CHARLOTTE, North Carolina, 1 January 2005 — Carolina, trying to become the first team to make the National Football League playoffs after a 1-7 start, host New Orleans tomorrow as the season ends in a scramble for post-season berths.
The Panthers looked set to be shut out of the playoffs a year after winning the National Conference crown. But despite a bevy of injuries they have won six of their last seven games to give themselves a shot at a wild card berth.
“These guys have believed all year that it isn’t where you start but where you finish, and we have one more step to get into the next tournament,” Panthers coach John Fox said.
Not only do they need to beat NFC South rivals New Orleans, the Panthers will also need some help: a loss by Minnesota at Washington or a loss by St. Louis to the New York Jets.
They could also get in with a win coupled with a victory by Seattle over Atlanta in a battle of playoff-bound teams.
The Saints, too, are bidding for an improbable playoff berth, but like Carolina they would need help from other teams.
“Nobody ever believed this (making the playoffs) was possible,” coach Jim Haslett said.
The complicated scenarios are characteristic of those playing out across the league as the regular season ends with 16 games. The Pittsburgh Steelers head into a clash at Buffalo having wrapped up home-field advantage throughout the AFC playoffs. The Bills, however, could become the first team since the 1992 Chargers to reach the playoffs after an 0-4 start if they can beat the Steelers.
The Bills could have and advantage if Steelers coach Bill Cowher elects to rest many of his starters. Among those sitting out could be rookie quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, who is 13-0 but is nursing bruised ribs.
Even with a win, however, the Bills would need either a Jets loss at St. Louis or a Denver defeat by Indianapolis.
The Rams can win the NFC West title for the third time in four years with a victory coupled with a Seattle loss. They could book a wild card berth with a win and a loss by Minnesota at Washington. The Colts, meanwhile, go into their closing game at Denver unburdened by any such scenarios. Riding an eight-game winning streak, Indianapolis have secured the third seed in the AFC playoffs. But a decision to rest record-setting quarterback Peyton Manning could buoy the Broncos’ hopes.
In fact, the Broncos could advance even without a win, but only if Buffalo, Jacksonville and Baltimore all lose. After four defeats in their last five games, Baltimore’s playoff hopes are slim indeed, hingeing on a victory over visiting Miami as well as defeats for Buffalo, Denver and Jacksonville.
Jacksonville, who had their playoff destiny in their own hands until a 21-0 blanking by Houston last week, will know by the time they take the field in Oakland if they still have a shot. Minnesota get one last chance to salvage a season that began with a bang when they visit Washington. The Vikings opened the season with six straight wins, but failed to win the NFC North and head into the final game still trying to book their playoff ticket. The Green Bay Packers, who snatched the NFC North crown from Minnesota as they turned around a 1-4 start, close the regular season at Chicago.
Philadelphia, already assured of home-field advantage in the NFC playoffs, host Cincinnati in what is virtually an exhbition game for the Eagles. Surprising AFC West champions San Diego will warm up for the first round of the playoffs against the team that was expected to top their division: Kansas City.
Super Bowl champions New England, on the verge of their second straight 14-2 season, tune up for the playoffs by hosting lowly San Francisco. In other games, Tennessee host Detroit, Houston host Cleveland and Dallas visit coach Bill Parcells’s former team the New York Giants, where rookie quarterback Eli Manning will be trying to log his first win as a starter after six losses. Arizona host Tampa Bay in a game that could be the last for the NFL’s all-time leading rusher, Emmitt Smith.
Smith, 35, signed a two-year contract with the Cardinals prior to last season after spending his first 14 campaigns with the Dallas Cowboys. Limited by injury to just 10 games in his first season with the Cardinals, Smith has rushed for 868 yards and nine touchdowns this season and needs 132 yards for an NFL-record 12th 1,000-yard season.
