It is the final day of the NFL 2021 regular season on Sunday and by the end of the matches in the two early slots all but one of the playoff places will be filled on a day where there are 13 early games to be played out with plenty carrying significance.
As is always the case the last week of the regular season are divisional battles and we’ll have two of them to get stuck into on the TV in the UK while Red Zone will keep us up to date with all the key action. Some matches will be shown by the bookmakers too.
1pm Kick Offs (6pm UK time)
Seven matches come in the earlier of the two kick off slots. We have a slightly surprising choice for the TV game here as it is the one which sees the Jacksonville Jaguars taking on the Indianapolis Colts with the Colts looking for a win which will seal their place in the playoffs. A better choice might have been the other AFC South clash between the Houston Texans and the Tennessee Titans where the latter need to win to sew up the number one seed in the AFC and the bye that comes with it next week. The only other thing of note in this slot is whether the Green Bay Packers can sew up the number one seed in the NFC. They head to the Detroit Lions knowing a win does just that.
Four other matches take place in the early timing. The Pittsburgh Steelers are the only ones playing for anything. They head to arch rivals Baltimore Ravens knowing a win will get them into the playoffs if the Colts lose. The other three matches sees the Cincinnati Bengals travelling to the Cleveland Browns, the Minnesota Vikings hosting the Chicago Bears and the New York Giants finishing their season against the Washington Football Team.
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4.25pm Kick Offs (9.25pm UK time)
There is a lot more at stake in the later slot of games, especially in the TV match where the Los Angeles Rams host the San Francisco 49ers with both sides playing for something. The Rams must win to guarantee winning the NFC West and hosting a playoff game next week while the 49ers must win else they leave the door open for the New Orleans Saints in the wildcard race. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have already won the NFC South but they can climb into the number two seed slot with a win over the Carolina Panthers.
All eyes will be on the AFC East in this set of matches. The Buffalo Bills go into the final game knowing if they win at home to the New York Jets they will win the division and host a playoff game next week. If they lose they open the door to the New England Patriots. They will win the division if they win at the Miami Dolphins. In the other matches, the Arizona Cardinals can still win the NFC West if they win at home to the Seattle Seahawks and the Rams lose while if the 49ers lose that encounter the New Orleans Saints will steal the last playoff place if they can win at the Atlanta Falcons.
Betting
I’m not going too mad over the course of these matches. We saw in the two matches on Saturday evening that it is tough to predict who will play their starters in these matches and how long they will play for. I’m going to keep it simple and take a side who I think will play their starters for most of the game in the form of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. They are playing for the number two seed in the NFC and should be able to overwhelm a Carolina Panthers side who are missing a number of key defensive players, not least potentially their two best corners which makes them an ideal match for this Bucs outfit.
I think there will be a fuel in the fire of the Buccaneers after a low key performance last week and the fallout from the Antonio Brown incident and they can feast on a Panthers side who have lost their last six and are averaging almost 30 points against them in that run. I think it is pretty clear that Matt Rhule has run his race in charge of the Panthers and there has been nothing in the play of Sam Darnold to suggest he is going to last too much longer either. Brady and co should be able to pick off this Panthers defence at will and even if he gets pulled from the game I still think Tampa Bay will be more than 7.5pts ahead at the end.
Tips
WON – Back Tampa Bay Buccaneers (-7.5) to beat Carolina Panthers for a 3/10 stake at 1.83 with Boylesports
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