Washington playoff rooting guide for Week 16

It’s crazy how fast things can change in the NFL. Just two weeks ago, the Washington Football Team was in pole position to notch a playoff berth.

Fast forward to the present, and Washington now has to crawl out of the gutter to qualify for the tournament in a jumbled NFC.

Following their loss to the Philadelphia Eagles, the Football Team dropped to the No. 9 seed, a full game behind the likes of the Minnesota Vikings, Philly and the New Orleans Saints, each of whom are 7-7, respectively.

That makes Sunday’s game in Dallas a must-win for Washington. If they were to lose and other results don’t go in their favor, they’d be looking at a nearly insurmountable obstacle with two games remaining.

Like we said, though, things can change quickly in the NFL. All Washington needs is a win AND/OR some help to maintain their playoff pulse. With that in mind, here’s whom fans should be rooting for in Week 16.

Washington Football Team rooting guide for Week 16

49ers at Titans

The NFL doesn’t always treat fans with appealing Thursday night matchups, but we have a dandy between two playoff hopefuls to round out the 2021 slate, as the Titans will play host to the streaking 49ers.

This game doesn’t impact Washington all that much, but seeing that the 49ers are one of the several teams fighting for a Wild Card berth in the NFC, fans should be pulling for the Titans to hold serve at home.

Lions at Falcons

This one doesn’t need much of an explanation. With a win, the Falcons would crawl back to 7-8 with two games to play. Atlanta’s final two games are difficult, but a Lions win on Sunday would all but eliminate them from playoff contention.

Rams at Vikings

Minnesota just refuses to lie down! Following an ugly win over Chicago on Monday Night Football, Kirk Cousins and the Vikings control their own destiny when it comes to making the playoffs for the first time since 2019.

However, it won’t come easy for Minny, which has games against the Rams and Packers (and Bears, if they count) left on the schedule.

Speaking strictly in terms of this week, though, Washington fans need LA to handle its business as it pushes for the NFC’s No. 1 seed.

Giants at Eagles

Of course the Giants didn’t come through against the Cowboys last week. They’re a laughingstock, and that’s what those kind of teams do. Unfortunately, we need them to rebound this Sunday against an Eagles team that they defeated 13-7 in a surprising defensive slugfest just a few weeks back.

The G-Men’s season might be over, but they should be chomping at the bit to play spoiler vs a division rival.

Please, New York. Do us a solid just one time.

Dolphins at Saints

This isn’t a sexy matchup on paper, but the loser could end up on the outside looking in as it pertains to the AFC and NFC playoff pictures.

The Buccaneers fell on their face last Sunday night, breathing new live into a Saints squad that seemed dead in the water a month ago.

Winners of six in a row, the Dolphins are the hottest team in the league, and we’ll need them to stay hot in primetime on Monday night, because New Orleans owns the head-to-head tiebreaker over Washington.

Let’s. Go. Dolphins.