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By Jared “Dirty JC” Curtis
GameDay has enjoyed a wild ride in the regular season and looks forward to the hard fought battles the playoffs will bring. As fans get ready for the final week, GameDay assumes the stars of the teams (already in the playoffs) will participate in a few downs and then hit the pine for the rest of the game. But don’t fret; there are still plenty of teams in the playoff hunt, or playing spoiler, to keep the games interesting. Here are three games to keep an eye on this weekend.
Baltimore vs. Oakland — The Ravens have been up and down this season but are getting hot right when they need to be. The NFC playoff field is set, but the Ravens are one of seven teams in the AFC fighting for two wildcard spots and, luckily for them, they are heading to Oakland. But a win can only help them so far — Baltimore needs three of the five 8-7 teams to lose to clinch a wildcard birth.
New Orleans vs. Carolina — The Saints are in the playoffs but have been on a slide of late losing to the Dallas Cowboys to end their perfect season and then getting beat in overtime by the horrible Buccaneers at home. Drew Brees and company need to wake up because it’s never a good idea to go 13-0 and then lose out in the remaining regular season. Carolina has been playing spoiler lately and could easily derail the Saints’ playoff train off the tracks with a win.
Pittsburgh vs. Miami — Both teams are fighting for a playoff spot, With a win and strategic losses, the Dolphins could sneak in with an 8-8 record. The Steelers have looked awful at times but with a shot at the playoffs on the line, times they are a changing. Even with a few late Pittsburgh wins, stopping Miami’s wildcat offense is a difficult task, and GameDay thinks the Dolphins will end the Steelers’ season on Sunday. CV
Schedule
Sunday, Jan. 3
Indianapolis at Buffalo 12 p.m.
Jacksonville at Cleveland 12 p.m.
Philadelphia at Dallas 12 p.m.
Chicago at Detroit 12 p.m.
Atlanta at Tampa Bay 12 p.m.
New Orleans at Carolina 12 p.m.
New England at Houston 12 p.m.
San Francisco at St. Louis 12 p.m.
Pittsburgh at Miami 12 p.m.
NY Giants at Minnesota 12 p.m.
Cincinnati at NY Jets 12 p.m.
Green Bay at Arizona 3:15 p.m.
Washington at San Diego 3:15 p.m.
Tennessee at Seattle 3:15 p.m.
Baltimore at Oakland 3:15 p.m.
Kansas City at Denver 3:15 p.m.
