Getty Gallery: 5/6
No. 7 Los Angeles Chargers
The Chargers sustained a disappointing loss against the Ravens making it difficult for L.A. to win the AFC West. The Chargers are headed to the playoffs, but they are likely going to be playing on Wild Card weekend. This past weekend, it was not the prolific Chargers offense we are used to seeing.
Philip Rivers' 27-game streak with a touchdown pass ended against the Ravens. The Chargers quarterback is still confident the team will bounce back heading into the postseason.
“One more game is added to the slate to win the whole thing and it won’t be here,” Rivers told Fox Sports. “That’s all that we know. Today is disappointing, but we can’t wallow in that disappointment very long...We just couldn’t sustain anything for the most part. Our only touchdown was on a short field, off a great play by our defense. Shoot, we just couldn’t get going, so that’s why I say credit to them...If we were going to have one like this, better now than later. It’s a good defense and they outplayed us today. Depending on what happens, we may get another crack at them in two weeks.”
The Chargers take on the Broncos in Week 17 then head into the postseason.
No. 8 Houston Texans
Football can be a game of inches, especially when you are competing against the Patriots for playoff seeding. A late field goal by the Eagles could be the difference between the Texans securing a first-round bye and playing on Wild Card weekend.
Houston entered Week 16 as the No. 2 seed in the AFC and a one-game lead on the Patriots. Now, the Texans head into the final week of the season tied with the Patriots. Unfortunately for the Texans, the Patriots currently own the tiebreaker between the two teams.
If the postseason started today, the Texans would be the No. 3 seed hosting the No. 6 seed on Wild Card weekend. The Patriots would get the first round bye along with home-field in their first playoff matchup in the Divisional Round. After the game, Texans head coach Bill O'Brien credited Nick Foles and the Eagles for coming up with big plays late in the game.
"He's just got incredible instincts, he sees things well, he hangs in there," O'Brien told ESPN. "The football field for him is heaven on Earth ... I think the ball in his hands is the best thing for our offense and for our football team, no doubt about it. I think that all of these games, virtually every one that we've been in this year has come down to the last two or three minutes of the game. Sometimes we've been on top of those games and today we weren't. Give [Philly] their team, their coaching staff a lot of credit. They did a better job than we did overall. They made more plays."