NFL Football Discussion Thread ~ Final Week of Regular Season

NFL ^

[CounterCounterCulture]

*** USELESS VANITY THREAD ***

And thus begins the official end to the season of 20 NFL teams as the 12 survivors jockey for their post-season slots this weekend.

AFC East  
  Team           W  L T 
  Miami          9  6 0 
  N.Y. Jets      8  7 0 
  New England    8  7 0  
  Buffalo        7  8 0 
 
AFC North  
  Team           W  L T 
y-Pittsburgh     9  5 1 
  Cleveland      8  7 0 
  Baltimore      7  8 0 
  Cincinnati     2 13 0  
 
AFC South  
  Team           W  L T 
y-Tennessee     10  5 0 
  Indianapolis   9  6 0 
  Jacksonville   6  9 0 
  Houston        4 11 0 
 
AFC West  
  Team           W  L T 
y-Oakland       10  5 0 
  Denver         8  7 0 
  Kansas City    8  7 0 
  San Diego      8  7 0 
 
NFC East  
  Team           W  L T 
yz-Philadelphia 12  3 0  
  N.Y. Giants    9  6 0 
  Washington     6  9 0 
  Dallas         5 10 0  
 
NFC North  
  Team           W  L T 
y-Green Bay     12  3 0
  Minnesota      5 10 0 
  Chicago        4 11 0 
  Detroit        3 12 0 
 
NFC South  
  Team           W  L T 
y-Tampa Bay     11  4 0  
  Atlanta        9  5 1 
  New Orleans    9  6 0  
  Carolina       6  9 0 
 
NFC West  
  Team           W  L T 
y-San Francisco 10  5 0 
  Seattle        6  9 0 
  St. Louis      6  9 0 
  Arizona        5 10 0  
x-clinched playoff berth
y-clinched division title
z-clinched first-round bye
*-clinched homefield advantage 

Official playoff scenarios

The following are the official playoff scenarios in each conference and division as determined by the NFL. Strength of victory is the season-ending winning percentage of all the opponents a team has defeated. Strength of victory can change after final week.

AFC EAST

Miami Dolphins: Can clinch AFC East division with win or tie.
To clinch home-field advantage: 1) Win AND Oakland loss AND Tennessee loss AND Pittsburgh loss AND Miami wins strength of victory tiebreaker over Oakland and Tennessee.
To clinch a first-round bye: 1) Win AND Pittsburgh loss or tie AND Oakland loss; 2) Win AND Pittsburgh loss or tie AND Tennessee loss; 3) Win AND Tennessee loss AND Oakland loss AND Miami wins strength of victory tiebreaker over Oakland and Tennessee.
To clinch a playoff spot: 1) N.Y. Jets loss or tie AND Denver win; 2) N.Y. Jets loss or tie AND Kansas City loss or tie.

New England Patriots: Can clinch AFC East division: 1) Win AND N.Y. Jets loss or tie.
To clinch a playoff spot: 1) Win AND Cleveland loss or tie AND Denver loss or tie AND Kansas City win; 2) Win AND Cleveland loss or tie AND Denver loss or tie AND San Diego loss or tie; 3) Tie AND N.Y. Jets loss AND Cleveland loss AND Denver loss AND San Diego loss AND Kansas City loss or tie.

New York Jets: Can clinch AFC East division: 1) Win AND Miami loss.
Can clinch playoff spot: 1) Win AND Cleveland loss or tie AND Denver win; 2) Win AND Cleveland loss or tie AND Kansas City loss or tie; 3) Tie AND New England loss or tie AND Cleveland loss AND Denver loss or tie AND Kansas City loss AND San Diego loss or tie.

AFC NORTH

Pittsburgh Steelers: Have clinched the AFC North title.
Can clinch home-field advantage: 1) Win AND Tennessee loss AND Oakland loss.
Can clinch a first-round bye: 1) Win AND Tennessee loss; 2) Win AND Oakland loss.

Cleveland Browns: Can clinch playoff spot: 1) Win AND Denver win AND N.Y. Jets win; 2) Win AND Kansas City loss or tie AND N.Y. Jets win; 3) Win AND Denver win AND Miami win or tie; 4) Win AND Kansas City loss or tie AND Miami win or tie; 5) Tie AND N.Y. Jets loss or tie AND New England loss or tie AND Denver loss or tie AND San Diego loss or tie AND Kansas City loss; 6) New England loss AND N.Y. Jets loss AND Baltimore loss or tie AND Denver loss AND San Diego loss AND Kansas City loss.

Baltimore Ravens: Can clinch playoff spot: 1) Win AND New England loss AND N.Y. Jets loss AND Cleveland loss AND Denver loss AND San Diego loss AND Kansas City loss.

AFC SOUTH

Tennessee Titans: Have clinched AFC South title.
Can clinch home-field advantage: 1) Win AND Oakland loss or tie; 2) Tie AND Oakland loss; 3) Pittsburgh loss or tie AND Miami win AND Oakland loss AND Tennessee wins on strength of victory tiebreaker over Miami and Oakland.
Can clinch a first-round bye: 1) Win or tie; 2) Miami loss AND Pittsburgh loss or tie; 3) Oakland loss AND Miami win AND Tennessee wins strength of victory tiebreaker over Oakland and Miami.

Indianapolis Colts: Can clinch playoff spot: 1) Win or tie; 2) New England loss or tie; 3) N.Y. Jets win; 4) Cleveland loss or tie AND Kansas City loss or tie; 5) Cleveland loss or tie AND Denver win.

AFC WEST

OAKLAND Raiders: Have clinched AFC West title.
Can clinch home-field advantage: 1) Win; 2) Tie AND Tennessee loss or tie; 3) Pittsburgh loss or tie AND Tennessee loss AND Miami loss; 4) Pittsburgh loss or tie AND Tennessee loss AND Oakland wins strength of victory tiebreaker over Tennessee and Miami.
Can clinch first-round bye: 1) Tie; 2) Miami loss or tie AND Pittsburgh loss or tie; 3) Miami loss or tie AND Tennessee loss; 4) Tennessee loss AND Oakland wins strength of victory tiebreaker over Tennessee and Miami.

Denver Broncos: Can clinch playoff spot: 1) Win AND Cleveland loss or tie AND New England loss or tie AND N.Y. Jets loss or tie; 2) Win AND Cleveland loss or tie AND Miami loss AND N.Y. Jets win; 3) Tie AND New England loss or tie AND N.Y. Jets loss AND Cleveland loss AND Kansas City loss or tie AND San Diego loss or tie.

Kansas City Chiefs: Can clinch playoff spot: 1) Win AND Denver loss or tie AND New England loss or tie; 2) Win AND Denver loss or tie AND Indianapolis win or tie AND N.Y. Jets loss or tie; 3) Win AND Denver loss or tie AND Indianapolis loss AND N.Y. Jets win AND Cleveland win; 4) Tie AND New England loss AND N.Y. Jets loss or tie AND Cleveland loss or tie AND Denver loss AND San Diego loss or tie.

San Diego Chargers: Can clinch playoff spot: 1) Win AND Denver loss or tie AND Kansas City loss or tie AND New England loss or tie AND N.Y. Jets loss or tie AND Cleveland loss or tie; 2) Win AND Denver loss or tie AND Kansas City loss or tie AND Miami loss AND N.Y. Jets win AND Cleveland loss or tie; 3) Tie AND Denver loss AND Kansas City loss AND New England loss AND N.Y. Jets loss AND Cleveland loss.

NFC EAST

Philadelphia Eagles: Have clinched NFC East title and a first-round bye.
Can clinch home-field advantage: 1) Win; 2) Tie AND Green Bay loss or tie; 3) Green Bay loss.

New York Giants: Can clinch playoff spot: 1) Win; 2) Tie AND New Orleans loss or tie; 3) New Orleans loss.

NFC NORTH

Green Bay Packers: Have clinched NFC North title.
Can clinch home-field advantage: 1) Win AND Philadelphia loss or tie; 2) Tie AND Philadelphia loss; Can clinch first-round bye: 1) Win or tie; 2) Tampa Bay loss or tie.

NFC SOUTH

Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Have clinched NFC South title.
Can clinch first-round bye: 1) Win AND Green Bay loss.

Atlanta Falcons: Can clinch playoff spot: 1) Win or tie; 2) N.Y. Giants loss or tie; 3) New Orlean loss or tie.

New Orleans Saints: Can clinch playoff spot: 1) Win AND N.Y. Giants loss or tie; 2) Win AND Atlanta loss; 3) Tie AND N.Y. Giants loss.

NFC WEST

49ers: Have clinched NFC West title.

Source

The following teams have been officially eliminated from playoff contention:

Arizona, Buffalo, Carolina, Chicago, Cincinnati, Dallas, Detroit, Houston, Jacksonville, Minnesota, St. Louis, Seattle and Washington

WEEK 17 SCHEDULE

(all times Eastern Standard Time)

Saturday, Dec. 28 
Philadelphia at N.Y. Giants, 1:30 pm
Kansas City at Oakland, 5:00 pm 
Sunday, Dec. 29 
Atlanta at Cleveland, 1:00 pm
Baltimore at Pittsburgh, 1:00 pm 
Carolina at New Orleans, 1:00 pm
Cincinnati at Buffalo, 1:00 pm 
Dallas at Washington, 1:00 pm
Miami at New England, 1:00 pm 
Minnesota at Detroit, 1:00 pm
Tennessee at Houston, 1:00 pm 
Jacksonville at Indianapolis, 4:05 pm
Arizona at Denver, 4:15 pm 
Green Bay at N.Y. Jets, 4:15 pm
Seattle at San Diego, 4:15 pm 
Tampa Bay at Chicago, 8:30 pm  
Monday, Dec. 30 
San Francisco at St. Louis, 9:00 pm  

POSTSEASON

Wild-Card Weekend 
Saturday, Jan. 4
AFC or NFC game, 4:30 pm on ABC
AFC or NFC game, 8:00 pm on ABC 
Sunday, Jan. 5
AFC game, 1:00 pm on CBS
NFC game, 4:30 pm on FOX 
Divisional Playoffs 
Saturday, Jan. 11
AFC game, 4:30 pm on CBS
NFC game, 8:00 pm on FOX
Sunday, Jan. 12
NFC game, 1:00 pm on FOX
AFC game, 4:30 pm on CBS 
Conference Championships 
Sunday, Jan. 19
NFC Championship Game, 3:00 pm on FOX
AFC Championship Game, 6:30 pm on CBS 
Super Bowl XXXVII 
Sunday, Jan. 26
Qualcomm Stadium, San Diego, Calif.
6:00 pm on ABC 

[buffyt]

Anyone here paying any attention to the college bowl games? We went to the HOUSTON BOWL yesterday at Houston's new RELIANT STADIUM. We watched our beloved Oklahoma State University Cowboys beat Southern Miss. U. Golden Eagles. Score was 33-23. It was exciting first quarter, then it got kinda stale as both defense teams kept the other one from scoring big. Then Tatum Bell ran for 88 yards and woke up the crowd and the team - and the OSU Cowboys raced to victory. It was a sea of orange shirts!!!!

[SamAdams76]

The New England Patriots don't deserve to be in the playoffs this year. Since their first two games, they have played simply awful all year long. I'm disgusted with them. Tom Brady is a bust. A one-year wonder.

So I am rooting for Tampa Bay this year. I remember how horrible the Tampa Bay teams were for years and years since they entered the league. That poor town deserves a title and they have a pretty good team this year.

[Let's Roll]

Go Green Bay - Favre won't be around forever and I want to watch him as often in post season as possible.

[ImaGraftedBranch]

GO GIANTS!!!

[newfreep]

So, do my beloved Cincinnati Bungals have a chance for the playoffs? </sarcasm>

[mr.pink]

I used to like Tampa, but Sapp has become such an a$$hole, that I cannot root for the Bucs anymore.

His cheap shot (meant to injure) on Tommy Maddox will hopefully draw the scrutiny of the league officials. I was happy to see the Steelers show Tampa just who the real tough guys are in this league.

AFC champs- Titans or Steelers

NFC champs - Philly

[Abcdefg]

I heard on the radio the other day that Emmitt only needs 38 yards to have 12 consecutive 1000 yard rushing seasons.
I hope he makes it, but with the Cowgirls, who knows.

[CounterCounterCulture]

Nope, but the Bungals may have destroyed the 'Aints chances of reaching the playoffs.

[Libertarian4Bush]

The Eagles are winning the superbowl. Clean out your gutters during the AFC playoffs, 'cause they don't matter.

[Archie Bunker on steroids]

Not interested..I sit here with my two fantasy running backs, Priest Holmes & Marshall Faulk sitting. Mid season unstoppable, but now nothing going into the final week.

[CounterCounterCulture]

Interesting that there's two games today in which all teams have something to play for...

And just so you know who I'm pulling for to win it all

[flair2000]

All you playoff team fans enjoy your year of glory. Next year a dynasty starts. The Redskin dynasty. Don't think that Spurrier came to DC to lose. Next year we're Super Bowl bound baby!!!

[180 degrees about]

I really like tennessee's chances this year. their defense is really coming on and Mcnair has that look of not being denied.
But i am the worst NFL junkie in the world.....i have NFL SUNDAY TICKET and a pair of TIVO machines so i feel like a pint sized version of NFL films.

[Senator Pardek]

I'm so out of it, I didn't know Giants Stadium had grass now.

[Sapper26]

If the road to the Super Bowl goes through the Frozen Tundra you gotta pick Green Bay. My only fear is IF Green Bay should win the Super Bowl, would Favre retire?

[monkey]

Don't think that Spurrier came to DC to lose.

Snyder did, though.

[HBAR223]

I prefer to call them "Mike Brown's Cincinnati Bengals" They will be losers just like him till he's gone.

[mr.pink]

I would not be surprised if they do, but if they are facing the Titans....it won't be a cakewalk.

[need_a_screen_name]

What are your predictions for the Texas/LSU game New Years day? Who will win and by how much?