Take a look at the latest five teams that should consider themselves on upset alert for NFL Week 16.
With plenty of playoff spots still up for grabs, there are still teams that need to be cautious as they’ll be on upset alert for NFL Week 16.
Prior to the start of the regular season, the Arizona Cardinals and Seattle Seahawks were expected to be two of the top teams to beat in the NFC. While that turned out to be true for the Seahawks after clinching the NFC West title in Week 15, it’s been a completely different story for the Cardinals as they’ve been one of the most inconsistent teams in the NFL and have officially been eliminated from the postseason.
Does that mean the Seahawks should have little trouble against their division rivals? If the first meeting is any indication of what to expect this time around, there’s a good chance this game between Seattle and Arizona cold go right down to the wire again.
As for some of the other teams on upset alert, let’s hope the Tennessee Titans can find a way to continue their hot streak with a favorable matchup against the Jacksonville Jaguars. The Titans may be favorites heading into this game, but the Jaguars seem like they team that can sneak up on anyone by pulling off an unexpected win.
Without wasting anymore time, here’s a look at the five teams on upset alert for NFL Week 16, beginning with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Nov 27, 2016; Tampa, FL, USA; Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back Doug Martin (22) runs the ball during the first quarter of an NFL football game against the Seattle Seahawks at Raymond James Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Reinhold Matay-USA TODAY Sports
5. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Who would have thought at the beginning of the season that it would be the Tampa Bay Buccaneers fighting for the division title this late in the year instead of the New Orleans Saints? The Buccaneers are coming off a tough loss on the road to the Dallas Cowboys, and the defense will be heavily tested once again as they take on the high-powered offense of the Saints.
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At this point, New Orleans has nothing to play for other than the role of spoiler as they look for a better performance than two weeks ago when they fell to Tampa Bay, 16-11. This time around, the Saints should display a much better performance against the Buccaneers as they look to use playing at home to their advantage.
Unfortunately, that will be easier said than done when looking at how the two teams have compared over the last couple of weeks. New Orleans may have the high-powered offense, but Tampa Bay’s defense has led them to some impressive victories as of late, including wins over the Kansas City Chiefs and Seattle Seahawks.
In other words, if the Buccaneers found ways to defeat playoff-caliber teams like the Chiefs and Seahawks, they should be able to defeat the Saints for the second time in three weeks.
Dec 18, 2016; Denver, CO, USA; New England Patriots tight end Martellus Bennett (88) runs with the ball after making a catch during the second half against the Denver Broncos at Sports Authority Field. Mandatory Credit: Chris Humphreys-USA TODAY Sports
4. New England Patriots
As exciting as this rivalry was a few years ago, expectations don’t seem to be high for the New York Jets heading into their Week 16 matchup against the New England Patriots when comparing these two teams on paper. Then again, the Jets did find a way to keep it close when they faced the Patriots earlier in the season after only losing 22-17, so anything seems possible this time around.
On top of ruining New England’s plans to earn the No. 1 seed in the AFC, the only other thing New York has to play for this late in the season is giving Bryce Petty as much experience as possible. After this year’s decision to pay Ryan Fitzpatrick a ridiculous amount of money ended up backfiring, the Jets face a tough task in the offseason when it comes to determining their quarterback of the future.
While Petty has shown potential at times, the former Baylor star hasn’t performed well enough to make the Jets feel confident enough to reward him with the starting job for 2017. It’s never easy for any opponent to play on the road at New England, but Saturday’s game should be considered another audition for Petty as a strong performance against arguably the best team in the AFC would certainly help his case.
Then again, this is the Patriots, and after last weekend’s impressive win on the road against the Denver Broncos, this is a game the team can’t afford to lose when looking at what’s at stake for the AFC playoff picture.
Dec 18, 2016; Kansas City, MO, USA; Tennessee Titans quarterback Marcus Mariota (8) hands off to running back DeMarco Murray (29) during the first half against the Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports
3. Tennessee Titans
When it comes to the biggest surprise teams of 2016, the Tennessee Titans rank near the top of that list as this team has a good shot at winning the AFC South if they can hold off the Houston Texans and Indianapolis Colts. Between Marcus Mariota limiting turnovers and a revamped running game led by DeMarco Murray, the Titans are playing with a ton of confidence at the moment as they seem capable of defeating any team.
With that being said, Tennessee needs to be extra cautious this weekend when they travel to Florida to take on the Jacksonville Jaguars, who recently fired Gus Bradley following last weekend’s loss to the Texans. Sadly, the decision to part ways with Bradley was long overdue. Now with Doug Marrone taking over as interim head coach, this points to being a trap game for the Titans.
Any time a team watches their head coach get sent packing, it seems to provide players with extra motivation to take their level of play to the next level. If Jacksonville can play like they did for most of the game against Tennessee like they did when they faced Houston last weekend, they may actually have a shot in this one.
Nov 27, 2016; Tampa, FL, USA; Seattle Seahawks tight end Jimmy Graham (88) and Seattle Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman (25) greet and talk prior to the game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Raymond James Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
2. Seattle Seahawks
The Seattle Seahawks locked up the NFC West last week after an easy win over the Los Angeles Rams, but they still have plenty of work to do when it comes to the NFC playoff picture. Thanks to some help from the Detroit Lions, the Seahawks control their own destiny with earning a first-round bye in the playoffs if they can hold on to the No. 2 seed in the NFC.
Of course, there’s nothing the Arizona Cardinals would love more than to ruin that dream for Seattle as Bruce Arians and company have officially been eliminated from contention, which nobody expected at the start of the season. After falling just short of reaching the Super Bowl last January, the Cardinals were originally considered one of the early favorites to make another run in the NFC.
Instead, Arizona will be watching from home as this team has plenty of areas in need of fixing in the offseason. Even if their records say otherwise, at least the Cardinals and Seahawks made this a fun battle to watch the first time around after settling for a 6-6 tie back in October.
Hopefully, there’s more scoring between these two teams the second time around.
Dec 11, 2016; Green Bay, WI, USA; Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers (12) throws a pass during the first quarter against the Seattle Seahawks at Lambeau Field. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports
1. Green Bay Packers
Aaron Rodgers made a bold statement a few weeks ago when he claimed the Green Bay Packers were capable of running the table to earn a spot in the postseason. Not only are the Packers currently in the No. 6 seed in the NFC, but they still have a chance to snag the NFC North title from the Detroit Lions by winning out.
First up, Green Bay faces a tough challenge at home against the Minnesota Vikings, who are fighting for their playoff lives as well with a 7-7 record. For a team that started off the year with a 5-0 record, it’s amazing to see the Vikings in this position late in the season as collapse doesn’t even begin to describe what happened to this team.
To top it off, if the Vikings don’t find a way to make the playoffs, surrendering a first-round pick to the Philadelphia Eagles in order to acquire Sam Bradford will turn out to be a complete waste. After defeating Green Bay at the beginning of the season, there’s every reason to believe Minnesota is capable of pulling off another win on Christmas Eve. If not, the Vikings can kiss any hopes of reaching the playoffs goodbye.
