Crowded Field

[bmw800]

Looking at the standings, its going to be a crazy run down to the wire for the wild card spots this year.

 

(Hold on to your hats, I'm going stream-of-consciousness here for a second)

 

The 4 division winners are pretty much locked up, barring a collapse. The Colts have clinched, the Bengals are essentially 3 games up in the division due to tiebreakers, the Chargers are on a roll while Denver is fading a bit (NY really isn't that good this year, I'm not impressed) and New England has a stranglehold on that weak divison.

 

After that though, damn its muddled:

 

Denver is on its own at 7-4. However, they already are down the head-to-head tiebreaker against both us and the Steelers.

 

The Ravens, Steelers, and Jaguars are all at 6-5. That week 16 matchup in Pittsburgh is going to be HUGE, as are both teams' matchups with the Packers (us next week, Pitt in Week 15). The Jags have a -53 point differential on the season and have Miami, Indy, Houston, and NE on their schedule still. I doubt they are a factor by the end.

 

And then, sitting at 5-6, are the Texans, Dolphins, Jets, and Titans(!!!). Of these, I think the most dangerous team is the Titans. I am fervently glad they did not bench Collins sooner, otherwise we could be in real trouble. They still have Indy, Miami, and San Diego on their schedule, but I would not surprised at this point to see them run the table. The Dolphin's schedule is brutal, with New England, Houston, Jacksonville, Tennessee, and Pittsburgh left (how about those for some big matchups?) The Jets close with Atlanta, Indy, and Cincy, hopefully before they decide to rest their starters. Houston plays Jacksonville, Miami and New England.

 

The last few weeks here in the AFC are going to be filled with meaningful games against playoff-aspiring teams (I'm throwing NE in here, since if they lose they'll be 7-4 and have lots of games against the other hopefuls left):

 

Week 13:

New England @ Miami

Houston @ Jacksonville

 

Week 14:

Miami @ Jacksonville

 

Week 15:

Miami @ Tennessee

 

Week 16:

Houston @ Miami

Jacksonville @ New England

Baltimore @ Pittsburgh

 

Week 17:

New England @ Houston

Pittsburgh @ Miami

 

And that doesn't even include all of the games against the elite teams in the AFC and NFC. This is going to be a dogfight.

 

As for the Ravens: the goal has got to be to get to 10-6 (or 11-5, which is obviously what the team is gonna shoot for, but for us 10-6). That means beating Chicago, Detroit, Oakland, and either Pitt or Green Bay. We do that, I think we make it in, especially if we beat Pittsburgh. Houston, Tennessee, NY, and Miami will all lose at least once I think, meaning its between Denver, Jacksonville, Pittsburgh, and us for 2 spots. I think Jacksonville loses twice, so they would go out. That knocks it down to 3. And anything can happen with tiebreakers at that point, but with us and Pitt having beaten Denver, we'd be in good shape.

 

Thanks for sticking with that excessively long post.

[vmax]

Thanks for the update bmw.

 

Just what I'm looking for as a Ravens fan: meaningfull games in December.