VITO'S VIEWS

There will be six national telecasts this weekend, including a tripleheader on Saturday on the NFL Network.

The weekend starts with San Francisco going to Seattle on Thursday night in a division battle between the top two teams in the NFC West. The 49ers are 9-4, while the Seahawks are 7-6 and currently seeded eighth. The 49ers aren’t sure if Brock Purdy will be ready to play.

That will be followed by Indianapolis at Minnesota, Baltimore at Cleveland and Miami at Buffalo on Saturday. The Miami-Buffalo game is one of the featured games of the week. Buffalo has a two-game lead over the Dolphins, who are currently the sixth seed. The Bills also need a victory to stay ahead of the Chiefs for the top seed because the Chiefs have an easy game against the Texans

The Sunday and Monday night primetime games are Giants at Washington and Rams at Green Bay, with Detroit-Jets being the main CBS Sunday afternoon game and Cincinnati at Tampa Bay the featured late game. .

Fox has a single game with three in the afternoon and two at night but none are compelling. Dallas at Jacksonville will get the most coverage early.

Baltimore, Tennessee, Cincinnati and New England, currently seeded third, fourth, fifth and seventh, need victories over Cleveland, the Chargers, Tampa and Las Vegas.

The Chargers are currently seeded eighth but would probably move up with a victory over Tennessee, which has lost three in a row and is in danger of losing the AFC South title to the Jaguars.

The Jets, seeded ninth, play the surging Lions. No other AFC team has fewer than eight losses but the Jaguars, who play Dallas, have a realistic shot at making the playoffs. They are aiming to having the division title at stake when they play the Titans in the season finale.

In the NFC, Philadelphia figures to keep rolling with a victory over Chicago. There is not much drama left in the conference. The Vikings, 49ers and Cowboys figure to make the playoffs and the other three seeds aren’t considered contenders.

Barring a late season collapse, the 12-1 Philadelphia Eagles will be the top seed in the NFC and have the inside track on getting to the Super Bowl.

Their rout of the Giants clinched a playoff spot and combined with Minnesota’s loss to Detroit virtually wrapped it up the top seed for them. The Vikings are now two games behind Eagles, who have the tie break.

The Cowboys barely escaped with a victory over the Texans and remained two games behind the Eagles. They lost to the Eagles in the first game, so the Eagles can afford to lose the rematch and nail down the top seed by beating the Bears, Saints and Giants in their other three games.

The Eagles also figure to win their first round playoff game after having a bye, but the key question is which team they will play in NFC title game.

Surprisingly enough, the team that could be an obstacle is San Francisco, which now has a two game, lead over the Seahawks in the NFC West with a 9-4 record. It is still difficult to imagine rookie Brock Purdy taking them to the Super Bowl, but he has played well in last two games since Jimmy Garoppolo got hurt.

The one quarterback we know won’t be going to the Super Bowl is Tom Brady. The Bucs were no match for the 49ers and while they still lead the NFC South, they have a 6-7 record. They could still win the division and hos ta  wild card game but they have the look of a one and done team even if they make it.

The Commanders and Giants, who play Sunday night, are tied for final two wild card spots at 7-5-1. The Seahawks at 7-6 and the Lions at 6-7 could still grab wild card spots. Two other teams at 5-8 – Packers and Panthers — are longshots for a wild card spot. But 5-8 Atlanta is only a game behind 6-7 Tampa Bay and could still win the NFC South.

In the AFC, the three teams with the best shot at the top seed – Buffalo, currently No. 1, Kansas City and Cincinnati all won. The Bills and Chiefs are 10-3 and the Bengals are 9-4.

Kansas City is favored to get the top spot since they finish with Houston, Seattle, Denver and Los Vegas. The Bills must play both Miami and Cincinnati and have lost Von Miller for the season. The Bengals finish with Buffalo and Baltimore. Baltimore is 9-4 and should win the next three against the Browns, Falcons and Steelers, but have that tough finale against the Bengals taht could decide the division title..

Baltimore and Tennessee may win their division titles, but aren’t playing like Super Bowl contenders. The Bengals, Miami and Patriots currently have the three wild card spots. The Patriots are tied with the Chargers and Jets at 7-6 but have the tie break over both teams. 

Only three teams — the Texans, Bears and Broncos — have been officially eliminated from the playoff chase.

A 13-point lead with four minutes left in the game is usually money in the bank in the NFL.

Of 553 games over the last five years until last Monday night, only two teams overcame deficits like that.

And then it happened twice in four days with the same score.

Both winning teams were behind 16-3 and both scored two touchdowns to win in the final 10 seconds.

Tom Brady threw the game-winning touchdown pass with three seconds left to beat the Saints Monday night, and then Baker Mayfield — who had only joined the Rams two days earlier — threw the game-winner with eight seconds left to beat the Raiders.

What are the odds of that happening?

The problem is that many fans probably turned off their TV sets, thinking the games were over.

Next question is when and if it will happen again this year.

There is no training program for becoming the owner of an NFL team.

You either have the money to buy it or you inherit it.

That‘s it.

Amy Adams Strunk inherited half of the Tennessee Titans from her late father Bud Adams, who founded the team in Houston, while the rest of the family owns the other half.

But she is obviously still learning on the job as her recent firing of general manager Jon Robinson showed.

The timing of the firing was head-scratching to say the least. Although some of Robinson’s recent moves were puzzling, the team was still in first place in the AFC South despite two losses in a row when she fired him. If she wanted to make a change, best to wait until the end of the season.

She also didn’t hold a press conference to announce the firing, leaving coach Mike Vrabel to discuss the firing even though it wasn’t his decision.

There are now more questions than answers about the future of the franchise and who will be in charge. Ryan Cowden will handle personnel the rest of the season, although not many personnel decisions are made this late in the year. Does Vrabel now get more control? Will there be a new general manager? How much control will he have?

Who knows?

And then there is the direction of the franchise. Vrabel and Robisnson built a team that was based on running the ball with Derrick Henry and having a strong defense. Quarterback Ryan Tannehill is not a franchise-type quarterback.

The problem is all the rules have been changed to help the passing game, and the AFC is loaded with good young quarterbacks like Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen and Joe Burrow at the top of the list.

It is hard to imagine the Titans winning a Super Bowl anytime soon without a franchise quarterback. Last year they had the top seed in AFC and the only bye and then lost in the division round to Cincinnati, 19-16.

Things could get worse before they get better for the Titans, even though they will have a new stadium in a few years.

If Adams has a plan to make things better, she should go public with what it is.

This is not likely to be a good matchup weekend for the NFL.

Two of the three prime time games – Las Vegas at the Rams on Thursday night and New England at Arizona on Monday night – won’t have much at stake for either team although Las Vegas could stay in the wild-card race by beating the Rams. That would give the Raiders a 6-7 mark.

In the Sunday night game, Miami is at the Chargers in a flex game with both teams having wild-card hopes. Miami is 8-4 and the Chargers are 6-6. But neither team looks like a Super Bowl contender.

Of what I call the Big Six teams with the best shot at the top seed in each conference, five of them figure fairly easily.

In the AFC, the Bills should beat the Jets after losing the first meeting, Kansas City should win at Denver and Cincinnati is an easy choice over the Browns.

In the NFC, Dallas is a 17-point choice over the Texans in the biggest spread of the year and 11-2 Philadelphia figures to beat the Giants.

But Detroit has a good shot at beating Minnesota in a Fox early game that will be shown only in the Midwest. Minnesota is 10-2 but they may not be as good as their record while the Lions are on a roll and may better than their 5-7 mark. The Vikings barely beat the Jets last week and could have a tough time with the Lions. A loss would pretty much end the Vikings’ hope for the top seed, but they will still likely win their division.

Fox has an interesting doubleheader game that will be shown in much of the country since Carolina at Seattle is their other late game.

It will pit San Francisco rookie Brock Purdy, the last player drafted, making his first start against Tom Brady. San Francisco, 8-4, has the better team but could struggle with a rookie at quarterback. He had a good showing against the Dolphins last week when he took over in the first quarter after Jimmy Garopollo was lost for the season with a broken foot. But now the Bucs have a chance to look at him on film. 

Meanwhile, Brady is showing his age and put only three points on the board for the first three-and-a-half quarters against the Saints before leading two touchdown drives to win the game. The win gave the Bucs a 6-6 record.

Both teams may make the playoffs but it is unlikely that either Purdy or Brady is going to make the Super Bowl. 

This is the last week of byes and six teams – Atlanta, Chicago, Green Bay, Indianapolis, New Orleans and Washington – will have the week off.

The Philadelphia Eagles continued on the path to getting the first seed in the NFC while the Kansas City Chiefs ran into a Cincinnati road block in their bid for the top seed in the AFC last Sunday..

The Chiefs loss to the Cincinnati combined with the Bills win over the listless Patriots vaulted the Bills from the fifth seed to the top seed in the AFC with a 9-3 mark. The Chiefs are also 9-3 with a three game lead in the AFC West, but the Bills have the head to head tiebreaker over the Chiefs.

The Eagles crushed the Titans and still have the best record in the league at11-1. They have a one game lead on 10-2 Minnesota, which barely edged the Jets, in the battle for the top seed.

The 9-3 Dallas Cowboys routed the Indianapolis Colts to stay two games behind the Eagles.

The 8-4 49ers remained one game ahead of 7-5 Seattle in the NFC West by beating the Dolphins, but they lost Jimmy Garoppolo for the season early in the game. Brock Purdy, the last player drafted this year, guided the 49ers to the victory but it is not likely he will lead them to the Super Bowl.

And Tom Brady kept the Bucs on top of the NFC South with a comeback win over the Saints. Brady struggled much of the game but led two touchdown drives late in the fourth quarter to win the game.

But while Purdy is too young, Brady is showing signs mof age and it is unlikely either one will be in the Super Bowl. There now seem to be three NFC teams – Philadelphia, Minnesota and Dallas – who have realistic chances of making the Super Bowl.

The Giants and Commanders remained viable in the wild card race by playing to a tie. The Giants are 7-4-1 and the Commanders 7-5-1.

The  AFC battle for the top seed also revolves around three teams – Buffalo, Kansas City and the Bengals, who are trying to become only the second team to lose the Super Bowl and then win it the next year since the perfect Dolphins did it in 1972.

The Bengals got off to a slow start but must be taken seriously since they are the only team to beat the Chiefs three consecutive times since Patrick Mahomes became their quarterback. The Bengals beat the Chiefs in the season finale last year, in the playoffs last year and now last Sunday. 

Baltimore at 9-4, the Titans at 7-5 and the Dolphins at 8-4still have a good shot at the playoffs, but they aren’t looking like Super Bowl contenders.

The Ravens barely beat the Broncos by a point and Lamar Jackson was injured while the Dolphins lost to the 49ers and the Titans to the Eagles by wide margins.

So it now looks like the two Super Bowl teams will come from a field that includes Buffalo, Kansas City and Cincinnati in the AFC and Philadelphia, Minnesota and Dallas in the NFC.

Deshaun Watson made his return and looked like a quarterback who hasn’t played in two years. He was ineffective but the Browns still beat the Texans on defense and special teams while Watson was booed loudly every time he took a snap.

The Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles face tough challenges as they attempt to retain their one game lead for the top seed in each conference thisweekend..

Kansas City plays 7-4 Cincinnati in the CBS doubleheader game Sunday that will be shown to most of the nation while the Eagles host Tennessee in one of the four 1 pm Fox games.

The Bengals are tied for the top spot in their division with Baltimore while the Titans have a three game lead in the loss column in their division

Kansas City is top seed in AFC at 9-2 and the Eagles are 10-1 in the NFC.

If Kansas City loses to the Bengals, 8-3 Buffalo can tie for top seed with a Thursday night victory over the Patriots. So could 8-3 Miami although the Dolphins have a tough game at 7-4 Francisco, which has been on a roll.

Miami and Buffalo are also battling for the division title and a home playoff game. One of them will be a wild card team.

Baltimore at 7-4 figures to rebound from the surprising loss in Jacksonville with a win over the Broncos in another CBS early game. That puts pressure on the Bengals to upset the Chiefs to remain tied for first.

Minnesota host s the Jets in one of the four CBS early games. The Jets stunned the Bears last week after switching from Zach Wilson to Mike White at quarterback and will try to pull off another upset. Minnesota has a five game lead in its division so it is only playing for top seed. There are also questions about whether Minnesota is as good as its record.

The Sunday night game isn’t much of an attraction with 8-3 Dallas hosting 4-7-1 Indianapolis but the game wasn’t flexed because the Cowboys usually get good ratings. Jeff Saturday could suffer his third consecutive loss as interim coach after winning his first game.

Tampa Bay, leading its division with a 5-6 mark, will attempt to stay on top with a Monday night victory over the 4-8 Saints, who would only be a game behind the Bucs if they pull off a victory. Atlanta is currently second in the division at 5-7 and has a bye along with 4-8 Carolina. It is hard to believe a 4-8 team is only two games off the division lead, but that is the current state of the NFC South.

Two NFC teams in wild card race play in Fox early game when the Giants host Washington.

Seattle at 6-5 is a game behind San Francisco and figures to keep pace with a victory over the disappointing 3-8 Rams.

Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles remain the top seeds with six games remaining.

The Chiefs, who have with won 26 games in a row in November and December, boosted their record to 9-2 the victory over the Rams.

The Eagles, meanwhile maintained the best record in the NFC at 10-1 with a victory over Green Bay in what may wind up being a changing of the guard for the Packers. Aaron Rodgers, who has been playing with a broken thumb and was knocked out with a rib injury against the Eagles. That opens the door for Jordan Love to finally get a chance to play and the Packers may be ready to move on from Rodgers.

The Chiefs, who have a three game lead in their division, have a one-game lead over the 8-3 Dolphins and Bills in the battle for the top seed.

The Ravens fell to 7-4  loss to the Jaguars and are two games behind the Chiefs in the battle for the top seed with a loss to the Jaguars and are now tied with Cincinnati, which upset the Titans, who, like the Ravens, dropped to 7-4 although they have a comfortable lead over the 4-7-1 Colts.

The Jets made the right move in benching Zach Wilson for Mike White, who guided them to an easy win over the Bears and are now 7-4 and currently have the last wild card spot.

There are seven teams with fewer than five losses and currently make up the playoff field in the AFC. The  Pats and Chargers at 6-5  are still tying for a wild card spot. No other AFC team has fewer than seven losses.

In the NFC, there appear to be three challengers to Philadelphia for the top seed – 9-2 Minnesota, 8-3 Dallas and 7-4 San Francisco. The 49ers are on a roll with four wins in a row and while they aren’t likely to get the top seed, they will likely win their division and get a first round home game.

Tampa Bay at 5-6 actually leads its division over 5-7 Atlanta.t

All four NFC East teams are currently in the playoffs. Washington has the seventh spot at 7-5 but is only one game ahead of 6-5 Seattle in the loss column.

No other teams in the NFC has fewer than seven losses. Atlanta is 5-7 and the Lions and Packers are 4-7 so it remains to be seen if any of the seven loss teams can sneak into the playoffs.

There are no byes this holiday weekend so all 32 teams will be playing starting with the Thanksgiving Day tripleheader.

There will be five games on national TV this weekend with four on broadcast TV and the Monday night game on ESPN as usual.

But the feature game will be the Fox doubleheader game Sunday with Kansas City hosting the disappointing Rams. It pits last year’s champions against the team favored to win this year.

The Chiefs are 8-2 and are one game ahead of four 7-3 teams so the Chiefs can’t afford to coast if they want the top seed even though they have a three game lead in their division.

The Rams are 3-7 and probably out of the playoff picture but would love to upset the Chiefs. This will be the doubleheader game on Fox shown to much of the country. The networks want to showcase Patrick Mahomes as much as they can.

On Thanksgiving Day, there will be the usual three games – the first two in Detroit and Dallas – while Minnesota hosts New England in the third one in prime time.

None of the games will be on Prime with the Detroit game on CBS, the Dallas game on Fox and the Minnesota game on NBC. The NFL wants the largest possible audience for the holiday so Prime gets the short straw. 

Three of the four AFC teams at 7-3 are likely to win. Miami figures to beat Houston, the Bills are expected to beat the Lions and the Ravens are the choice over Indianapolis.

But 7-3 Tennessee has a tough game with the 6-4 Bengals. Tennessee has a three game lead in its division while the 6-4 Bengals, a game behind the Ravens, need a victory. The Titans-Bengals will be the feature early game on CBS.

There are two 6-4 AFC teams — New England and the Jets – besides the Bengals. The Patriots will be underdogs against the Vikings while the Jets play the Bears. The Patriots and the Bengals are currently the sixth and seventh seeds in the AFC playoff picture while the Jets are on the bubble with the 5-5 Chargers, who figure to beat Arizona. The Jets no longer look like a playoff team.

In the NFC, the Eagles have the top seed at 9-1 and figure to beat Green Bay in the Sunday night game. Minnesota at 8-2 figures to stay on their heels by beating New England on Thanksgiving Day. And the winner of the Dallas-Giants game with both at 7-3 will stay in race for top seed.

The NFC South and West are wide open. Tampa Bay at 5-5 plays at Cleveland while 5-6 Atlanta is at Washington.

In the West, San Francisco and Seattle are tied at 6-4. San Francisco hosts New Orleans and Seattle hosts the Raiders.

The short version is the Chiefs have the inside track on the top seed in the AFC and Philadelphia and Dallas have the best shots in the NFC although Minnesota has an outside shot.

Mahomes Magic is alive and well.

Patrick Mahomes showed he has the inside track on both the top seed in the AFC and the league MVP when he pulled off his magic act again Sunday night.

After the Chargers took a four-point lead with less than two minutes to do, it took him six plays to put together the game winning drive.

The victory pretty much wrapped up the AFC West division for the Chiefs, who are 8-2 and have a three game lead on the 5-5 Chargers.

And they have a one game lead in the battle for the top seed as Mahomes goes for his second Super Bowl win in his first six years in the league. Tom Brady won his first three in his first five years but then went nine years before he won the fourth one.

Tennessee at 7-3 also has a three game lead in the AFC South and is virtually guaranteed a division title and home playoff spot.

Six other teams are battling for the other five AFC playoff spots. The closest race is in the AFC East with Miami, which had a bye last week, and Buffalo, which beat Cleveland, both 7-3. The Buffalo game was played in Detroit because of the snowstorm in Buffalo and the Bills go back to Detroit for a Thanksgiving Day game against the Lions.

New England and the Jets are 6-4 but neither looked like a contender  Sunday. They played a game in the wind that was tied 3-3 before the Patriots ran a punt back for a touchdown with five seconds left. Jets coach Robert Saleh wouldn’t commit to Zach Wilson remaining the starter.

In AFC North, Baltimore is 7-3 and Cincinnati 6-4.

That leaves eight AFC teams with four losses or fewer vying for seven spots. The Charges at 5-5 also can’t be ruled out.

In the NFC, Philadelphia stayed in top spot at 9-1 by escaping with a one point win over the Colts while Dallas seems to be emerging as their top challenger at 7-3 by crushing the Vikings, who are now 8-2 and have a four game lead in their division but don’t look like a team that can win three conference playoff games to make the Super Bowl.

The only other team besides the Eagles, Cowboys and Vikings with fewer than four losses in the NFC is the 7-3 New York Giants and they are try to hold on to wild card spot after losing to the Lions.

The rest of the NFC is a scramble and the most disappointing team is the defending champion Rams, who fell to 3-7 with a loss to the Saints. They won’t be repeating

The last team to repeat was the 2003-2004 Patriots and even Tom Brady couldn’t do it again. In the age of parity, repeating is difficult. The Steelers did it twice in a six-year span in the 1970s but those days are long gone.