Their Playoff Hopes Gone, N.F.L. Teams Scramble to Salvage the Season

Fields sustained a separated shoulder earlier in the season and endured six sacks in the Eagles loss. There’s a fine line between showcasing and recklessly endangering a dual-threat quarterback in meaningless games. The Bears must strive to stay on the proper side of that line when they host the Buffalo Bills (11-3) on Saturday.

Auditioning a Rookie Quarterback. Despite their 5-9 record, the Atlanta Falcons remain in the playoff chase. Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers top the standings at 6-8, and no team has deemed itself worthy of overtaking them. After a 1-4 stretch in which the Falcons scored just 17.6 points per game, however, head coach Arthur Smith pulled veteran stopgap starter Marcus Mariota in favor of Desmond Ridder, a third-round pick in the 2022 draft.

Ridder, like Fields, has almost no one to throw to. Roughly 40 percent of the Falcons’ cap space is devoted to leftover compensation for departed players like Matt Ryan, forcing the team to field a budget-friendly roster. Making matters worse, the rising-star tight end Kyle Pitts was lost for the season with a knee injury in November. 

Ridder threw for just 97 yards in his starting debut, a 21-18 loss to the New Orleans Saints. Smith ordered handoffs for most of the game, even when trailing, as if he plans to run out the clock for the next 180 minutes.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/21/sports/football/nfl-football-teams-eliminated-playoffs.html