(AFP)
League-leading Philadelphia Eagles and the Buffalo Bills will try to clinch first-round byes and home-field advantage for the NFL playoffs in the penultimate week of the regular season.
Five of the NFL’s 14 playoff berths remain up for grabs but both top seeds could be decided with the Philadelphia Eagles playing host to New Orleans on Sunday while Buffalo will visit Cincinnati on Monday.
The Eagles fell to 13-2 with a 40-34 loss at Dallas last Saturday that snapped their five-game win streak but can capture the NFC East division crown and the NFC top seed simply by beating the Saints (6-9).
“Obviously, our motivation is to win the division and to get the first-round bye, which is all in our grasp now,” Eagles coach Nick Sirianni said.
Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts, out with a right shoulder sprain, practiced Thursday for the first time since being injured two weeks ago.
“We’ll see what happens and how he progresses,” Sirianni said. “He’s feeling good… he’s better than he was last week.”
An Eagles loss would leave the door open for Minnesota, San Francisco and Dallas to overtake them for the top seed
In the AFC, Buffalo (12-3) would need a victory at Cincinnati (11-4) plus a home loss by Kansas City (12-3) to Denver (4-11) to claim the top seed.
A Bills’ triumph would also provide a boost for Buffalo, which was struck by a massive winter storm that buried the city under more than four feet of snow, leading to at least 37 deaths.
“Really sad scenes right now coming out of Buffalo,” Bills quarterback Josh Allen said. “I’m praying for the city and for people that are being affected by it because it’s not very good.”
The Bills, who lost four Super Bowls in a row from 1991-1994, have been eliminated from the playoffs with road losses four times in the past five seasons, the last two at Kansas City, and would prefer not to make another trip to the Chiefs’ home field next month.
Buffalo can take a major step to that goal by winning a matchup of two of the NFL’s top young quarterbacks, Allen and Cincinnati’s Joe Burrow. Both rank among the top six in NFL passing yardage.
“He’s a special talent,” Allen said of Burrow. “We’re going to have our hands full. That’s a defense, too, that’s playing lights out.”
The playoff-bound Bengals, who lost this year’s Super Bowl to the Los Angeles Rams, can clinch the AFC North division with a victory and a Baltimore loss to Pittsburgh on Sunday.
Concussion benches Tua
The Miami Dolphins (8-7) can clinch a playoff berth with a victory Sunday at New England (7-8) and a loss by the New York Jets (7-8) at Seattle (7-8).
Miami will be without concussion-suffering quarterback Tua Tagovailoa against the Patriots after he suffered at least his second such injury of the season last week against Green Bay.
Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel and NFL chief medical officer Dr. Allen Sills said Tagovailoa exhibited no symptoms or behavoirs that would have sent him into concussion protocols during the contest but video review after the game showed a cause for concern.
Tagovailoa missed two games earlier this season with a concussion only a few nights after suffering a head injury but being allowed to finish a game — a situation that led the NFL to change its concussion protocol rules.
Three final NFC playoff berths can be decided this week, with Tom Brady’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers (7-8) clinching the AFC South title with a home triumph over Carolina (6-9).
The New York Giants (8-6-1) can secure a wildcard playoff berth with a home victory over Indianapolis (4-9-1).
Washington (7-7-1) can claim another spot with a home victory over Cleveland (6-9) and losses by Seattle, Detroit and Green Bay.
Other games find Minnesota at Green Bay, San Francisco at Las Vegas, the Los Angeles Rams at the Los Angeles Chargers, Chicago at Detroit, Jacksonville at Houston and Arizona at Atlanta.
Here are more stories related to the NFL.