Admin December 29, 2024
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The penultimate Sunday of the 2024 NFL regular season concludes with the Washington Commanders (10-5) hosting the Atlanta Falcons (8-7) on “Sunday Night Football.”
This will be the first primetime game in NFL history featuring two rookie quarterbacks selected in the first round.
Jayden Daniels, the No. 2 overall pick, will lead Washington and is the front-runner for offensive rookie of the year. Meanwhile, Michael Penix Jr. was the No. 8 overall pick and will be making his second career start after sitting behind Kirk Cousins for the first 15 weeks of the season.
This clash has significant playoff implications.
If Washington wins, it will clinch a playoff spot.
Atlanta entered Week 17 ahead of Tampa Bay in the NFC South and is vying for the division title. The Falcons‘ only path to the playoffs is by winning the division. They control their own destiny, but a loss on Sunday night would put the Buccaneers in the driver’s seat for the division title.
USA TODAY Sports will provide live updates, highlights and more from the “Sunday Night Football” matchup between the Commanders and Falcons below.
- Date: Sunday, Dec. 29, 2024
- Time: 8:20 p.m. ET
The Commanders and Falcons game will wrap up Sunday’s Week 17 of the 2024 NFL season with “Sunday Night Football” at 8:20 p.m. ET.
Here’s how the USA TODAY Sports staff feels the Week 17 “Sunday Night Football” matchup between the Commanders and Falcons will shape up:
- Lorenzo Reyes: Commanders 31, Falcons 24
- Tyler Dragon: Commanders 27, Falcons 24
- Richard Morin: Commanders 21, Falcons 17
- Jordan Mendoza: Commanders 27, Falcons 23
For cord cutters looking for a live stream for the matchup, you can turn to Fubo. Fubo carries NBC, as well as CBS, FOX, NFL Network and the ESPN family of networks, meaning you can catch NFL action through the remainder of the season.
Watch “Sunday Night Football” with a Peacock subscription
- WR Dyami Brown
- QB Jeff Driskel (emergency third QB)
- CB Marshon Lattimore
- S Tyler Owens
- LB Dominique Hampton
- LB Jordan Magee
- OT Andrew Wylie
- RB Carlos Washington
- CB Kevin King
- DL Brandon Dorlus
- OL Elijah Wilkinson
- OT Tyrone Wheatley Jr.
- OT Brandon Parker
- WR Casey Washington
The Commanders are favorites to defeat the Falcons, according to the BetMGM NFL odds. Not interested in this game? Check out expert picks and best bets for every NFL game this week.
- Spread: Commanders (-3.5)
- Moneyline: Commanders (-190); Falcons (+155)
- Over/under: 46.5
Looking to make “SNF” interesting? Here are some of the best bets for the matchup:
- Start date: Saturday, Jan. 11, 2025
The format remains unchanged from previous years, with wild-card weekend getting things started on Saturday, Jan. 11. Sunday will feature a tripleheader before the round wraps up on “Monday Night Football” on Monday, Jan. 13.
The Falcons have a fairly simple task ahead of them because they control their destiny. Here’s how Atlanta can get to the playoffs. They clinch a playoff spot with wins in their last two games.
- Week 17: at Commanders
- Week 18: vs. Panthers
However, things get dicey with a Falcons loss tonight. Atlanta would hand control of the division back to Tampa Bay with one week to go. Under that scenario, here is how Atlanta can make the postseason:
The Falcons cannot make the playoffs as a wild-card team.
The Commanders have several different paths into the postseason. They are as follows:
- The Commanders win one of their last two games;
- The Buccaneers lose or tie against the New Orleans Saints in Week 18;
- The Falcons lose to the Carolina Panthers in Week 18.
The only way the Commanders can be eliminated from postseason contention is if they finish with the same record as the Falcons and Buccaneers. That would allow the Falcons to win the NFC South and the Buccaneers to displace the Commanders in the wild-card race by virtue of Tampa Bay’s head-to-head win over Washington in Week 1.
Here’s how the NFC East stacks up entering the “SNF” matchup between the Commanders and Falcons:
The Falcons travel North to take on the Commanders and Northwest Stadium in Landover, Maryland.
The stadium has been home to the Washington NFL team since 1997.
➤ Ranking NFL’s stadiums from 1 to 30: Where does Wsahington’s Northwest Stadium rate?
It’s going to be a rainy night outside the nation’s capital. According to the AccuWeather forecast, it will be near 60 degrees at kickoff and there is a 75% chance of rain with wind gusts maxing out at 27 MPH. There’s a 75% chance of rain at kickoff decreasing to 50% at 10 p.m. ET.
The New England Patriots and Pittsburgh Steelers are tied for the most Super Bowl wins with six.
Washington has won three Super Bowls win five appearances, with the most recent victory coming in Super Bowl XXVI during the 1991 season.
The Falcons have made two Super Bowl appearances, losing both games. The most recent appearance came during the 2016 season, in which the Falcons’ famously lost to the Patriots in Super Bowl 51.
NFL franchises with most Super Bowl wins:
➤ Super Bowl winners: All-time scores, results for NFL title game
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