Playoff standings

[Bolt-O]

If the Pats go to 10-6, they probably would be out of the playoffs, as they would have two losses against Miami, who can only get to 10-6 at the most. DEN, IND, and NE can claim the #4 seed with just a win or tie, but all are playing teams with a chance to still win the division.

Last season, at this point, the Chargers had a calculated chance under 5% of making the playoffs. I wonder if they'll change the rules on tie-breaks if the Chargers get the #1 overall over the Pats at 11-5.

[richpjr]

The Pats play Miami and Buffalo at home and the Jets on the road. They are not losing out. I expect them to win out.

[Stinky Wizzleteats+]

All division games that will be tougher than you think save the Jets...

[richpjr]

All division games that will be tougher than you think save the Jets...

Division games are always tough, but the Dolphins are fading and the Pats get both them and Buffalo at home. NY is horrible.

[Panama]

The only way the Raiders beat the Broncos is if Denver is resting Manning that week.

Or if we injure him.

Or if Manning continues to play as he has in recent weeks, the Raiders D plays inspired for 4 quarters instead of 2-3, and the OL allows Carr to feel comfortable in the pocket.

Yes, the Raiders suck, but the gap between worst and first is not as large as it sometimes is, and all sorts of weird shit can happen in divisional games.

[Panama]

The Pats can drop to 10-6 if they lose out as can the Broncos. The Colts can fall to 10-6 with two losses. BAL and PIT get there with just one more loss. CIN can beat DEN and lose one more game to drop to 10-5-1, which our hypothetical 11-5 would beat. So it is possible albeit very unlikely (Broncos would have to dump at home to the Raiders in addition to losing to us and at CIN) that we could finish as the #1 seed.

Well, no shit, Sherlock! You clearly didn't follow the link. According to the playoff machine, if the Chargers, Patriots, and Ravens all finish top of the conference at 11-5, the Chargers finish with the top seed. This is why I mentioned the head-to-head tie-breaker. Tie-breakers don't come into play if there aren't teams tied with the same record.

[Panama]

The Pats play Miami and Buffalo at home and the Jets on the road. They are not losing out. I expect them to win out.

I think they'll go 2-1 over that stretch. Their offense is not playing well right now, and the last 3 teams, especially Miami, have decent defenses.

[Boltx]

I think they'll go 2-1 over that stretch. Their offense is not playing well right now, and the last 3 teams, especially Miami, have decent defenses.

I think the Pats winning out (at least beating Miami) would help our wildcard chances though. We have the tiebreaker on Buffalo, at least, but they are fading anyways.