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Week 17 of the NFL season is upon us, and except for a few teams, playoff fates have been decided. There are two positions up for grabs, 1 AFC wildcard and 1 NFC wildcard, with 5 teams vying for those positions. There is also 1 perfect season on the line this weekend. New England can complete the perfect season with a win in New York against the Giants. So, what should the rest of the teams do? Rest their starters or play to win? Each situation is different, so let’s take a look at a few:

New England @ NY Giants – New England is going to play its starters and attempt to be the first team to ever go 16-0 in the regular season. We believe it should play its starters. The team has next week off due to its first-round bye, so why not go ahead and make history. The Giants, on the other hand, are in a tough spot. The whole world wants them to play their starters against the Pats and make them earn the 16-0 record. If we were the Giants’ coach, we would rest players. The Giants have been dinged up all year and have to go on the road to play a tough game against the Bucs to start the playoffs. They don’t have the luxury of a bye, so they should do what’s best for the team and rest their players.

Tennessee @ Indianapolis – Tennessee has everything on the line in this game. If the team wins, it goes to playoffs; if it loses, it watches from home. The Titans are playing any one who can possibly go. Indy is in a different situation; the Colts locked up the second seed in the AFC and a first-round bye. Do they play their starters and try to keep a division foe from making the playoffs or do they rest and look towards the post season? We say play the starters. Indianapolis has a first-round bye and a whole week to get its players healthy. We say give the Titans everything the Colts have.

Dallas at Washington – This match up is similar to the Tennessee/Indy game. Washington gets in with a win. The difference here is that Dallas has some injuries to deal with. We say play the players that are healthy but take the opportunity to get everyone else healthy for the playoff run.

Seattle at Atlanta – This is the last game we will comment on. From the outside, it looks like Seattle should just sit its starters and look towards next week’s playoff game; however, Seattle has the DJ Hackett factor. Hackett is a big play receiver for the Hawks and has been out the last several weeks with an ankle injury. He is ready to go now and needs to make sure his timing is in synch with Matt Hasselbeck. We suggest playing the offensive starters for at least the first half to make sure the timing is good and the running game is ready for the playoffs.

The answers for the rest of the games are fairly clear. If teams are going to the playoffs and are playing insignificant games, rest the players. If teams are not going to the playoffs nor need a win to get in, they should play their starters. It is not always an easy call; that is why we are here to help.

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