Follow the two games presented in the NFL on Saturday on RDS2 and RDS.ca.
Panthers c. Buccaneers (16 h 25 à RDS2)
A division that no one seemed to want the title from.
The Carolina Panthers (8-8) and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (7-9) will fight for first place in the National South division this afternoon with a playoff ticket in their sights.
Each team had their share of opportunities to give themselves a valuable shot at the top of the division, but each time, a poorly timed loss seemed to keep the fight close.
The scenario is simple for the Panthers: a victory and they will be in the playoffs for the first time in eight years. Carolina can still see its journey continue in the event of a defeat if the Atlanta Falcons (7-9) were to defeat the New Orleans Saints (6-10) on Sunday, because the team holds the tiebreaker with its division rivals.
If the Bucs win, they will have to wait until Sunday afternoon in order to hope to see their season continue and be awarded fourth place in the race in the National.
The last time the Panthers finished on top of the South Division it was with Cam Newton at quarterback as he led the team to a 15-1 record and eventual appearance in the Super Bowl 10 years ago.
Carolina’s roster has changed coaches three times and 10 different starting quarterbacks have seen action since the last playoff appearance in 2017.
The Bucs have had an injury-plagued campaign, but they still lost seven of their last eight games to find themselves in this situation. Head coach Todd Bowles hopes that this last meeting of the calendar will put things back into perspective, having led his team to the division title in each of his first three seasons at the helm of the team.
Seahawks c. 49ers (8pm from RDS2)
For the Seattle Seahawks and San Francisco 49ers, the National Football League playoffs will begin a week earlier.
The two best teams in the National Association West Division will face off Saturday night in a rare regular season game where the stakes are so high.
The winner, in fact, will earn first place in the overall standings of the National Association, with a bye for the first round and home field advantage before the Super Bowl.
This match between the Seahawks (13-3) and the 49ers (12-4) marks only the fourth time since the use of “seeds” in the NFL, in 1975, that two teams face each other during the last week of the season with, as a reward for the victorious club, the first place in the general classification of their association, according to Sportradar.
Facing a similar situation last year, Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold suffered defeat when the Minnesota Vikings lost to the Detroit Lions.
In 2019, the 49ers and Seahawks faced off in similar circumstances.
The 49ers scored a first-place victory when linebacker Dre Greenlaw tackled Jacob Hollister at the one-yard line on fourth down and scored in the final seconds of the game.
A victory for the Seahawks would have given them second place and a direct bye to the second round.
Despite the presence of Christian McCaffrey, the 49ers’ ground attack struggled to get going for much of the season. The picture has changed radically in recent weeks.
After ranking last in the NFL in yards per carry (3.51) through the first 10 weeks, the 49ers managed to revive themselves down the stretch of the schedule.
Over their last three games, they have averaged 4.69 yards per carry and rank third with 161 yards per game over that span.
The Seahawks have recently experienced a similar turnaround.
After a thrilling 38-37 overtime win over the Los Angeles Rams, where they rushed for 171 yards, the Seahawks followed up with 163 rushing yards in their victory over the Carolina Panthers, led by Zach Charbonnet who rushed for 110 yards, a career-high in the season.
But it won’t be easy Saturday against the 49ers’ sixth-ranked run defense, which is giving up an average of 103 yards per game.
