 |
 |   |
|
EVENTS Fantasy Central Inside Game Multimedia Central Statitudes Your Turn Message Boards Email Newsletters Golf Guide Cities Work in Sports
CNNSI.com GROUP
COMMERCE |  |
Week 16 Playoff Status Vikings back in playoffs for seventh time under Green
Posted: Tuesday December 28, 1999 08:16 AM
By Jon A. Dolezar, CNN/SI With 15 games left to be played, 16 teams are still in contention for the right to fight to be Super Bowl champions. The NFC has five teams in the playoffs already, with four teams fighting for the remaining wild-card spot. Over in the AFC, four teams are in, and three teams are alive and fighting for the final two spots. Sunday's action saw the Minnesota Vikings, Washington Redskins and Detroit Lions solidify their postseason spots in the NFC, while no team clinched an AFC playoff spot on Sunday. The Baltimore Ravens, Oakland Raiders, Arizona Cardinals and Chicago Bears all had their bubbles burst on the final weekend of the millennium. The Miami Dolphins' loss to the New York Jets on Monday night put the Buffalo Bills in the playoffs, and put the Dolphins at the mercy of others on the season's final weekend. The Dolphins will make the playoffs if either the Kansas City Chiefs (who play Oakland) or the Seattle Seahawks (New York Jets) lose in the final week, regardless of Miami's outcome against Washington. Minnesota made the playoffs for the seventh time in eight seasons under head coach Dennis Green, with its 34-17 win over the New York Giants on Sunday. Cris Carter caught five passes for 131 yards and a touchdown, and John Randle led the defensive effort with two of the Vikings' five sacks. The Redskins' rode the right arm of Brad Johnson into the playoffs for the first time since 1992. Washington clinched the NFC East by virtue of its 26-20 overtime win over the 4-11 San Francisco 49ers on Sunday night. Johnson passed for 471 yards -- the highest single-game passing total in the NFL this season -- and two scores to lead Norv Turner into the playoffs for the first time in his six seasons in the nation's capital. The Tennessee Titans made the final week of the season much more interesting by dominating the Jacksonville Jaguars 41-14 in Nashville. The Jaguars are 13-0 against teams other than the Titans, but their struggles against Tennessee could cost them the home-field advantage if the Jaguars somehow lose to the Cincinnati Bengals in Jacksonville next Sunday. The Titans play the Pittsburgh Steelers on the road, and if they beat the Steelers and the Jaguars are upset by the Bengals, then Tennessee would top the Jaguars for the AFC Central crown based on their season sweep of Jacksonville. Let's take a look at the teams in each conference and see where they stand after 16 weeks of the season: AFC
NFC
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
