{"id":1307,"date":"2010-12-22T14:52:25","date_gmt":"2010-12-22T18:52:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.broadstreetbelievers.com\/?p=1307"},"modified":"2010-12-22T15:02:10","modified_gmt":"2010-12-22T19:02:10","slug":"nfl-playoff-scenarios","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/broadstreetbelievers.com\/?p=1307","title":{"rendered":"NFL Playoff Scenarios"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>If you actually have a job or, well, anything else to do, you probably haven&#8217;t figured out all the different permutations for the NFL playoff scenarios.\u00a0 Well, as a BSB reader, you&#8217;re in luck because I absolutely love this stuff and spent way too much time figuring out everything that could possibly happen over the next two weeks that would affect the playoff seedings in both conferences (with some invaluable help from the awesome <a href=\"http:\/\/espn.go.com\/nfl\/playoffs\/machine\">NFL Playoff Machine <\/a>on ESPN.com).<\/p>\n<p>I have, however, made it a little easier to wrap our heads around by assuming several of the remaining games as &#8220;givens.&#8221;\u00a0 Because of the unpredictability of the NFL, I tried to be extra conservative when &#8220;locking&#8221; a team in to a victory.<\/p>\n<h1><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong>The NFC<\/strong><\/span><\/h1>\n<p>As much as I want to start in the AFC because it is <em>way <\/em>simpler, I figure, as a die-hard Eagles fan, I have to start here.\u00a0 First, here are the upcoming games that I have either decided to\u00a0deem as\u00a0&#8220;givens&#8221; because of a disparate mismatch between the two teams or don&#8217;t matter in the playoff mix\u00a0(home teams in CAPS):<\/p>\n<p><em>Week 16<\/em><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>PHILADELPHIA over Minnesota<\/li>\n<li>Dallas at ARIZONA &#8211; doesn&#8217;t matter<\/li>\n<li>Detroit at MIAMI &#8211; doesn&#8217;t matter<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><em>Week 17<\/em><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>ATLANTA over Carolina<\/li>\n<li>N.Y.Giants over WASHINGTON<\/li>\n<li>Minnesota at DETROIT &#8211; doesn&#8217;t matter<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Now, if those games go as we called for them to go, here are the scenarios for each NFC team, starting with the six NFC teams that can start thinking about the draft (or the golf course):<\/p>\n<p><em>Eliminated<\/em><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Arizona<\/li>\n<li>Carolina<\/li>\n<li>Dallas<\/li>\n<li>Detroit<\/li>\n<li>Minnesota<\/li>\n<li>Washington<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>Atlanta (12-2)<\/em><br \/>\n<\/span><\/strong>Week 16:\u00a0 vs New Orleans (?)<br \/>\nWeek 17:\u00a0 vs Carolina (W)<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Clinched 1-seed<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong><em>Chicago (10-4)<\/em><br \/>\n<\/strong><\/span>Week 16:\u00a0 vs N.Y. Jets (?)<br \/>\nWeek 17:\u00a0 at GREEN BAY (?)<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>With 2 Ws<br \/>\n<\/strong>2-seed<\/li>\n<li><strong>With 1 W &amp; 1 L<br \/>\n<\/strong>2-seed with Philadelphia L vs Dallas<br \/>\n3-seed with Philadelphia W vs Dallas<\/li>\n<li><strong>With 2 Ls<\/strong><br \/>\n3-seed<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong><em>Philadelphia (10-4)<\/em><br \/>\n<\/strong><\/span>Week 16:\u00a0 vs Minnesota (W)<br \/>\nWeek 17:\u00a0 vs Dallas (?)<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>With W vs Dallas<\/strong><br \/>\n2-seed with\u00a01+ Chicago L<br \/>\n3-seed with 2 Chicago Ws<\/li>\n<li><strong>With L vs Dallas<\/strong><br \/>\n2-seed with 2 Chicago Ls<br \/>\n3-seed with\u00a01+ Chicago W<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong><em>New Orleans (10-4)<\/em><br \/>\n<\/strong><\/span>Week 16:\u00a0 at ATLANTA (?)<br \/>\nWeek 17:\u00a0 vs Tampa Bay (?)<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>With 1+ W<\/strong><br \/>\n5-seed<\/li>\n<li><strong>With 2 Ls<br \/>\n<\/strong>5-seed with 1+ Tampa Bay\u00a0L and 1+ Green Bay L and 1+ N.Y. Giants L<br \/>\n6-seed with 1+ Tampa Bay\u00a0L and Green Bay W\u00a0vs Chicago<br \/>\nOUT with 2 Tampa Bay Ws (no matter what else happens around the league)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong><em>N.Y. Giants (9-5)<\/em><br \/>\n<\/strong><\/span>Week 16:\u00a0 at GREEN BAY (?)<br \/>\nWeek 17:\u00a0 at WASHINGTON (W)<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>With W at GREEN BAY<\/strong><br \/>\n5-seed with 2 New Orleans Ls<br \/>\n6-seed with 1+ New Orleans W<\/li>\n<li><strong>With L at GREEN BAY<br \/>\n<\/strong>6-seed with 1+ Tampa Bay L and Green Bay L vs Chicago<br \/>\n6-seed with 2 New Orleans Ls and 1+ Tampa Bay L and Green Bay L\u00a0vs Chicago<br \/>\n6-seed with 2 New Orleans Ls and 2 Tampa Bay Ws and Green Bay\u00a0W\u00a0vs Chicago<br \/>\nOUT with 1+ New Orleans W and Green Bay W\u00a0vs Chicago<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong><em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Green Bay (8-6)<\/span><\/em><\/strong><br \/>\nWeek 16:\u00a0 vs N.Y. Giants (?)<br \/>\nWeek 17:\u00a0\u00a0vs Chicago (?)<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>With 2 Ws<\/strong><br \/>\n5-seed with 2 New Orleans Ls<br \/>\n6-seed with 1+ New Orleans W<\/li>\n<li><strong>With 1+ L<\/strong><br \/>\nOUT<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong><em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Tampa Bay (8-6)<\/span><\/em><\/strong><br \/>\nWeek 16:\u00a0 vs Seattle (?)<br \/>\nWeek 17:\u00a0 at NEW ORLEANS (?)<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>With 2 Ws<\/strong><br \/>\n6-seed with 2 New Orleans Ls (including their matchup) and 1 Green Bay L<\/li>\n<li><strong>With 1+ L<\/strong><br \/>\nOUT<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong><em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">St. Louis (6-8)<\/span><\/em><\/strong><br \/>\nWeek 16:\u00a0 vs San Francisco (?)<br \/>\nWeek 17:\u00a0 at SEATTLE (?)<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>With 2 Ws<\/strong><br \/>\n4-seed<\/li>\n<li><strong>With L vs San Francisco &amp; W at SEATTLE<\/strong><br \/>\n4-seed with San Francisco L vs Arizona<br \/>\nOUT with San Francisco W vs Arizona<\/li>\n<li><strong>With L at SEATTLE<\/strong>\u00a0(regardless of Week 16 result)<br \/>\nOUT<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong><em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Seattle (6-8)<\/span><\/em><\/strong><br \/>\nWeek 16:\u00a0 at TAMPA BAY (?)<br \/>\nWeek 17:\u00a0 vs St. Louis (?)<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>With 2 Ws<\/strong><br \/>\n4-seed<\/li>\n<li><strong>With L at TAMPA BAY and W vs St. Louis<\/strong><br \/>\n4-seed with 1+ San Francisco L<br \/>\nOUT with 2 San Francisco Ws<\/li>\n<li><strong>With L vs St. Louis<\/strong> (regardless of Week 16 result)<br \/>\nOUT<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong><em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">San Francisco (5-9)<\/span><\/em><\/strong><br \/>\nWeek 16:\u00a0 at ST LOUIS (?)<br \/>\nWeek 17:\u00a0 vs Arizona (?)<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>With\u00a02 Ws<\/strong><br \/>\n4-seed with 1+ Seattle L and 1+ St. Louis L<br \/>\nOUT with 2 Seattle Ws or 2 St. Louis Ws<\/li>\n<li><strong>With 1+ L<br \/>\n<\/strong>OUT<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h1><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">The AFC<\/span><\/strong><\/h1>\n<p>Whew&#8230;Okay, if you are still with me (and I am not quite sure who is), the AFC is <em>much <\/em>simpler &#8211; mainly because there are a lot more &#8220;given&#8221; games.\u00a0 So, here are the games that we are considering &#8220;given:&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><em>Week 16<\/em><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>PITTSBURGH over Carolina<\/li>\n<li>JACKSONVILLE over Washington<\/li>\n<li>San Diego over CINCINNATI<\/li>\n<li>New England over BUFFALO<\/li>\n<li>Baltimore over CLEVELAND<\/li>\n<li>Detroit at\u00a0MIAMI &#8211; doesn&#8217;t matter<\/li>\n<li>Houston at DENVER &#8211; doesn&#8217;t matter<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><em>Week 17<\/em><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>N.Y. JETS over Buffalo<\/li>\n<li>Pittsburgh over CLEVELAND<\/li>\n<li>BALTIMORE over Cincinnati<\/li>\n<li>San Diego over DENVER<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>If you agree with all of those results, then you would eliminate eight AFC teams.<\/p>\n<p><em>Eliminated<\/em><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Buffalo<\/li>\n<li>Cincinnati<\/li>\n<li>Cleveland<\/li>\n<li>Denver<\/li>\n<li>Houston<\/li>\n<li>Miami<\/li>\n<li>Oakland<\/li>\n<li>Tennessee<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong><em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">New England (12-2)<\/span><\/em><\/strong><br \/>\nWeek 16:\u00a0 at BUFFALO (W)<br \/>\nWeek 17:\u00a0 vs Miami (?)<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Clinched 1-seed<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong><em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Pittsburgh (10-4)<\/span><\/em><\/strong><br \/>\nWeek 16:\u00a0 vs Carolina (W)<br \/>\nWeek 17:\u00a0 at CLEVELAND (W)<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Clinched 2-seed<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong><em>Baltimore (10-4)<\/em><\/strong><br \/>\n<\/span>Week 16:\u00a0 at CLEVELAND (W)<br \/>\nWeek 17:\u00a0 vs Cincinnati (W)<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Clinched 5-seed<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong><em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">N.Y. Jets (10-4)<br \/>\n<\/span><\/em><\/strong>Week 16:\u00a0 at CHICAGO (?)<br \/>\nWeek 17:\u00a0 vs Buffalo (W)<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Clinched 6-seed<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong><em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Kansas City (9-5)<\/span><\/em><\/strong><br \/>\nWeek 16:\u00a0 vs Tennessee (?)<br \/>\nWeek 17:\u00a0 vs Oakland (?)<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>With\u00a02 Ws<\/strong><br \/>\n3-seed<\/li>\n<li><strong>With 1+ L<\/strong><br \/>\nOUT<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong><em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">San Diego (8-6)<\/span><\/em><\/strong><br \/>\nWeek 16:\u00a0 at CINCINNATI (W)<br \/>\nWeek 17:\u00a0 at DENVER (W)<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>With 1+ Kansas City L<\/strong><br \/>\n3-seed<\/li>\n<li><strong>With 2 Kansas City Ws<br \/>\n<\/strong>OUT<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong><em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Indianapolis (8-6)<\/span><\/em><\/strong><br \/>\nWeek 16:\u00a0 at OAKLAND (?)<br \/>\nWeek 17:\u00a0 vs Tennessee (?)<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>With 2 Ws<\/strong><br \/>\n4-seed<\/li>\n<li><strong>With 1 W &amp; 1 L<\/strong><br \/>\n4-seed with Jacksonville L at HOUSTON<br \/>\nOUT with Jacksonville W at HOUSTON<\/li>\n<li><strong>With 2 Ls<\/strong><br \/>\nOUT<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong><em>Jacksonville (8-6)<\/em><\/strong><br \/>\n<\/span>Week 16:\u00a0 vs Washington (W)<br \/>\nWeek 17:\u00a0 at HOUSTON (?)<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>With W at HOUSTON<\/strong><br \/>\n4-seed with 1+ Indianapolis L<br \/>\nOUT with 2 Indianapolis Ws<\/li>\n<li><strong>With L at HOUSTON<\/strong><br \/>\n4-seed with 2 Indianapolis Ls<br \/>\nOUT with 1+ Indianapolis W<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>If you actually have a job or, well, anything else to do, you probably haven&#8217;t figured out all the different permutations for the NFL playoff scenarios.\u00a0 Well, as a BSB reader, you&#8217;re in luck because I absolutely love this stuff &hellip; <a href=\"http:\/\/broadstreetbelievers.com\/?p=1307\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[1136],"class_list":["post-1307","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-nfl","tag-2011-nfl-playoffs"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/broadstreetbelievers.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1307","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/broadstreetbelievers.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/broadstreetbelievers.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/broadstreetbelievers.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/broadstreetbelievers.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1307"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"http:\/\/broadstreetbelievers.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1307\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1319,"href":"http:\/\/broadstreetbelievers.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1307\/revisions\/1319"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/broadstreetbelievers.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1307"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/broadstreetbelievers.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1307"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/broadstreetbelievers.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1307"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}