How a game with playoff implications could lead to one of the weirdest outcomes in NFL history.

Two AFC West rivals will face off in the final week of the season for all the marbles. One team had massive expectations coming into this season and the other just can’t seem to get out of its own way. The Chargers and Raiders have each had turbulent seasons but they both find themselves in the same situation at 9-7 with a shot at the playoffs. One would expect this Sunday night game to play out like any other but there is the possibility that fans end up watching one of the most interesting and meaningless matchups ever televised. 

The Indianapolis Colts find themselves in the 6th seed as of today with a decent shot at clinching in Week 18. They had the opportunity to clinch a spot in Week 17 but some divine intervention from the football titan that is John Madden may have led to the Raiders narrowly beating the Colts, 23-20. The 9-7 Colts are matching up against the abysmal Jacksonville Jaguars who just got disgraced by the New England Patriots in a 50-10 dumpster fire. Indianapolis may very well put on a similar showing in Week 18 to what the Patriots were able to accomplish in Week 17 but some factors at play offer a glimmer of hope for Shad Khan’s traveling circus. 

For a team with a decent run of success over the past decade or so, the Colts have had a small thorn in their side that dates back to Andrew Luck’s first few years in the league. That small thorn being their record against the Jacksonville Jaguars away from home. As a team, the Colts haven’t found a win against the Jaguars away from Lucas Oil Stadium since September 21st, 2014. Whether that is just circumstantial or if there is a real advantage the Jaguars have at home against the Colts, there is certainly a pattern. For most teams, a trip to Jacksonville means warm weather and a 30-point blowout. For the Colts though, this game may have the same pressure as a Super Bowl. 

Of course, if the Colts manage to end this losing streak in Jacksonville then there is no discussion to be had. However, if they do lose to the Jags while surrounded by a sea of Shad Kahn clown costumes, the Raiders and Chargers will both have a spot in the playoffs prior to the start of Sunday Night Football. With this scenario, a very important question needs to be asked. 

What is stopping both teams from just kneeling the ball on every play?

Sure, it would be hilariously boring for the audience but is there really a reason for both teams to play and risk injury to their players in a game where both have a playoff spot clinched? For all the football sickos out there who would love to see that happen, it would certainly be a poetic ending to a regular season that has been anything but normal. As a fan, nothing would be more amusing than hearing Al Michaels and Chris Collinsworth attempt to find something to talk about while both teams march out onto the field for short kneeling intervals. 

Please Jacksonville, if there were ever a game to win, now is the time. Whether you’re a sad fan of an eliminated team or you just want to watch the world burn, Sunday Night Football has a chance to be a historic spectacle. Living rooms and sports bars all around America will be forced to watch a kneel-fest on the final Sunday Night Football game of the regular season. In a 2021 season where the unexpected has continuously become the expected, would there be anything more beautifully poetic than that?