How Packers’ victory highlighted the value of home advantage
Matt Schneidman, beat writer for Packers: If you didn’t realize how difficult it is to visit Green Bay in December or January, just look at how much the Titans attack fought in the snow in their 40-14 defeat to the Packers on Sunday night. Tennessee was tied for first place in the league with 31.1 points per game entering Week 16, but the Packers allowed only 14, intercepting Ryan Tannehill twice and keeping Derrick Henry below 100 yards. With a victory next Sunday against Bears, Green Bay guarantees the advantage of playing at home and no team wants to come here next month.
The Bears’ resurgence: real progress or an easy schedule?
Kevin Fishbain, beat writer at Bears: Certainly one thing is to benefit from an easy schedule, and bringing Texans, Vikings and Jaguars together in a row helps, but the Bears are not just winning these games. They are pouring offensively. And let’s remember – Minnesota was fighting for his playoff hopes. It has been 55 years since Bears scored more than 30 points in four consecutive games. I’m sure that at some point in those decades they played consecutive games against bad teams. Bears can receive credit for taking advantage of their opponents, but that doesn’t mean they are more than they are – the seventh seed.
How realistic are the hopes of the Cowboys’ NFC East?
Jon Machota, Beat writer for Cowboys: The Cowboys’ chances of beating NFC East are very realistic. They have a lot of problems, but are surprisingly having a three-game winning streak. The biggest difference lately has been the defense, which has finally found consistency and is taking the ball. Dallas’ offensive patchwork line finally has some continuity, and Andy Dalton has developed a good relationship with an excellent group of wide receivers. Someone has to overcome this horrible division. The Cowboys’ chances are as good as anyone’s right now. Now they just need help from the Eagles.
Where does that leave the hopes of the Giants’ division?
Dan Duggan, Giants hit writer: The Giants’ NFC East hopes are bleak. They got what they needed to survive Sunday afternoon, when Washington lost to Carolina and Philadelphia beat Dallas. But the Giants still need to beat the Cowboys and have the Eagles beat Washington in Week 17 to sneak in with a 6-10 record due to the tiebreaker. Those are a lot of odds and after watching the Giants perform on Sunday, the playoffs look like a dream right now.
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