A sports blog by and for Midwest Sports Fans
I just broke down the playoff scenarios for the NFC (including my predictions for what the first round matchups will look like).
Now let’s break down the playoff scenarios for the AFC based on what happens in Week 17. There is still a lot to be decided.
Running back ARIAN FOSTER of the Houston Texans, defensive end ROBERT MATHIS of the Indianapolis Colts and kicker MIKE NUGENT of the Cincinnati Bengals are the AFC Offensive, Defensive and Special Teams Players of the Month for September, the NFL announced today.
Wide receiver ANDRE JOHNSON of the Houston Texans, linebacker JAMES HARRISON of the Pittsburgh Steelers and kicker MIKE NUGENT of the Cincinnati Bengals are the AFC Offensive, Defensive and Special Teams Players of the Week for games played the second week of the 2010 season (September 19-20), the NFL announced today.
Labor Day has come and gone. Summer is literally over and the young minds are back in the classroom, which means fall is upon us and another football season is about to begin.
Are you excited? Ready to cheer on your favorite team? Have your war paint or favorite jersey in front of you?
Well, enough with the questions, it is officially time for Noontime Sports to serve up our divisional winners and Super Bowl predictions.
In this particular blog post, we have provided our AFC breakdown and playoff predictions.
It’s only Week 3 and the NFL already has provided plenty of great moments and stories.
You have the Jets emerging as a threat with rookie QB Mark Sanchez and the Ravens rolling right along with 2nd year QB Joe Flacco, but you also have the duds and the disappointments.
Lets have a look at all 32 AFC teams.
Wild Card weekend is now over. Follow the link for the Divisional Round Playoff Matchups, Announcer Pairings, and Point Spreads.
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The Week 17 action is in the books, and so is the 2008 regular season for the NFL. As always, it was exciting and filled with twists and turns, and now we are left with 12 playoff teams to battle it out in the NFL playoffs for a chance to win the Super Bowl.
Quickly, here is a look at the playoff seedings:
AFC Playoff Teams by Seed: 1 – Tennessee Titans (13-3) 2 – Pittsburgh Steelers (12-4) 3 – Miami Dolphins (11-5) 4 – San Diego Chargers (8-8) 5 – Indianapolis Colts (12-4) 6 – Baltimore Ravens (11-5) NFC Playoff Teams by Seed: 1 – New York Giants (12-4) 2 – Carolina Panthers (12-4) 3 – Minnesota Vikings (10-6) 4 – Arizona Cardinals (9-7) 5 – Atlanta Falcons (11-5) 6 – Philadelphia Eagles (9-6-1) AFC Playoff Matchups and Schedule (all specific dates and times to be announced) Wild Card Round, January 3rd and 4th:
#6 Baltimore Ravens at #3 Miami Dolphins
#5 Indianapolis Colts at #4 Denver Broncos/San Diego Chargers
Divisional Round, January 10th and 11th:
(both games will be televised on CBS)
Lowest seed remaining at #1 Tennessee Titans
Highest seed remaining at #2 Pittsburgh Steelers
NFC Playoff Matchups and Schedule
(all specific dates and times to be announced)
Wild Card Round, January 3rd and 4th:
#6 Philadelphia Eagles at #3 Minnesota Vikings
#5 Atlanta Falcons at #4 Arizona Cardinals
Divisional Round, January 10th and 11th:
(both games will be televised on FOX)
Lowest seed remaining at #1 New York Giants
Highest seed remaining at #2 Carolina Panthers
The AFC and NFC Championship Games are on January 18th, and the Super Bowl is on February 1st.
This post is for 2008!!!
Follow the link to see the 2009 NFL playoff picture and Week 17 scenarios for the AFC and NFC.
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There is one week of football left to be played in the 2008 NFL regular season. Let’s take a quick peek at the AFC playoff picture, along with a look at the potential scenarios that could play out in Week 17.
(Update: If you’re interested, I just posted the NFC Playoff Picture and Scenarios.)
First, here is the current AFC playoff picture, if the season ended today:
The first round byes would go to the Tennessee Titans and Pittsburgh Steelers, who are locked into the #1 and #2 seeds, regardless of what happens in Week 17.
The Miami Dolphins (10-5) would be the #3 seed and host a first round playoff matchup against the #6 seed Baltimore Ravens (10-5). Interestingly, Baltimore is the only team that the Dolphins beat last year during their 1-15 campaign.
The Denver Broncos (8-7) would be the #3 seed and host a first round playoff game against the #5 seed Indianapolis Colts (11-4), who have already clinched a playoff spot.
Amazingly, the two worse teams, the Dolphins and Broncos, would be hosting playoff games by virtue of winning their divisions.
Okay, so that’s the picture as of right now. However, the New England Patriots (10-5), the New York Jets (9-6), and the San Diego Chargers (7-8) are still alive. Remember, only the Titans, Steelers, and Colts have clinched playoff spots.
The San Diego Chargers play the Denver Broncos on Sunday Night Football in Week 17 in San Diego. If the Chargers win, they capture the AFC West crown and the #4 seed. If the Broncos win, they capture the AFC West crown and the #4 seed. Easy enough, right?
In the AFC East, the Miami Dolphins and New York Jets square off in Week 17, while the New England Patriots take on the Buffalo Bills. If the Dolphins beat the Jets, they win the AFC East and are in the playoffs. If the Jets beat the Dolphins, and the Patriots lose to the Bills, the Jets capture the AFC East and are in the playoffs. If the Jets beat the Dolphins and the Patriots beat the Bills, the Patriots win the AFC East and are in the playoffs.
If the Baltimore Ravens beat the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 17, they clinch a wild card berth regardless of what else happens. If the Baltimore Ravens lost in the Week 17, they would still make the playoffs (for certain) with a Dolphins win over the Jets and a Patriots loss to the Bills. Beyond that, all kinds of tie-breaker stuff gets involved for who gets the final AFC wild card spot.
Here are the potential scenarios and, to the best of my knowledge, the outcomes:
AFC Playoff Scenario #1:
If the Jets beat the Dolphins, the Patriots beat the Bills, and Baltimore loses to Jacksonville, all four team are 10-6. The Patriots would win the AFC East and be in. The Jets and Dolphins would be determined by the first division tie-breaker, head-to-head, and the Jets would win out because they beat the Dolphins twice. Between the Jets and Ravens in this scenario, the Jets would advance because the second tie-breaker to determine the wild card between non-division opponents in conference record. The Jets would be 8-4, while Baltimore would be 7-5.
For the record, here is a breakdown of the NFL tiebreaker rules.
AFC Playoff Scenario #2:
(edited from my original post, in which I had this wrong.)
If the Dolphins beat the Jets, the Patriots beat the Bills, and Baltimore loses to Jacksonville, then the Dolphins win the AFC East and the Patriots are 11-5, while Baltimore is 10-6. So the Patriots would win the wild cared.
AFC Playoff Scenario #3:
If the Jets beat the Dolphins, the Patriots lose to the Bills, and Baltimore loses to Jacksonville, then the Jets are AFC East champs and the Dolphins, Patriots, and Ravens are all 10-6. Miami and New England would match up in the division tie-breaker and it would go all the way to third tie-breaker of W/L record in common games. Whoever won that tie-breaker would then face off against Baltimore in the non-division-opponent tie-breaker rules. Miami and Baltimore would tie in conference record, so it would move onto winning % against common opponents. Baltimore would beat New England in terms of conference record.
My goodness, what a headache. Glad I edited this, and thank you to Epic Fall Guy in the comments below for pointing out that I had erred in my first attempt. I do not guarantee any of these analyses…but I think what I’ve said above is how it will go.
And again, Baltimore can make all of this very easy simply by beating a terrible Jacksonville team. Of course, this is the NFL, so does anyone really expect that to happen?
After the Bears-Packers game on Monday night, I’ll break down the NFC playoff picture and the scenarios for Week 17.
Okay, I’m fed up.
After watching the Colts win their fourth game in a row and six of their last eight, I have had to suffer through yet another day of people telling me about how another team let the Colts off the hook. And while I agree that last night’s game could have gone the other way for a few different reasons, I feel that the Colts are simply being disrespected and overlooked and I can’t seem to figure out why.
I listen to excuse after excuse for why other teams have lost to the Colts. What about how the Colts have won games with superior effort and sheer will on both sides of the ball? Is it because they started the season a little differently than they have over the last few years? Is that why 7-4 looks so bad? Yeah, 9-0 three years in a row sets a pretty high bar. Maybe that’s it. Maybe the expectations are too high. Maybe the Colts have already peaked. Are you kidding? They’re more consistent than JoePa’s bedtime. More efficient than Al Gore’s hybrid bicycle. But credit, no way, not for the blue and white.
So, why?
This has been the most upside-down, prediction-failing, franchise-changing season in recent memory, and I want to say that if someone claims to have seen this coming, I’d like some of whatever they were smokin’. There are more questions than answers in this year’s NFL. The Falcons are competitive? The Titans are 10-1? The Jets, uh-hmm, let me clear my throat here, are looking like a force to be reckoned with in the AFC?
Can I catch my breath?
I understand some of it, sure. But the Colts, the only team other than the Pats who are consistently a team to beat in the AFC, are looking the role again. So why the disrespect? Let me give you a few reasons, not
excuses, on why the Colts are still my favorite to represent the AFC in February.
Loading ...After starting the season on a surgically-repaired knee (that he never made any excuses for), Peyton Manning has returned to form. I know there are others that will garner more attention for the MVP award this season, but no one does more for a team than Big P (Well, maybe Drew Brees). He does have a great receiving corps, so they would be fine with anybody under center, right? Ever watch the Colts offense with Jim Sorgi? Hell no, not even close. And with the league’s worst rushing attack (78.9 yards per game) and a defense that is injury-depleted, the Colts still sit at 7-4. Why? Hmmm…
When Chuck Norris goes to sleep at night, he checks his closet for Bob Sanders. I’ve seen interviews with his parents, but I still swear he was built in some kind of laboratory. Bob is one of the baddest dudes in the league, but he doesn’t scare offenses from the sidelines. Last year he proved his worth by getting a much deserved Defensive Player of the Year, and this year we see why. Don’t get me wrong, the Colts defensive efforts have been great: they don’t give up, they play their collective ass’s off, and they can still get it done when they have to. But the can-o-spinach with dreadlocks has not yet made his presence felt.
Two years ago the Colts could not win a Super Bowl, would not win a Super Bowl, because they couldn’t stop the run, because they were too small up front, because they were too inexperienced in the secondary. Well, guess what? Sanders 
comes back to play at the end of the season and the Colts defense goes from ghastly to nasty. Larry Johnson will run all over them. Nope, didn’t happen. The Patriots offense will destroy them. Nah, not this time. So when it comes down to it and #21 is in the lineup, the Colts D can stop anybody.
If there is a more calm and collected guy in the NFL, please tell me. This guy wouldn’t sweat in the Sahara. So when the Colts started the season not looking like they typically do, do you think he was worried? Doubt it. I’m not going to talk about how much of a class-act he is, or about the barriers he has broken down for African American coaches, those things get plenty of press. Instead, I give you simply facts: The Colts under Dungy have produced six playoff appearances, five AFC South Titles (in a row), two AFC Championship games, and, oh yeah, a Super Bowl title. They are also the only team in NFL history to win at least 12 games in five consecutive seasons. Lucky? Nah, Dungy.
I know that not everyone believes in the Colts right now, but this year has been exactly what I have been hoping for: a chance for the Colts to show the world that they are not the same underachieving team as years past, but a group of over-achievers that are ready to take on all comers, no matter what the stakes or circumstances. This is just our year, I can feel it, and I’m only giving the heads up now because I don’t want anyone spitting Pabst Blue Ribbon on their Zubaz come February.
You want to talk about how other teams have not when they should have? Well, I want to talk about how the Colts have when they should not have.
[tags]indianapolis colts, peyton manning, tony dungy, bob sanders, nfl[/tags]
