On the AFC side, the seeding matchups and scenarios are identical. The games are just being played in the opposite order. CT , with the winner hoping No. The Chiefs are in the same position as the Packers, knowing if they win they're at home next week. Green Bay will know whether top spot is at stake before Sunday night game with Tennessee kicks off. Mike Spofford packers. But if the Packers win, they'll know the other winner will be coming to Lambeau Field.
View all CFB Sites. More College Basket Ball News ». More College Basket Ball Draft ». View all CBB Sites. More MMA News ». More UFC News ». More Entertainment News ». More Streaming News ». View all Entertainment Sites. More Food News ». And with no or few fans in the stands — and especially with tarps covering the first several rows of seating — that influence would theoretically disappear.
This year, home teams are going into Week That's the closest margin of the last decade at least. Home teams have outscored the visitors 5, points to 5, points this year, so just one more road team winning on Sunday and blowing out the home team will essentially make this year a wash. It's not just because of empty stadiums that we're seeing such tight margins, though.
Last year, home teams went and were actually outscored by 30 points. What we know for certain is that home-field advantage is not worth the three points it once was, and this year it hasn't even been worth the 2.
Home teams are against the spread this year, so betting markets never truly figured it out. Those numbers come to me with all the help from Robby Greer, who does strategic analytics for a Silicon Valley startup and who holds an econ degree from Vanderbilt and MBA from Dartmouth.
We worked together on my previous home-field advantage article, and I reached out to him this week for help on this one. The Packers have had no more than 1, fans in the stands since Thanksgiving, and those people include health care workers, first responders and team employees and their families.
Team officials have yet to make a call on how many fans, if any, will be allowed into Lambeau for the playoffs, but it's hard to imagine they'll go from a few hundred to more than 10, people. If home-field advantage is driven mostly by packed crowds, and no one outside of Dallas has any more than a couple thousand fans in the stands, then what does playing at home really mean for the outcome of the game?
The only tried and true home-field advantage across sports has been observed in Denver thanks to the altitude. It's just we've had some bad weather games, more so in terms of the wind.
That is something that I think is a little bit more challenging than all the snow that's out there tonight. Obviously, I think just guys having the proper footing in those types of situations, I think is critical. Rodgers used to talk with former Packers head coach Mike McCarthy about the utility of big backs in poor weather conditions.
When the tarp is removed from the field in pregame, the snow starts to get into the grass and make the field slicker. If it's cold and colder than it was Sunday against Tennessee , the field could start to freeze and make it even slicker. The ball is also slicker and tougher to throw in the wind, so the team that's more familiar and comfortable with these conditions would obviously have a leg up.
The Packers are at home in the Super Bowl era, and Rodgers is as a playoff starter at home. Each play has three options: A pass, a run or a quarterback keeper. Take away one of those choices and When Murray has the ball in his hands, defenders freeze.
He's so quick and fast that he can elude them anywhere on the field, and he has such a good arm and great touch he can drop dimes standing in the pocket or on the move. If that's taken away, then the Cardinals will be in trouble. Why the Rams are a legitimate Super Bowl contender : The Rams completed an offseason blockbuster trade that sent quarterback Jared Goff -- and draft picks -- to Detroit in exchange for Matthew Stafford with the hope Stafford would provide the needed upgrade to power an explosive offense.
The 13th-year quarterback has delivered through a start, as he's dazzled with no-look passes, navigated with pressure in his face and has ultimately passed for 19 touchdowns, second-most in the NFL.
Coupled with Stafford, receiver Cooper Kupp proved to be a force through seven games and leads the NFL with nine receiving touchdowns. The defense, led by lineman Aaron Donald and cornerback Jalen Ramsey , has steadily improved under first-year coordinator Raheem Morris, who has emphasized game-changing plays while downplaying statistics. Morris' unit has closed out three games with turnovers, including wins over the Colts, Seahawks and Lions.
The Rams rank tied for seventh in average points allowed per game at Why they might be vulnerable : Special teams. Under first-year coordinator Joe DeCamillis, special teams have been inconsistent and often unreliable. Unable to settle on a kick or punt returner, the Rams rank 29th in average yards per kick return at In a Week 7 win over the winless Detroit Lions , special teams appeared woefully unprepared for an onslaught of scenarios the Lions attempted to jump-start their production.
After scoring on the opening drive, the Lions recovered an onside kick and later that series faked a punt to convert a yard pass for a first down, and later in the game they converted another fake punt for a yard gain and first down.
Rams coach Sean McVay said the team wasn't surprised by the Lions' tactics, but was unable to execute. That's an issue for a team with Super Bowl aspirations, and the Rams must hope that it can be fixed despite seven games without much progress. Why the Cowboys are a legitimate Super Bowl contender: It's popular to say defenses win championships, but the Cowboys have an offense that is difficult for any defense to stop.
If teams want to sit back in coverage, running backs Ezekiel Elliott and Tony Pollard have shown they can dominate games on the ground. With their ability to put up points, they can mask some of the deficiencies they have on defense.
It's a similar formula the Cowboys followed in and ' Those teams had their seasons end in the divisional round of the playoffs, controversially in Dez Bryant's non-catch and agonizingly Mason Crosby 's field goal at the end , but this defense takes the ball away at a higher rate thank you, Trevon Diggs ' seven interceptions. Why they might be vulnerable : Injuries. Maybe that's too easy, but look at what happened last year when the Cowboys lost players.
They fell apart. While the Cowboys are confident Prescott will play against Minnesota despite a calf strain, if it is something that limits him or nags him the rest of the way, that will affect the offense greatly. In order to win, teams need to succeed without all of their cards.
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