This Is the N.F.L. Season That Ran Too Long
The New York Times
The N.F.L.’s final-week schedule usually builds to a Sunday night crescendo. But with only one true elimination game, Week 18’s bloat should feel anticlimactic.
Welcome to Week 18 of the N.F.L. season, the superfluous coda to an already-grueling marathon that few besides the television networks and advertisers really wanted.
Get ready to discover the answers to some crucial questions this weekend. For example: Will the Dallas Cowboys finish second, third or fourth in the N.F.C. playoff seedings? A second-place finish guarantees them a home playoff game against a wild-card opponent, while third or fourth earns them a home playoff game against a different wild-card opponent. The stakes could hardly be any lower.
The Cowboys (11-5) will face the Philadelphia Eagles (9-7), who have already clinched a wild-card berth and may be missing many of their starters due to a coronavirus outbreak. Also, Saturday night’s contest will not actually determine the Cowboys’ final seeding. To learn their true fate, viewers will have to tune in for such can’t-miss Sunday action as the 12-4 Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ showdown with the 5-11 Carolina Panthers.
