The NFL playoffs kick off Saturday afternoon when the Arizona Cardinals travel across the country to face the Carolina Panthers. The Cardinals finished the season with an 11-5 record, second in the NFC West. The Panthers won the NFC South with a record of 7-8-1. Both team’s record are not indicative of their play at all. Bruce Arians’ Cards finished the year 2-4 in their last six games after starting quarterback Carson Palmer tore his ACL. The Panthers went 4-6 in their last ten games, that is a six game losing streak, and then finishing the season with four consecutive wins.

 There is only one week left in the NFL season. It is sadly coming to an end. 10 of the 12 playoff spots have already been secured. There’s only one spot up for grabs in each conference. Even still, every game means something. Teams are fighting to make the playoffs, or to get a better seed. The other half of the league that isn’t in the playoff picture is trying to player spoiler or are jockeying for draft position. In terms of the playoff standings, the AFC is a little bit more constructed than the NFC. 

Leading up to the 2014 NFL Draft, many experts predicted this would be one of the deepest receiving classes ever. As the season is coming to an end, it’s far to say that every analyst was right. This has been the year of the rookie receivers. There were five receivers drafted in the first round and seven in the second round. Most of these receivers quickly stepped up and have made an impact for their team. 

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Make no mistake, Sunderland manager Gus Poyet will be looking for a positive reaction from his players following their 8-0 mauling at Southampton last weekend.

 Last year Peyton Manning was awarded with his 5th Most Valuable Player trophy. He was head and shoulders above everyone else. Manning received all but one vote because he had what is widely considered to be the best season ever. He finished the season with 55 touchdown passes, 5,477 passing yards, and the Broncos scored 606 points, all of which broke previous records.
This year is completely different in terms of the MVP race. There is no one player that drastically stands out above the rest. There are however five candidates that are all having tremendous seasons: Texans defensive end J.J. Watt, Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers, Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning and Cowboys running back DeMarco Murray

As of right now, the Philadelphia Eagles are 9-5. They sit in second place in the NFC East and are currently in the 7th seed in the conference. If the playoffs began today, they would be on the outside looking in. Philadelphia’s heartbreaking loss Sunday night against Dallas exposed a number of major flaws. But aside from what this game showed us, the division was on the line. Whoever won the game would take over first place in the division, and would control their own fate as the season comes to an end. 

Last year the NFC South produced the division winning Carolina Panthers who finished the season at 12-4 and received the second seed in the conference. The division also sent the second place New Orleans Saints to the playoffs as a wildcard and they finished with a record of 11-5. The Atlanta Falcons, a team projected to be in the playoff hunt, were decimated by injuries and finished the season at 4-12. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers finished at 4-12 as well but that was more anticipated. That’s a cumulative record of 31-33. So overall, the division as a whole was under .500 but it was masked well. That can’t be said about this year…