It has been 35 years since the Chicago Bears won Super Bowl XX and blessed American pop culture with the Super Bowl Shuffle, an amateur music video production featuring members of the team rapping.
While none of the Bears’ players had the potential to become the next Jay Z or Eminem, the video moves at 100 smiles per hour, and overcomes its unprofessional elements with an overabundance of charm and unintentional comedy.
The NFL Playoffs now includes 14 total teams, adding an additional wild card position in each conference. Half of those playoff spots will be claimed during what should be an action-packed final week of the 2020 NFL regular season, creating the potential for a massive shuffle in the Super Bowl 55 odds.
So who will be the NFL Playoff’s shufflin’ crew in week 17? The following NFL teams have already earned their way into the NFL postseason, and are already so “bad” that they know they’re good.
NFL Teams That Have Clinched Playoff Berths
AFC
Kansas City Chiefs – Clinched #1 Seed & AFC West
Pittsburgh Steelers – Clinched AFC North
Buffalo Bills – Clinched AFC East
NFC
Green Bay Packers – Clinched NFC North
New Orleans Saints – Clinched NFC South
Seattle Seahawks – Clinched NFC West
Tampa Bay Buccaneers – Clinched Wild Card
There are eleven teams that are still alive and competing for the final seven playoff slots, and NFL betting sites have already produced lines for this weekend’s games.
If we take these week 17 lines at face value and apply them to this weekend’s results, the Dallas Cowboys become the NFC East champion for 2020 and will host a playoff game against Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
The impressive efforts of the Miami Dolphins will not be rewarded with a playoff berth according to the odds, as they will lose to the Bills, allowing for the Baltimore Ravens, Indianapolis Colts, and Cleveland Browns to round out the AFC”s Wild Card qualifiers.
The picture gets a little murky after that, with the odds for all teams in flux except for the Kansas City Chiefs who have remained at the top of the Super Bowl futures since the conclusion of SB 54.
We feel that it is appropriate to conclude this article with the alarming fact that the Bears would qualify for the NFL Playoffs as the #7 seed in the NFC. If Chicago can manage to win against the Packers who are trying to lock up the top seed and a playoff bye week, then the Bears deserve to enter the postseason.
It would be poetic if the fledgling Bears could return to Super Bowl glory 35 years after their last championship. Perhaps they should put together another video and create an honorary sequel to the Super Bowl Shuffle to heighten the stakes.
If the Bears do indeed fall to the Packers this weekend, then the Arizona Cardinals will have the opportunity to win and take the #7 seed right out of their paw. They will face the LA Rams who are also fighting for a playoff spot, so it will be no easy victory for Arizona.
Regardless of which teams end up on top this weekend, the real winners are the pro football fans and Super Bowl bettors who have been treated to a phenomenal year of NFL action during 2020. For that, we must say thank you to Commissioner Roger Goodell and his executive staff.
Source: Washington Post