Tough day for the no one watches women’s sports crowd

The GIST: The NFL regular-season finale brought shocking spoilers, unfortunate injuries, and, at long last, the setting of the 14-team playoff field. Ready that TikTok buffalo chicken dip recipe: the postseason is just around the corner.

AFC: Thanks to the Tennessee Titans’ surprise win over the Jacksonville Jaguars, all seven AFC playoff berths were secured before Sunday Night Football kicked off. But the Buffalo Bills’ late night dub over the Miami Dolphins earned them the AFC East title and the No. 2 seed, just behind the top-ranked Baltimore Ravens.

• The Jags’ elimination helped the Pittsburgh Steelers return to the playoffs after a one-year hiatus and handed the Houston Texans the AFC South title, sending rookie quarterback (QB) C.J. Stroud’s squad to the postseason for the first time since the 2019 season.

NFC: Entering the weekend with “win and you’re in” scenarios, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Green Bay Packers took care of business, beating the Carolina Panthers and Chicago Bears, respectively, to advance. Bucs QB Baker Mayfield had himself a $1M day, while Aaron Rodgers’ Green Bay successor Jordan Love proved he has it all under control under center. Out with the old…

• Over in the NFC East, the battle for the division crown devolved into a mid-off, with the Dallas Cowboys topping the Washington Commanders to clinch the conference’s No. 2 seed while the reigning NFC champ Philadelphia Eagles choked against the already eliminated NY Giants and will settle for the No. 5 seed. Womp.

The GIST: While playoff contenders look ahead to next weekend’s postseason kick off, the next few days will likely be focused on the teams who didn’t make the cut. Today is known as “Black Monday,” when eliminated squads often cut ties with their head coaches (HC).

• And this year, two legends of the game are on the hot seat:

New England Patriots HC Bill Belichick: The winningest active HC, Belichick is reportedly on his way out after a dynastic 24 seasons in New England. Belichick made nine Super Bowl appearances with the Pats, winning six of them (both records) but has suffered a brutal fall from grace, going a dismal 4-13 this season, his worst-ever showing as an HC.

• True to form, Belichick has remained tight-lipped about his future, but he did confirm he’s scheduled to meet with Patriots ownership as early as today. Dun, dun, dun…

Washington Commanders HC Ron Rivera: Rivera was twice named NFL Coach of the Year (2013 and 2015) but never quite re-found that form after taking over as Washington’s HC in 2020. “Riverboat Ron” notably led the Commanders through a tumultuous culture change in that first year at the helm but has struggled with QB management over the last few seasons. Now it’s almost certainly time for a changing of the guard.

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