sentence because the Browns’ season is usually over by the middle of October anyway.
But the Browns (2-5), have a rare opportunity in 2015 and they’ll miss it without a win over the Cardinals (5-2) Sunday in Cleveland.
Who would have thought that the Ravens would be 1-6 and that Ben Roethlisberger would miss four games? These events give the Browns a chance to make a move in the AFC North and possibly challenge the Steelers (4-3) for second place in the division behind the Bengals.
Beating the Cardinals will be a tall order, but Arizona is traveling across the country on a short week. This game could be ripe for an upset. If that happens, the Browns couldn’t be counted out in the AFC playoff race.
If the Browns lose, they can be counted out.
Bruce Arians makes more sense in a 10 min. conference call than 4 #Browns head coaches over 7 years combined.
— Tony Grossi (@TonyGrossi) October 28, 2015
Titans
Unless your son plays for the Titans (1-5) or Texans (2-5), you’re probably not watching Sunday’s game in Houston between these NFL bottom feeders.
Normally a 1-5 team already has lost all of its must-win games. However, while the Titans are last in the AFC South, they’re only a game and a half behind the division-leading Colts. They held the Falcons, fourth in the NFL in points per game (27.6) and fifth in yards per game (403.1), to 10 points in Sunday’s 10-7 loss.
There’s a ray of hope for the Titans, but only if they can escape the cellar and take their turn bullying the Texans. Houston trailed 41-0 at halftime of Sunday’s 44-26 loss at Miami.
The Titans can build on last week’s positives with a win Sunday. A loss, however, would make them the only team with six losses in the division (the 2-5 Jaguars have a bye). It would be almost impossible to win even the worst division in football after a 1-6 start.