The 17th and final week of the NFL regular season gives us a full slate of 16 Sunday games. There is still plenty at stake for teams seeking to make the playoffs. All of the playoff uncertainty, at least in terms of who's in and who's out, is in the NFC.
Most notably, the NFC East is still up in the air. If the Dallas Cowboys beat the Washington Redskins today at FedEx Field, the 'Boys win the division; but if the Redskins win, Washington takes the NFC East and 'Boys are out of the playoffs altogether. The defending Super Bowl champion New York Giants can still make the playoffs, but they need a lot of help.
In the NFC West, the San Francisco 49ers and Seattle Seahawks are both in the playoffs: we just don't know which one is the division champ yet. The 49ers can TCB by beating the Arizona Cardinals today in San Francisco. If the Niners can do that, they'll win the division and could get a first round bye if Green Bay loses at Minnesota. But if the 49ers stumble, the white-hot Seahawks can swoop in and take the NFC West crown with a win over the St. Louis Rams. For a full list of all playoff scenarios, see here and here.
Another thing to keep an eye on today: Minnesota's Adrian Peterson needs 208 rushing yards today against the Packers to break Eric Dickerson's single-season record of 2,105 yards, set in 1984.
This is your weekly open thread. Talk about all the action here as you watch. As always, comments about Cal alumni in the NFL are especially welcome and encouraged. And if you're watching Cowboys-Redskins, get a load of that long snapping! The Cowboys' L.P. Laduceur (2003-2004) and the Redskins' Nick Sundberg 2005-2008) long snapped for Cal in the 2000s. We're Long Snapper U., baby!
Full schedule below.