With his two-yard game-winning touchdown reception on Sunday night, Washington Commanders tight end Zach Ertz sent two teams to the playoffs and completely changed the outlook of the NFC playoff picture.
He not only punched the Commanders’ first ticket to the postseason since the 2020 season, but the win also clinched the NFC West title for the Los Angeles Rams and eliminated the Seattle Seahawks.
First, here is the play where Ertz hauled in the winning pass from rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels.
The clinching scenarios were easy for the Commanders. A win or a tie on Sunday night put them in the playoffs. They got it.
The Rams were impacted by this because the NFC West was going to come down to a strength of victory tiebreaker between them and the Seahawks. A Commanders win or tie would have locked that tiebreaker in for the Rams. They got it.
That means even if the Seahawks beat the Rams in their Week 18 contest, the Rams would still have the tiebreaker.
As for the Falcons, the situation is now all of a sudden a lot more difficult.
Had they won Sunday’s game, they would have controlled the NFC South race and only needed a Week 18 win to clinch the division. Now, they not only need to beat the Carolina Panthers, but they also need to hope the New Orleans Saints can beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
