NFL Week 17 early slate live open thread

Your Los Angeles Rams (12-3) will look to lockup a first round bye later today by defeating the San Francisco 49ers (4-11) at LA Memorial Coliseum later today. A heavy late game slate in Week 17 features eight games, followed by the Sunday night game between Tennessee and Indianapolis.

But let’s not get too far ahead of ourselves. Here’s the early slate for Sunday...which features a lot of bad football teams:

Miami Dolphins (7-8) at Buffalo Bills (5-10), CBS

Both teams are eliminated from playoff contention.

Detroit Lions (5-10) at Green Bay Packers (6-8-1), FOX

Both teams are eliminated from playoff contention.

New York Jets (4-11) at New England Patriots (10-5), CBS

The Jets are obviously out. Oddly enough, the Patriots can secure the No. 1 seed in the AFC with a win today and some help (in the way of a loss) from the Kansas City Chiefs or Los Angeles Chargers. Otherwise, simply taking care of business against the woeful Jets gets them a first round bye.

Carolina Panthers (6-9) at New Orleans Saints (13-2), FOX

Heading into Week 10, the Panthers were a 6-2 team. They went on to lose SEVEN straight games and are now out of contention for the postseason. Flip side of the coin, the Saints have locked up NFC home field advantage.

Jacksonsville Jaguars (5-10) at Houston Texans (10-5), CBS

Jacksonville is toast. The AFC South is still up for grabs though, and a home win from the Texas today would make them division champions — or if the Colts and Titans tie later this evening. And despite having a 10-5 record, there’s still an outside shot they could secure home field advantage throughout the playoffs. They would need a win and losses from the Patriots, Chiefs, and Chargers. Not happening.

Dallas Cowboys (9-6) at New York Giants (5-10), FOX

Dallas is currently the No. 4 seed, and is incapable of moving up with a win today. The Giants are out of contention.

Atlanta Falcons (6-9) at Tampa Bay Buccaneers (5-10), FOX

Both teams are eliminated from playoff contention.