2021-22 NFC Week 17 Kayfabe and Relevant Week 18 Games

Before I do, an interesting stat they put on the game tonight that I saw on social media:

I made reference to the fact that the home record last year was under .500 for the NFL -- that was the first time since 1968 that had occurred.

Well, a lot of mess got cleaned up this week, kayfabe, in both conferences.  But since we have a .500ish AFC pair on Monday night, we'll do the NFC first tonight.

NFC East Champions:  Dallas Cowboys (11-5)

NFC North Champions:  Green Bay Packers (13-3)

(With tonight's win, Dallas' loss this week, and Tampa Bay not able to catch the Packers on conference record, the Packers get the sole NFC bye.)

NFC South Champions:  Tampa Bay Buccaneers (12-4)

NFC West:  LA Rams 12-4, Arizona Cardinals 11-5.  A Rams win or tie, or a Cardinals loss or tie wins the division for the Rams.  A Cardinals win over San Francisco and a Rams loss to the Seahawks, and the Cardinals win the division on division record.

In:  LA Rams, Arizona, Green Bay, Tampa Bay, Dallas, Philadelphia

Eliminated:  Washington, NY Giants, Chicago, Detroit, Atlanta, Carolina, Seattle, Minnesota

For One Spot:  San Francisco 9-7, New Orleans 8-8 -- a 49ews win or tie, or a New Orleans loss or tie, means the 49ers are in.  A loss by the 49ers and a win by New Orleans, and the Saints go in on conference record.

Tiebreakers:

TB vs. Rams for the #2:  Rams 34-TB 24.

PHI vs. SF for the #6:  PHI 7-4 vs. NFC, SF 6-5

1. GB (NFC North Champions, position locked)
2. LAR (12-4, leading NFC West, has HTH tiebreaker over TB)
3. TB (NFC South Champions, loses HTH tiebreaker to TB, has HTH tiebreaker if needed over DAL)
4. DAL (NFC East Champions)
5. ARI (11-5, needs win and LAR loss to win NFC West)
6. PHI (9-7, clinched wild-card playoff spot, has conference record tiebreaker over SF, can go no higher than here)
7. SF (9-7, loses conference record tiebreaker with SF, must either win or have NO lose (or tie, in either case) to get in playoffs)

SF @ LAR, PHI @ TB, ARI @ DAL  GB has the bye.

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One thing about the final week schedule, it's all in the divisions.  So how many relevant games do we have left in Week 17?  They have not announced the three games moving national (two on an ESPN/ABC dualcast doubleheader, and the final game on NBC -- would need to do the AFC math on this one, but I'm thinking Raiders-Chargers is gonna get that primetime spot on Sunday Night).

• Cowboys/Eagles:  Very little relevance, but I do think there's still a chance the Cowboys could pip the #4 on a conference record tiebreaker, but that's all!
• Packers/Lions:  Now, none.  Rodgers now has two weeks to rest that toe.
• Washington/Giants:  Nope.
• Bears/Vikings:  Nope.
• Panthers/Tom Bradys:  #2 seed possible for the Tom Bradys -- need a substantively better result than the Rams.
• Saints/Falcons:  Saints need to win and have SF lose to get in.
• 49ers/Rams:  I think the only game on the NFC side relevant to both teams.
• Seahawks/Cardinals:  Cards need to win and have LAR lose for the West.

So the answer on the NFC side is five, with only ONE game relevant to both teams.