NFL Saturday tripleheader: What’s at stake in Chargers-Patriots, Broncos-Bengals and Rams-Cardinals

On By Littum

The NFL does its best to get interesting games late in the season. It is not always easy.

Injuries hit teams, some teams hit early and other teams are eliminated before Christmas. The league has to be creative sometimes. This year, it designated five matchups, three of which could be moved to Saturday for a tripleheader. The NFL announced its Week 17 games for Saturday last week. All three have some playoff implications.

All three games will be on NFL+as well as the NFL Network.

Here are the top stories for each of Saturday’s three games:

Making the playoffs is nothing new for the Los Angeles Chargers. But given the talent on the roster, they should have more on their resume since 2018 than one playoff berth, which is known for one of the biggest collapses in NFL history. The Jacksonville Jaguars came back from a 27-point deficit to beat the Chargers in a 2022 season wild-card round. It is Los Angeles’ only playoff appearance in the last five seasons.

The Chargers will clinch another playoff spot if they beat the New England Patriots in the first game on Saturday. The Chargers also hit with a Dolphins loss or tie combined with a Colts loss or tie, but coming in with a win would be more satisfying.

The Patriots are 3-12 and maybe playing on a national stage Saturday will motivate them. New England scared the Buffalo Bills last week with a 24-21 loss, so the Patriots are still playing hard. They are getting solid play from rookie quarterback Drake Maye. The best the NFL can hope for is for a three-win team to keep the first game of a tripleheader interesting.

The Cincinnati Bengals’ playoff hopes aren’t dead, but they don’t look good either. All Cincinnati can do is win and hope, and that starts Saturday afternoon against the Denver Broncos.

The story of the Bengals’ season is unusual. It’s rare to get MVP games from your quarterback and still have a losing record. Joe Burrow has been terrific, leading the NFL with 4,229 yards and 39 passing yards, and the Bengals are still stuck with a 7-8 record and little chance to make the postseason. The Bengals defense has let the team down many times this season.

The Broncos have also had an unexpected season, but with positive results. Bo Nix was the sixth quarterback in the NFL Draft, but he has had a very strong rookie season and the Broncos are 9-6. They clinch a playoff spot with a win or tie on Saturday. It would be the team’s first playoff appearance since the end of the 2015 season, when Peyton Manning started his final game and the Broncos won Super Bowl 50. A great one-on-one matchup to watch will be Broncos cornerback Patrick Surtain II, an NFL Defensive Player of the Year candidate, against Bengals star receiver Ja’Marr Chase, who has a case for NFL Offensive Player of the Year.

This game would have been a lot more exciting if the Arizona Cardinals weren’t eliminated from the playoffs with a loss last week. Still, the Rams have plenty to play for.

The Rams had a chance to win the NFC West title heading into this week, but they can’t win Saturday night because of Seattle’s win Thursday. But they can come very close. The Rams can clinch this week with a win against the Cardinals and secure the strength of schedule tiebreaker over Seattle, which would require more than 3.5 wins between the Vikings, Bills, 49ers, Commanders, Bengals and Browns according to the NFL. Even if the Rams beat the Cardinals, it wouldn’t be decided until Sunday. But if the Rams win, the Seahawks would need plenty of help to take the division. Conversely, if the Rams lose on Saturday night, the Rams vs. The Seahawks in week 18 decide the division champion.

Either way, it’s a surprise that the Rams are in any position to win the NFC West. They started the season 1-4 and there was plenty of speculation that they might trade Matthew Stafford or Cooper Kupp. The Rams enter Saturday’s game with a 9-6 record. The 49ers have been disappointing through multiple injuries, the Seahawks have been inconsistent all season and the Cardinals hit a late season slump. It gave the Rams, who were without Puka Nacua and Kupp early in the season, a chance to take the division.

The Cardinals are playing to get some momentum into next season if possible after losing four of five to drop out of the playoffs. If nothing else, Kyler Murray and Marvin Harrison Jr. use the last two games to establish a better connection, something that has been a problem for the Cardinals this season.

But the Rams are the story Saturday night. Sean McVay has already established himself as one of the best coaches in the NFL. A division title after losing four of five to start the season would only add to his reputation.