CINCINNATI — Schoolchildren in Cincinnati will have something to cheer about no matter what happens in Super Bowl LVI.
Cincinnati Public Schools announced Monday that staff and students will have the day off Feb. 14, the day after the Bengals play the Los Angeles Rams in Super Bowl LVI.
1 Related
In a letter sent to parents that was obtained by ESPN, the city’s largest school district cited “celebrating” the Bengals’ first Super Bowl victory as the reason it amended the academic calendar and made Feb. 14 a day off.
“We hope that you enjoy roaring the Bengals to a win on Sunday and take this time to take pride in our incredible city and amazing football team,” the district said in the statement to parents.
CPS board member Mike Moroski told the Cincinnati Enquirer that students in the district typically are off on the Monday after the Super Bowl. However, this year, the school calendar didn’t line up with Super Bowl LVI at SoFi Stadium in the Los Angeles area. After the Bengals reached the title game by defeating the favored Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday, a request was made to change that, and it was OK’d.
The Kansas City Chiefs released cornerback Damon Arnette from his futures contract, a source confirmed to ESPN, after he was arrested on gun and drug charges in Las Vegas early Saturday morning.
Arnette’s contract with the Chiefs wasn’t to start until the 2022 league year begins in March, and the 2020 first-round draft pick was not with the team as it prepared for Sunday’s AFC Championship Game against the Cincinnati Bengals at Arrowhead Stadium.
Arnette, 25, was jailed in Las Vegas early Saturday morning on two counts of assault with a deadly weapon, carrying or concealing a gun without a permit, possession of marijuana or cannabis, and possession of a controlled substance, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
Arnette was released by the Las Vegas Raiders in November after video surfaced of him making death threats while brandishing firearms. He also is facing lawsuits stemming from a Las Vegas car crash in October 2020.
Arnette was selected by the Raiders out of Ohio State in the first round of the 2020 draft. He played for them in 13 games with seven starts and three passes defended.
-
Brady HendersonESPN
TAMPA, Fla. — When the Los Angeles Rams acquired Matthew Stafford in a blockbuster trade last winter, the veteran quarterback said he wanted to play in big games, an opportunity he seldom received during 12 seasons with the Detroit Lions.
Stafford and the Rams — fresh off a dramatic 30-27 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Raymond James Stadium — are now one victory away from the biggest game of all.
And they nearly blew their chance to get to the NFC Championship Game, losing four fumbles and a 27-3 third-quarter lead to Tom Brady and the defending champions before Stafford led a 63-yard drive in the closing seconds to set up the winning field goal.
“In my mind, I live for those kind of moments,” said Stafford, who pulled off the 43rd game-winning drive in the fourth quarter or overtime of his career, the most of anyone since he entered the league in 2009. “I would have loved to have been taking a knee up three scores, but it’s a whole lot more fun when you’ve got to make a play like that to win the game and just steal somebody’s soul. That’s what it feels like sometimes where they’re sitting there going, ‘Man, we just had this great comeback.’ And you get to reach in there and take it from them.
“That’s a whole lot of fun.”
Stressful, too.
The Rams’ fourth lost fumble — and running back Cam Akers’ second of the game — set up the Buccaneers’ tying touchdown with 42 seconds left. On the ensuing drive, Stafford hit All-Pro receiver Cooper Kupp for gains of 20 and 44 yards to set up Matt Gay’s 30-yard game-winner. What was nearly an epic collapse became an emotional victory that set up a date with the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday at SoFi Stadium. Los Angeles will have the chance to do what Tampa Bay did last season and play in the Super Bowl on its home field.
2 Related
According to Elias Sports Bureau research, the only other team to lose a 24-point lead in a playoff game and still win was the Chargers in 1981.
“That’s why you play four quarters and try to finish that game out,” Rams coach Sean McVay said. “That was something else. That was something else.”
Stafford turned in another clean performance, tossing two touchdown passes, rushing for another and not throwing an interception for the second straight game. He again got help from his loaded cast of offensive players, and the Rams’ star-studded defense sacked Brady three times and forced him to commit two turnovers, only to allow three touchdowns over the final 16 minutes. Two of those scores were set up by Rams fumbles — Akers’ second and an earlier one from Kupp — that gave Tampa Bay the ball at the Los Angeles 30.
The NFL’s penultimate regular-season Sunday of the 2021 campaign ended with 11 of its 14 playoff spots filled. Six of its eight divisions have champions. And one of its two top seeds is clinched. The day started with the Bengals and Titans clinching the AFC North and AFC South, respectively. It ended with the Packers securing the NFC’s top seed with a rampage over the Vikings; and as a result, the Eagles clinched one of the NFC’s wild-card spots. (Earlier on Sunday, the Bills and Patriots also secured playoff berths.)
On Monday, the Steelers kept their playoff hopes alive with a win against the Browns. That means seven teams are still vying for three spots in the playoff picture as we head toward Week 18. What follows is everything we know about what happened in Week 17 and what could happen in the coming week.
Note: All percentage chances to make the playoffs, clinch a division title or secure the conference No. 1 seed are via ESPN’s Football Power Index (FPI).
Jump to: AFC | NFC
Clinching scenarios
AFC playoff standings
Chances to make playoffs: Clinched
Chances to win division: Clinched
Chances to earn No. 1 seed: 79%
Remaining schedule: at Texans
Chances to make playoffs: Clinched
Chances to win division: Clinched
Chances to earn No. 1 seed: 17%
Current projected first-round matchup: vs. Chargers
Remaining schedule: at Broncos
Chances to make playoffs: Clinched
Chances to win division: Clinched
Chances to earn No. 1 seed: 4%
Current projected first-round matchup: vs. Colts
Remaining schedule: at Browns
Chances to make playoffs: Clinched
Chances to win division: 95%
Chances to earn No. 1 seed: Eliminated
Current projected first-round matchup: vs. Patriots
Remaining schedule: vs. Jets
Chances to make playoffs: Clinched
Chances to win division: 5%
Chances to earn No. 1 seed:
Current projected first-round matchup: at Bills
Remaining schedule: at Dolphins
Chances to make playoffs: 81%
Chances to win division: Eliminated
Chances to earn No. 1 seed: Eliminated
Current projected first-round matchup: at Bengals
Remaining schedule: at Jaguars
Chances to make playoffs: 58%
Chances to win division: Eliminated
Chances to earn No. 1 seed: Eliminated
Current projected first-round matchup: at Chiefs
Remaining schedule: at Raiders
In the AFC hunt
Las Vegas Raiders (9-7)
Chances to make playoffs: 50%
Pittsburgh Steelers (8-7-1)
Chances to make playoffs: 8%
Baltimore Ravens (8-8)
Chances to make playoffs: 4%
NFC playoff standings
Chances to make playoffs: Clinched
Chances to win division: Clinched
Chances to earn No. 1 seed: Clinched
Remaining schedule: at Lions
Chances to make playoffs: Clinched
Chances to win division: 77%
Chances to earn No. 1 seed: Eliminated
Current projected first-round matchup: vs. Eagles
Remaining schedule: vs. 49ers
Chances to make playoffs: Clinched
Chances to win division: Clinched
Chances to earn No. 1 seed: Eliminated
Current projected first-round matchup: vs. 49ers
Remaining schedule: vs. Panthers
Chances to make playoffs: Clinched
Chances to win division: Clinched
Chances to earn No. 1 seed: Eliminated
Current projected first-round matchup: vs. Cardinals
Remaining schedule: at Eagles
Chances to make playoffs: Clinched
Chances to win division: 23%
Chances to earn No. 1 seed: Eliminated
Current projected first-round matchup: at Cowboys
Remaining schedule: vs. Seahawks
Chances to make playoffs: 60%
Chances to win division: Eliminated
Chances to earn No. 1 seed: Eliminated
Current projected first-round matchup: at Buccaneers
Remaining schedule: at Rams
Chances to make playoffs: Clinched
Chances to win division: Eliminated
Chances to earn No. 1 seed: Eliminated
Current projected first-round matchup: at Rams
Remaining schedule: vs. Cowboys
In the NFC hunt
New Orleans Saints (8-8)
Chances to make playoffs: 40%
Clinching scenarios and intriguing playoff races
-
The Packers have clinched the NFC’s top seed for the second consecutive season, and their next meaningful game will be a divisional-round matchup to be determined on the weekend of Jan. 22-23.
-
The Packers’ victory allowed the Eagles to clinch a playoff spot, capping a run in which Philadelphia has won six of seven games. Who had Nick Sirianni as the first rookie coach this season to lock in a trip to the playoffs?
-
The Chiefs’ loss to the Bengals means that the AFC’s eventual No. 1 seed will have at least five defeats, tied for the most for the AFC’s top team since the NFL began the seeding process in 1975. The most recent such team with five losses was the 2002 Raiders, who advanced to Super Bowl XXXVII.
-
The Bengals won the AFC North for the first time since 2015, thanks to their 34-31 victory over the Chiefs. But will history remember that it took flags on two consecutive fourth-down plays at the goal line to keep the Bengals’ winning drive alive? The Bengals can clinch the No. 1 seed in the AFC in Week 18 with a win over the Browns and losses by the Titans, Chiefs and Patriots or a win and a Bills win plus losses by the Titans and Chiefs.
-
The Titans clinched a playoff berth and the AFC South with a victory over the Dolphins. At some point, we need to take a step back and recognize what the Titans have done under coach Mike Vrabel. After making the playoffs once in the nine years before he arrived in 2018, they have now had four consecutive winning seasons, three consecutive trips to the playoffs and now two consecutive division titles. The Titans can clinch the top seed in Week 18 with (A) a win at Houston, (B) losses by the Chiefs, Bengals and Patriots or (C) losses by the Chiefs and Bengals combined with a win by the Bills.
2 Related
-
The Titans’ win eliminated the Colts’ chance to win the AFC South. The Colts could have clinched a playoff spot with a victory over Las Vegas, but they lost 23-20. The Colts can clinch a playoff spot with (A) a win at the Jaguars, (B) losses by the Ravens and Chargers or (C) losses by the Chargers and Steelers, and a Dolphins win.
-
The Bills clinched a playoff berth, thanks to their 29-15 victory over the Falcons along with the Ravens’ loss to the Rams. That’s three consecutive trips to the postseason for the Bills under coach Sean McDermott. They’ll clinch the AFC East for the second consecutive year if they beat the Jets at home in Week 18.
-
The Patriots clinched a playoff berth after beating the Jaguars 50-10 and getting a 34-3 loss from the Dolphins against the Titans. New England could still clinch the AFC East with a Week 18 victory at the Dolphins and a Bills loss. To clinch home-field advantage as the No. 1 seed, the Patriots would need a Week 18 win and losses by the Bills, Titans and Chiefs.
-
The Chargers’ win over the Broncos eliminated the Broncos, Dolphins and Browns from playoff contention. More importantly for the Chargers: It set up a win-and-in situation for their Week 18 game at the Raiders. That game also will be a win-and-in scenario for the Raiders, who have won three consecutive games to get back into the race. The Raiders also can get in with a Colts loss.
-
The Saints avoided playoff elimination by defeating the Panthers. They can clinch a playoff berth with a win at the Falcons combined with a loss by the 49ers.
-
The 49ers didn’t clinch a playoff spot on Sunday, but they can do it in Week 18 with a win at the Rams or a loss by the Saints.
-
The Rams weren’t able to clinch the NFC West on Sunday, thanks to the Cardinals’ win, but Los Angeles can do it with a Week 18 win over the 49ers or a Cardinals loss. The Cardinals can clinch the NFC West with a win over the Seahawks and a Rams loss. But Arizona can’t get to the No. 1 seed.
-
The Vikings were eliminated from playoff contention, marking the first time in coach Mike Zimmer’s eight-year tenure when they have missed the playoffs in consecutive seasons. Washington also was eliminated from playoff contention, but given the Week 1 loss of starting quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick and its late-season COVID-19 outbreak, it’s frankly amazing that this team was still in the race in Week 17. The Falcons were the third NFC team eliminated from playoff contention on Sunday with their loss to the Bills. And as mentioned, the Broncos, Dolphins and Browns were eliminated in the AFC.
-
The Steelers’ victory Monday night was Step 1 in their multipronged path to a playoff spot. Now they’ll need to win at Baltimore in Week 18, while also getting a loss from the Colts. And because tiebreakers are funky, they need the Chargers-Raiders game to not end in a tie. (It doesn’t matter who wins.)
-
Despite losing five consecutive games, the Ravens aren’t out of it yet. To get into the playoffs, they will need to beat the Steelers in Week 18 and get losses by the Colts, Browns, Chargers and Dolphins.