American Football: NFL - Week 17 and playoff implications

Well, here we are already. Going into the final weekend of the NFL's regular season, where has time gone? Alot of this weekend's games have playoff implications and should be very interesting to say the least. We all remember the Vikings getting knocked from last year's playoffs with a hail-mary last second TD by the Cardinals in the final weekend last year. :smug:

Here are the playoff scenarios by division.....

AFC East

New England, No. 2 seed, has clinched the AFC East division title and a first-round bye.

N.Y. Jets can clinch an AFC playoff berth with:

EITHER a win or tie
OR:
EITHER a Buffalo loss or tie
OR a Denver loss or tie

Buffalo can clinch an AFC playoff berth with:

EITHER a win and:
EITHER a N.Y. Jets loss
OR a Denver loss or tie
OR a tie and a Denver loss


AFC North

Pittsburgh, No. 1 seed, has clinched The AFC North division title, a first-round bye and home-field advantage.

Baltimore can clinch an AFC playoff berth with:

A win and a Buffalo loss and a Denver loss and a Jacksonville loss or tie


AFC South

Indianapolis, No. 3 seed, has clinched the AFC South division title.

Jacksonville can clinch an AFC playoff berth with:

A win and a Buffalo loss and a Denver loss


AFC West

San Diego, No. 4 seed, has clinched the AFC West division title.

Denver can clinch an AFC playoff berth with:

EITHER a win
OR a tie and a Buffalo loss or tie
OR a Buffalo loss and a Baltimore loss or tie and a Jacksonville loss or tie


NFC East

Philadelphia, No. 1 seed, has clinched the NFC East division title, a first-round bye and home-field advantage.


NFC North

Green Bay, No. 3 seed, has clinched the NFC North division title.

Minnesota can clinch an NFC playoff berth with:

EITHER a win or tie
OR a St. Louis loss or tie
OR a Carolina loss or tie


NFC South

Atlanta, No. 2 seed, has clinched the NFC South division title and a first-round bye.

Carolina can clinch an NFC playoff berth with:

EITHER a win and:
EITHER a Minnesota loss
OR a Seattle win or tie
OR a St. Louis loss or tie
OR a tie and a St. Louis loss or tie

New Orleans can clinch an NFC playoff berth with:

A win and:
EITHER a St. Louis loss or tie
OR a Seattle win or tie and a Minnesota win or tie


NFC West

Seattle has clinched a playoff berth.

Can clinch the NFC West division title with:

EITHER a win or tie
OR a St. Louis loss or tie

St. Louis the NFC West division title with:

A win and a Seattle loss

Can clinch a playoff berth with:
A win and:
EITHER a Minnesota loss
OR the New Orleans at Carolina game ends in a tie





Eliminated from playoff contention and week eliminated:

AFC: Cincinnati (Wk 15), Cleveland (Wk 13), Houston (Wk 16), Kansas City (Wk 16), Miami (Wk 13), Oakland (Wk 14), Tennessee (Wk 14)

NFC: Arizona (Wk 16), Chicago (Wk 16), Dallas (Wk 16), Detroit (Wk 16), N.Y. Giants (Wk 16), San Francisco (Wk 13), Tampa Bay (Wk 16), Washington (Wk 16)

Reference

NFL Tiebreaking procedures

Looking at the games for the weekend the way the Bills are playing i fancy them to win. Also i like the Panthers to defy the odds and make it through...

Still so many possibilities. I hope the Vikings find their way in this year.

Ming would like to see N.O. make it in. Their offensive can be explosive and they can be incredibly exciting to watch. Unfortunately, they are incredibly inconsistent. Ming thinks Jim Hazlett is good guy.

I am amazed that the Aints even have a chance at making the post-season. I watched a few of their games this season and they are very inconsistent as Ming mentioned. I like Haslett too but this team is very sloppy and from the games I watched, they have to lead the league in penalties. I've never seen so many false starts in all the years I've watched football. I should look it up but I'll bet Wayne Gandy came close to the record for false starts. Maybe the Saints will get their #e together, sneak in the playoffs, and make some noise. You never know.

I wonder when the last time that all of the games for the week were on a Sunday was?

With so much on the line, there are sure to be some great games tomorrow. I think the Saints-Panthers game and the Rams-Jets game are the two games that will have the most impact on the playoff scenario. I dont think the Rams deserve to go to the postseason if no other reason than their bonehead coach Mike Martz.

there are several teams that don't deserve playoff games this year, i suggest that the underachieving seahawks are another, if the nfc wasn't so weak this year they would be unpacking their golf clubs, and management would be plotting their draft strategy

PA is correct, the Saints have ben very sloppy. They do not look like a playoff team. Fot that matter, with some of the games Ming has observed with Carolina (until very recently), Seattle and St. Louis, they do not seem to be playoff caliber teams either. Such is the weakness of the NFC this year.

On the otrher hand, most of the teams in the running in the AFC seem like legitimate pretenders, e.g., Ravens, Bills, Jets, and worthy of a first round shot.

Ditto vis a vis Mike Martz - Ming does not know how he is with the players, or with coaching or any of the other behind the scenes action - but his decision making during games seems to be plain out flawed. That new RB (name?) the Rams have looks awesome.

[Edited on 1/1/05 by MingMercil]

Ming do you mean Steven Jackson?

When he has been at RB for the Rams they have looked a better side.

Originally posted by TRD
Steven Jackson?

When he has been at RB for the Rams they have looked a better side.

Yeah, when Mike Martz doesn't forget to play him. Moron Martz.

Aieeeee! PA, you are correct again.

Why doesn't this guy (Jackson) get more carries? Maybe we will all be pleasantly surpised this weekend. Considering Martz's track record, however, Ming doesn't think so.

Well i guess he is the rookie, but he has shown on numerous occasions he is well capable. Jackson recently had a MRI scan on his leg but although he is carrying a slight knock, Martz reckons he is going to play. They sure need him as in the last 4 games Faulk has played, he has been absolute toilet!

Speaking of Martz and the Rams, Ming notices that an illness exists on these Martzian Rams. Has anyone else noticed how much almost all Ram players seek to avoid contact?

Ram receivers routinely fall to the ground immediately upon making a catch or head to the sidelines in order to avoid taking a hit and picking up a few extra, sometimes critical, yards.

This is endemic to this team and Ming belives that it must be at Martz's direction and in his style. It's pretty bad.

All those who have noticed this, please raise their hands so that Ming can count them. Sorry, guys, but that is an Order.

Looks like the Bills didn't have enough to beat Tommy Maddox and the Steelers. They made a heck of a run after starting out 0-4 and 1-5 but just fell short. Sad thing is, if they played in the NFC they would have had a playoff spot secured last week.

In Buffalo, they should be used to this by now come January.

Looks like the NFC is set - Philly, Atlanta, GB, Seattle, Minnesota, and StLouis.

The AFC so far is Pitt, NE, Indy, San Diego, and the NY Jets. If Denver beats Indy (winning 17-14 with 2 minutes to go in first half) then they get the final spot. If Denver loses and Jacksonville wins (losing 6-3 to Oakland at the half), then the Jags are in. If Denver AND Jacksonville loses, then the Baltimore Ravens get the final spot.

Denver beats Indy to cement the final playoff spot. Now they rematch next weekend in Indy in the first round of the playoffs.

AFC

Denver @ Indianapolis

NY Jets @ San Diego

Byes - New England, Pittsburgh


NFC

Minnesota @ Green Bay

St Louis @ Seattle

Byes - Philly, Atlanta

:party-smiley-018:

Some good games for wild-card weekend. The Packers beat the Vikings 34-31 twice in the regular season, it's tough to beat a division rival 3 times in one season but then again it's tough to win at Lambeau in January and Minnesota isn't known to be a good road team or a good outside team for that matter. But that's why they play the games.

wild card weekend is one of my favorite weekends of the year, all footabll all the time, some of the best games of the playoffs could be next week

Looks like there is some tough games there. PA you should get a playoff thread underway...

Some great matchups are set. Now, who's gonna be left standing for the super bowl?