With all the games, backstories, injuries and developments in a given week in the NFL, it’s tough to know what to look for on Sunday. Here are five things to watch this week:
Hot streak to watch
The recent transformation of Doug Baldwin continues to astonish.
It is as if Baldwin, a mildly threatening second or even third receiving option for the Seahawks his first four seasons in the NFL, suddenly became Antonio Brown or Odell Beckham Jr., minus the on-field meltdown.
Baldwin’s numbers the past four games look like a misprint. He has two or more touchdown catches in each of those contests (tied for the longest streak in NFL history) and a total of 10 touchdown receptions in that brief span (tied for the most in the league history for a four-game stretch).
Both accomplishments have him on the cusp of NFL history on Sunday against the Rams, which isn’t anything that anyone expected out of the former undrafted free agent from Stanford best known until now as “Angry Doug” for his verbal eruptions at the media and opponents.
Not only did Baldwin, who is listed as questionable with a hamstring issue, have just three TD receptions in the Seahawks’ first 10 games before a three-TD game against the Steelers began his unreal streak, but Baldwin also has almost as many scoring catches this season (13) as he had in his first four seasons combined (15).
So Baldwin, who is tied with Beckham for first in the NFL in TD catches, easily could go from never catching more than five touchdowns in a season to winning the league crown in that department.
Amazing.
So many scores to watch
A ton of NFL family business could be decided this weekend, which would make for a lot of meaningless games in Week 17.
Before Washington’s 38-24 win at Philadelphia on Saturday night, a whopping six playoff spots — including five division titles — were there for the taking.
Washington secured the NFC East title outright with the win. Here are the others who can clinch this week:
- The Patriots and Panthers can secure home-field advantage throughout the playoffs
- The Bengals and Cardinals can earn first-round byes
- The Packers (NFC North), Broncos (AFC West) and Texans (AFC South) can clinch their respective divisions
- The Steelers, Chiefs and Vikings can each secure at least a wild-card playoff berth.
Ageless wonder to watch
The Packers already own the crown for what still is considered the best free-agent signing of all time — the seismic addition of eventual Hall of Famer Reggie White in 1993.
Green Bay’s recent signing of another thirtysomething pass rusher hasn’t worked out as well, but bringing in Julius Peppers is starting to look like another brilliant stroke by the Packers.
With at least a half-sack Sunday against the Cardinals, Peppers would become just the fifth playing to post nine or more seasons with 10-plus sacks, since it became an official statistic in 1982.
Three of the four players ahead of him on that list — Bruce Smith, White and John Randle — are in the Hall of Fame.
Peppers, who has 9.5 sacks this season at age, has 16.5 sacks in almost two full years with Green Bay and looks like a different player than he was with the Bears as recently as 2013.
The three-year, $26 million deal the Packers gave Peppers to jump within the division also looks like a huge bargain.
Sure hands to watch
Though the 7-7 Falcons need a lot of help the final two weeks to make the playoffs, the fact Atlanta is still even in contention after going 1-6 following a 5-0 start is remarkable.
The Falcons owe a big share of thanks for that to Julio Jones, who has shined week-in and week-out despite constant blanket coverage and a team that was falling apart around him.
With six catches Sunday against the Panthers and cornerback Josh Norman, Jones will surpass Herman Moore (123 receptions in 1995) and Wes Welker (123 in 2009) for the third-most catches in NFL history.
Jones, who has league-leading 118 catches, would seem to be an extreme longshot to break Marvin Harrison’s 2002 single-season NFL record of 143 receptions with just two weeks left. Then again, Jones had a two-game stretch of 25 catches earlier this season, so maybe a piece of history isn’t totally out of the question.
Futile history to watch
Though Cincinnati can clinch the AFC North and a first-round playoff bye with a victory, the Bengals’ epic franchise struggle in Denver will be working against them.
Cincinnati has won just twice in 14 visits all-time to Mile High Stadium and its successor, Sports Authority Field at Mile High. As if that wasn’t embarrassing enough, the Bengals’ last win in Denver was during the Gerald Ford administration — a 17-16 squeaker on Nov. 9, 1975.
Cincinnati is 0-9 on the road against the Broncos since then, losing by an average of nine points a game. On the plus side for the Bengals, much of that is ancient history — Cincinnati has been to Denver just twice since 1997.