Happy New Year! I hope everyone has had a wonderful holiday and is looking forward to 2025. My resolutions for the coming year:
Make sure I call my timeouts at the end of the fourth quarter in prime time with a potential game-winning kick in the cards.
Hold the football as I cross the goal line to ensure I score six points.
Get two feet down once, never one foot down twice.
Week 17 of the 2024 NFL season is in the books. Every Tuesday, I'll spin the previous week of NFL games forward, looking at what the biggest storylines mean and what comes next. We'll take a first look at the consequences of "Monday Night Football," break down a major trend or two and highlight some key individual players and plays. There will be film. There will be stats (a whole section of them). And there will be fun.
This week, we look at the most dangerous sleeper teams in the playoff field (or potentially in the playoff field) and judge whether each can get hot and go on a run. Then we make three big postseason predictions -- including a Super Bowl pick -- and size up Joe Burrow's 42-touchdown season. Let's jump in.
Jump to a section:
The Big Thing: Most dangerous wild-card teams
Three big postseason, Super Bowl predictions
Second Take: Let's cool the Burrow MVP talk
Mailbag: Answering questions from ... you
Next Ben Stats: Wild Week 17 stats
"Monday Night Football" spin
The Big Thing: Dangerous wild-card teams
Every week, this column will kick off with one wide look at a key game, player or trend from the previous slate of NFL action. What does it mean for the rest of the season?
This is the best wild-card field we've seen in a while.
We don't know exactly who will be in it just yet, of course. The Vikings and Lions will be fighting for the 1-seed in the NFC on Sunday, and the loser will fall into the 5-seed. The Ravens and Steelers still could flip-flop atop the AFC North. And the seventh spot in the AFC is up for grabs (most likely the Broncos but possibly the Dolphins or Bengals).
The enthusiasm for a Cinderella Bengals postseason run has been rampant following Saturday's overtime win against the Broncos. Patrick Mahomes is 15-3 in his postseason career, and his only losses have come at the hands of Tom Brady and Joe Burrow, so Cincinnati could be a roadblock in the way of the Chiefs' three-peat efforts.