SportsPulse: USA TODAY Sports' Lindsay H. Jones breaks down the matchups that will determine which teams will reach the postseason. USA TODAY Sports
With a preseason play to diversify the offense gone by the wayside, the Carolina Panthers' approach is clear. Now and into the playoffs, this remains Cam Newton's show.
As Carolina finishes off yet another late-season surge by making a last push for the NFC South title, Newton has reaffirmed his role as the team's lone offensive engine. In leading the Panthers to a 7-1 mark in their last eight games, he has thrown for 12 touchdowns with just three interceptions while racking up nearly 500 rushing yards and an additional three scores. He also is Carolina's leading rusher and likely will set new career highs in carries (currently 128) and rushing yards (695).
But Newton's greatest feat of all Sunday might be delivering a serious blow to the playoff chances of the Atlanta Falcons. If they fall, the defending NFC champions would need the Seattle Seahawks also to lose in order to claim the NFC's final wild-card spot.
Newton was held to a season-low 137 passing yards in a 20-17 win over Atlanta earlier this season, but he led Carolina with 86 rushing yards and a touchdown on nine carries. The Panthers ran for 201 yards in total.
To combat the Panthers' ground game, Atlanta will need not only improved performances from defensive tackles Grady Jarrett and Dontari Poe but also its linebacking corps. Vic Beasley could be called upon to spy Newton, though Deion Jones and De'Vondre Campbell also likely will play substantial roles in ensuring the defense doesn't give up the kind of long runs that could sink the team's postseason ambitions.
More: USA TODAY Sports' Week 17 NFL picks
More: NFL Week 17 clinching scenarios: Three spots, one bye, seeding still up for grabs
Here are four other matchups that will define Week 17 in the NFL:
Tennessee Titans QB Marcus Mariota vs. Jacksonville Jaguars' pass rush
Despite being locked into the AFC's No. 3 seed, the Jaguars are electing to play their starters. That could spell trouble for their divisional rival.
While the Titans raced out to a 37-16 win over the Jaguars in Week 2, the two teams have been on divergent paths for the rest of the season. Jacksonville now boasts the league's third-ranked defense, though the unit is trying to regain its form after giving up a season-high 44 points in a loss to the 49ers last week. Meanwhile, Mariota has had two of his worst passing performances of the season during Tennessee's three-game losing streak.
The Titans can clinch a wild-card berth with a win, but they'll need Mariota to avoid the turnovers that have plagued him this season with a career-high 15 interceptions. With unfavorable matchups against the Jaguars' lockdown secondary, he'll also need help from the run game. Though DeMarco Murray has been ruled out with a knee injury, Derrick Henry had 92 yards on 14 carries in the first meeting this year and could play a prominent role again.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers WR Mike Evans vs. New Orleans Saints CB Marshon Lattimore
Any bad blood lingering over Evans' hit to the back of Lattimore in the first clash between the two seems to have dissipated. But this looms as the latest in what could be a long series of meetings between two of the NFL's best young stars at their respective positions.
For Evans and Tampa Bay, playing spoiler for New Orleans' NFC South hopes would serve as one of the lone bright spots to an otherwise trying season. The fourth-year receiver is on track to end up with a career low in receiving yards (currently at 946) and has broken the 100-yard mark in just one game this season. He and Jameis Winston have struggled to get on the same page, as he has hauled in just 66 of 122 targets.
One week after his improbable "butt pick" interception, Lattimore can get another tune-up for the playoffs by facing a physical receiver who provides a sizable challenge on jump balls. More importantly, shutting down Evans would help wrap up the NFC South and give the Saints at least one home game in a cutthroat field. Three of New Orleans' four losses have come on the road, and the lone home loss came to the New England Patriots in Week 2.
Seattle Seahawks QB Russell Wilson vs. Arizona Cardinals OLB Chandler Jones
The Seahawks will need the Falcons to falter in order to return to the playoffs for the sixth straight season. But Seattle also will need to take care of a divisional foe that has served as some of its strongest competition in recent years.
Wilson has made the postseason in every season so far in his career, yet he'll continue to be counted on to carry a stagnant offense. He has thrown or rushed for all but one of the Seahawks' 36 offensive touchdowns, but he has been stifled in the last three games, including a narrow win over the Dallas Cowboys last week in which he passed for a career-low 93 yards.
Waiting for him is Jones, the NFL's sack leader with 15. He was part of a pass rush that sacked Wilson five times in the midseason meeting. And Arizona's defense has given up just 22 points in its last three games. If the Cardinals give Wilson time, they could be stung by Doug Baldwin, who likely could avoid Patrick Peterson by consistently lining up in the slot, and Jimmy Graham, who hauled in two touchdowns against them earlier this year.
Buffalo Bills RB LeSean McCoy vs. Miami Dolphins' front seven
Buffalo has the chance to end the NFL's longest playoff drought, though it will need help elsewhere. As has been the case all season, the burden will be on McCoy to carry the offense.
McCoy currently ranks fourth in the NFL with 1,128 yards, but his average (4.09 yards per carry) is the lowest of his career. But he also has taken on an increased role in the passing game and has the most receptions (57) and receiving yards (426) of any season since he arrived in Buffalo in 2015.
Miami bottled up McCoy on the ground two weeks ago, holding him to 50 yards and a touchdown on 20 carries. But he added four catches for another 46 yards and additional score as a receiver. For a Dolphins linebacking corps that has been repeatedly targeted in coverage, he could continue to be a mismatch.
Follow Michael Middlehurst-Schwartz on Twitter @MikeMSchwartz.
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