Jump to content
ExtremeRavens: The Sanctuary

Ravens Can't Clinch (Yet), But Steelers Can


deeshopper

Recommended Posts

Here’s a playoff tidbit that doesn’t matter all that much in the grand scheme of things because the Ravens still have four games left to play, but it’s interesting nonetheless: The Pittsburgh Steelers, who like the Ravens are 9-3 but who trail the Ravens in the AFC North, can clinch a playoff spot Sunday. Somehow, the Ravens cannot. According to this NFL release via the Ravens, there are three scenarios in Week 14 in which the second-place Steelers can secure a playoff spot, all of which are dependent on the Steelers beating the Cleveland Browns on Thursday night. Here are the scenarios, which all hinge on the outcomes of at least four games:

  1. The Steelers win and the Cincinnati Bengals, the New York Jets and the Tennessee Titans all lose.
  2. The Steelers win and the Bengals, the Titans, the Oakland Raiders and the Denver Broncos all lose.
  3. The Steelers win and the Bengals, the Jets, the Raiders and the Broncos all lose.

If one of those scenarios played out, the Steelers, who are 7-3 in the conference, would be locked in with fewer conference losses than the AFC teams chasing them for a playoff spot. The Ravens, who are 6-2 in the conference, play their final four games against AFC teams, so theoretically they could finish with a worse AFC record than some of the five AFC teams that are 7-5 overall.

 

http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/ravens/ravens-insider/bal-ravens-insider-steelers-can-clinch-a-playoff-spot-sunday-ravens-cant-20111206,0,3332224.story?track=rss

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well...it looks like they won't clinch this week... :gorave:

 

All I know is that if the Ravens win out, then they will be the #1 seed in the AFC. #1.

 

Can anybody here remember a time when we could talk about that in December?

 

It's a tight race and 1 loss by the Ravens could be "wild card on the road"....but I love where the Ravens are with 4 games to go.

 

Ravens fans very lucky....we are not talking about next years draft or posting mock drafts like the sorry lot below...

http://espn.go.com/nfl/team/forum/_/name/cle/cleveland-browns

 

It's looking like the Ravens will be in the playoffs for their 4th straight year

Link to comment
Share on other sites

All I know is that if the Ravens win out, then they will be the #1 seed in the AFC. #1

 

Not sure I want the #1 seed, 2006 is still fresh in my mind..

 

I love being road warriors

 

They'll need the bye week to rest up and game plan. It will be huge. Playing faster in the playoffs is a huge edge.

Then it's only 2 wins and you're in the SB.

It would mean being home for an AFC Championship game vs the Steelers or Pats instead of on the road.

That looks good to me.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If we face

 

They'll need the bye week to rest up and game plan. It will be huge. Playing faster in the playoffs is a huge edge.

Then it's only 2 wins and you're in the SB.

It would mean being home for an AFC Championship game vs the Steelers or Pats instead of on the road.

That looks good to me.

 

Me too...I like our chances against those teams a lot more in Baltimore.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

All Kansas City would have needed was a journeyman quarterback and they would have taken the steelers. I think they are in for a tough tough game at San Francisco in week 15. That is the only possible loss I see for them the rest of their schedule.I think in the back of all of our minds we know there will be the obligitory game three with the crap color wearing warriors from the North. I would rather have that game in B-More.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Ravens need to win all of their games, from here on forward. And that Steelers and Pats, also 9-3 have to lose a game or two. Along with many other things in order for the Ravens to clinch #1 and homefield advantage throughout the playoffs.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Ravens need to win all of their games, from here on forward. And that Steelers and Pats, also 9-3 have to lose a game or two. Along with many other things in order for the Ravens to clinch #1 and homefield advantage throughout the playoffs.

That's not true. If we win out, the #1 seed is ours regardless of what the Pats and Steelers do.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

That's not true. If we win out, the #1 seed is ours regardless of what the Pats and Steelers do.

 

I've read the same thing. The Ravens are in the driver's seat in the AFC so long as they keep winning. We just have less games played against AFC opponents at the moment. That's why NE is the #1 seed. Last I read they were 6-2 against the AFC and we're 5-2 or something like that. That record may have changed, not sure how long ago I read that.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

To clarify as to why, if we win out, we would be the #1 seed:

 

If we win out, we win the division due to the fact that Pittsburgh lost to us twice. All the talk about conference records with them is pointless, because for the head-to-head advantage. As far as a hypothetical 3-way tie scenario with Cincy, us,and Pittsburgh if us and Pittsburgh were to lose a couple more games, we would still win regardless of what happens. The worst we can finish in the division is 4-2, which is equal to the Steelers' best possible finish and 1 game better than Cincy's best possible finish. In that case, Cincy would be eliminated at the divisional tiebreaker, and then us and Pittsburgh would revert back to the first tiebreaker, which is head-to-head, and we would win.

 

If we end tied with only Houston at 13-3, we get #1 overall seed by virtue of our head-to-head win.

 

If we end tied with only New England at 13-3, we get #1 overall seed by virtue of record against common opponents (Steelers, Colts, Chargers, Jets: Ravens 5-0, Patriots 4-1).

 

If we end tied with both at 13-3, with no head-to-head, equal conference records (10-2 across the board), and not enough common opponents, it would revert to strength of victory. The NFL won't calculate this far out who clinches strength of victory, but I've run the scenarios, and by my numbers neither team can catch us there. I may have made a mistake and haven't accounted for weird things like ties, but I'm 95% certain of that fact (and even if it is possible, it is exceedingly unlikely).

 

So yes, if we win out, we will be the #1 seed.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2011/12/13/patriots-ravens-steelers-can-clinch-playoff-spots-this-week/

Neither the Ravens nor the Steelers can clinch the AFC North this week, but both teams will clinch at least a wild card if they win this week. Both teams could also clinch a wild card even if they lose, although they’ll need some help in the form of losses by some of the other AFC contenders (including various combinations of losses from the Jets, Raiders, Titans or Broncos).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...