We’ve reached the point in the regular season where teams can officially turn an eye toward January.
The Rams, Patriots, and Broncos are the three clubs that can clinch a postseason berth this week.
For Los Angeles, it’s simple: Win and you’re in. The Rams can only secure the NFC’s first playoff spot, with the NFC West still up for grabs between L.A., Seattle, and San Francisco.
Things are a little more complicated for two AFC teams.
New England will win the AFC East and secure a home playoff game with a victory over Buffalo. The Patriots can also clinch a postseason berth with a tie and a Chargers loss; a tie with a Texans loss or tie; a tie with a Colts loss or tie; or a tie with a Jaguars loss. New England would also clinch a berth if Houston loses or ties and Indianapolis loses or ties as long as both games don’t end in a tie.
Denver cannot clinch the AFC West on Sunday, but can clinch a postseason berth with a win. If Denver ties, a Chargers loss, or Jaguars loss, or Texans loss or tie, or Colts loss or tie would also secure a playoff spot. Additionally, the same New England clinching scenario with a Houston loss or tie plus an Indianapolis loss or tie, as long as both games don’t end in a tie, applies to Denver.
The Patriots will play the Bills at 1 p.m. ET on Sunday, while Broncos-Packers and Rams-Lions both have a 4:25 p.m. ET kickoff time.
Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert confirmed that he decided on his own to run the ball with 27 seconds left in the fourth quarter on Monday night, keeping the ball and gaining nine yards when his coaches and all 10 teammates on the field were expecting a handoff.
“At the end of the day, we got to go make something happen,” Herbert told Daniel Popper of The.Athletic.com. “You can draw it up one way, but you got to go make it happen.”
On the play in question, offensive coordinator Greg Roman called for Herbert to hand off to running back Kimani Vidal and Vidal to run to the left. As Herbert went to hand off to Vidal, he saw Eagles edge rusher Jaelan Phillips run toward Vidal, expecting him to get the ball. That left an opening where Phillips had been, and in a split second Herbert pulled the ball away from Vidal and took it himself, running to the right and getting into range for Cameron Dicker’s game-tying field goal.
Chargers center Bradley Bozeman said when he saw Vidal he thought, “Kimani doesn’t have the ball. What is going on?”
Herbert knew he was going to surprise his teammates and coaches, but he also knew if it worked, everyone would be happy with his decision.
“If you do that,” Herbert said. “You got to be right.”
The NFL’s curious decision to overturn a touchdown reception by Ravens tight end Isaiah Likely reintroduced needless confusion into the question of what a catch is, and what a catch isn’t.
Adding to that confusion, indirectly, was last night’s failure to overturn the ruling on the field that Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts had possession of the ball long enough to fumble it. (It didn’t matter to the outcome of the play, since the Chargers recovered the ball. But if it had trickled out of bounds, the ruling that Hurts had the ball long enough to fumble it would have determined which team was awarded possession.)
The possession rule is virtually identical to the catch rule. From Rule 3, Section 1, Article 7 (Player Possession): “To gain possession of a loose ball that has been caught, intercepted, or recovered, a player (a) must have complete control of the ball with his hands or arms and (b) have both feet or any other part of his body, other than his hands, completely on the ground inbounds, and, after (a) and (b) have been fulfilled, clearly perform any act common to the game (e.g., extend the ball forward, take an additional step, tuck the ball away and turn upfield, or avoid or ward off an opponent). It is not necessary that he commit such an act, provided that he maintains control of the ball long enough to do so.”
Watch the play. If Hurts possessed the ball long enough to fumble it, Likely had it long enough to catch it.
Also, and as previously explained, if Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers had the ball long enough to complete the process of catching it, Likely had it long enough to catch it. (It’s impossible to reconcile the two rulings, and the NFL knows it.)
Bottom line? It took the NFL years to create the impression that it has finally figured out what a catch is. In one fell swoop on a December afternoon in Baltimore, the league has thrown the entire question back into the “who the hell knows?” category.
Congratulations.
Chargers kicker Cameron Dicker went 5-for-5 on field goals in Monday night’s win over the Eagles, and he’s extending his lead over everyone else in NFL history as the most accurate kicker the league has ever seen.
With 122 field goals in 130 attempts, Dicker has now made 93.8 percent of his career field goal attempts, by far the best in NFL history.
Second place belongs to Cowboys kicker Brandon Aubrey, who is 103-for-114 for a career mark of 90.4 percent. Aubrey’s mark is great, but he’s already missed one more field goal than Dicker, while making 19 fewer.
That doesn’t necessarily mean Dicker is the best kicker of all time, though. Dicker hasn’t shown the same leg strength as Aubrey: Aubrey’s career-long is 65 yards, and he’s 33-for-38 (86.8 percent) from 50 yards and longer in his career. Dicker’s career-long is 59 yards, and he’s 21-for-27 (77.8 percent) from 50 yards and longer in his career.
NFL kickers today are so much better than they were for most of NFL history that they’re practically playing a different sport. Dicker and Aubrey are making kicks with a consistency football fans have never seen before.
Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh was characteristically enthusiastic about quarterback Justin Herbert’s performance on Monday night when he called the quarterback a “superhero” for playing a week after having surgery on a fracture in his left hand.
Herbert played with a large glove and other protection on the hand while going 12-of-26 for 139 yards, a touchdown and an interception in the 22-19 overtime win. Herbert also ran 10 times for 66 yards while getting sacked seven times and losing a fumble during an eventful night against the Eagles.
Pain was visible on Herbert’s face on some of those sacks and runs, but Herbert downplayed the idea that he was worthy of special praise for playing hurt when others on the team are doing the same thing outside of the spotlight.
“Just because I’m the quarterback I get the talk about that but those guys, they battle,” Herbert said, via the team’s website. “Theres definitely guys in that locker room that are fighting through so many different injuries and things worse than what I’m going through. It’s the least that I can do to show up and give my best.”
Herbert’s teammates sounded more like Harbaugh when discussing their reaction to seeing Herbert on the field so soon after his injury and the night will take on a storybook quality around the Chargers should they head on a long postseason run off the back of this win.
