It's Week 17, so it's almost over. The regular season, that is. The last interesting games of football for fantasy managers are coming up. Thursday Night Football won't feature the first game of this week, as we saw two sets of teams square off on Christmas Day.
But it will feature a team fighting for a playoff spot and another playing for little more than pride, roster spots, and future coaching opportunities at this point. One fired its head coach midseason and the other has had questions swirling about which coaches might even have a job with the team next year.
So, who is playing on TNF? How and when can the game be seen, and who will win?
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Who is Playing on Thursday Night Football?
The 8-7 Seattle Seahawks will take on the ailing 4-11 Chicago Bears at Soldier Field. If the season finished today, Seattle would end up with the ninth seed and miss the playoffs by two spots. It may be that its only realistic chance of getting to the postseason is winning the division.
Adam Rank picks the #Bears. The #Seahawks curse is lifted 😅😆 pic.twitter.com/bnJ9LsYrZR
— HawkMania (@hawkmania4) December 25, 2024
But the Seahawks are one game behind the 9-6 Los Angeles Rams, so they'll need to win a bit more and get a bit of help along the way. At least they have a chance of making it. The Bears have long been eliminated from playoff contention, and they've now lost nine straight contests.
When and How Can I Watch The Game?
The game will begin at 8:15 p.m. ET. As always, Thursday Night Football games can be streamed on Amazon with an Amazon Prime or Prime Video subscription. The game will also air on television in select local markets.
Who is Going to Win?
The Seahawks. Chicago's strength, its defense, has fallen completely off the map after the departure of former head coach Matt Eberflus, who was fired midseason. He's a renowned defensive coach, and while he wasn't the right man for the head job, his loss is being felt by the defensive unit.
Many talking heads on X are trying to insist that rookie quarterback Caleb Williams is playing well, but it's important to remember that his team hasn't done much outside of garbage time when facing teams that don't have completely dysfunctional defenses. In Week 16, both of Williams' passing touchdowns came when his team was down by 20 points.
Caleb Williams when Ben Johnson was in attendance this year:
(2 games)
681 Total Yards
5 Touchdowns
0 Interceptions pic.twitter.com/EyF4UfNfFJ— Greg Braggs Jr. (@GBraggsJr23) December 23, 2024
The Seahawks have plenty of problems, but at least they're not a completely dysfunctional organization right now. And their QB, Geno Smith, is playing much better than Williams is. So we're going with Seattle here.
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