#nfl-playoffs

#nfl-playoffs

The Rams are going to the playoffs. The only questions now: Can they hold on to the No. 1 seed in the NFC and have home-field advantage for the entire postseason. And will receiver Davante Adams be fit for the stretch run? The Rams clinched a playoff spot on Sunday with a 41-34 victory over the Detroit Lions before 74,701 at SoFi Stadium in a game that featured Adams' fourth-quarter departure because of a left hamstring injury.

It's been nearly five years since the Rams sent Goff, two first-round draft picks and a third-round pick to the Detroit Lions in a blockbuster trade for Stafford. But as much as the two star quarterbacks - and former No. 1 picks in the draft - would like to politely leave it be, they forever will be linked in the greater football consciousness.

"Very different game situationally," Dolphins defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver said Friday. "He diced us up here, unfortunately. Now, Garrett Wilson and Davante (Adams) had a little something to do with that. Up there, it didn't help that they were blasting that Kansas City-Denver score on the scoreboard, and it was about 28-3 before the end of the first quarter. I'm sure that didn't help the morale of our guys."

The Eagles have the ninth-easiest remaining strength of schedule in the NFL, according to ESPN's Football Power Index. They play the 2-11 Las Vegas Raiders at home Sunday. Two of their final three games are against the 3-10 Washington Commanders, sandwiching a Dec. 28th trip to take on the 9-4 Buffalo Bills.

The playoff picture is becoming clearer with four weeks left in the 2025 NFL regular season. Nine teams have already been eliminated from the playoffs, but no teams have clinched a postseason berth. That could change this weekend.

There will be theses and dissertations, essays and thinkpieces, all searching for an answer to the confounding question: "How did J.J. McCarthy beat the Lions?" In his comeback from a Week 2 ankle sprain that had forced the Vikings to turn to a broken-down Carson Wentz, the 10th pick in the 2024 draft quarterbacked Minnesota to a 27-24 road win over a tough division rival, lifting the team's record to 4-4.

Daniels has missed the last two games after suffering a knee sprain in Week 2 against the Green Bay Packers. The Commanders weren't quite satisfied with his mobility despite the signal-caller's limited return to practice, and he stayed at home while his teammates went to Atlanta. Considering how competitive Daniels is, this was probably an interesting conversation. Marcus Mariota is a capable understudy, but he lacks the creativity and dynamism that his teammate brings to the position under center.

Mike Vrabel conducted a masterful off-season, adding better players everywhere. He beefed up a low-ranking defense by adding playmakers at every level from the D-line and edge, to the linebacking corps and defensive backfield.