With the slimmest of playoff chances (currently around 9%), we essentially need six teams to falter over the next month while we also win out. Here's the key wins that would help us out the most this weekend: Chiefs over Raiders Lions over Broncos Giants over Chargers 49ers over Bengals Bucks over Bills Ravens over Browns To give a different viewpoint, we're hoping the following teams lose at least once in the next month: Raiders Steelers Browns Colts Broncos And at least one of these teams to lose twice: Chargers Bengals Bills (technically, we'd like to see them lose 3) Our new favorite team? The Chiefs! They play the Raiders, Chargers, Steelers, Bengals and Broncos. Every time they win, the playoffs become a lot less fuzzy. The Ravens also play the Browns/Bengals so we're fans of theirs as well in AFC matchups.
Rooting for the Steelers and Raiders to lose is the easiest. The Steelers could honestly finish 0-5. Their schedule is brutal. The Raiders could too. Would would be ideal from Vegas is for them to lose the next three but then beat Indy in Week 17. The Colts are on the bye this week like we are, then they face New England. At least one of those two is going to lose. Then they head to AZ, so we can hope that they lose that one. Cleveland faces Baltimore and Green Bay over the next three, so its fair to think they could lose both of those. And Denver plays the Bengals, Chargers and Chiefs, so I think they'll probably lose at least two of those. They also play Vegas, so someone is losing that one. Denver could finish 1-4, honestly. But as you said, that's all fair and good, but it still might not be enough. We have New England, Buffalo and the Chargers all ahead of us, and they all might very well finish ahead of us too. We aren't winning any tie breakers with Buffalo, so we really have to cross our fingers and hope that the Chargers lay an egg in not one but two games and finish 9-8. It'll be interesting! Makes the end of the year more fun than it has been in a lot of years past.
The easiest path I see is the Bengals lose to the Chiefs/Ravens and the door will be wide open for us if we win out. The Raiders, Steelers, Colts, Browns and Broncos all have tough schedules, so each will pick up a L or two somewhere. We only need one L each from them though- if we tie those teams, we're in. We can tie anyone but the Bills. The hard part, the thing we're taking for granted, is the Dolphins winning 4 more. It feels like they have a legit chance after this 5-game tear, but it always comes back to us handling our business when everything is on the line. For Miami, next week is a playoff game against the Jets...then the week after in New Orleans. These are all pre-wildcard games to actually make it to the wildcard. I feel good about the Jets and Saints, feel fairly confident about the Titans, and we know NE will throw the kitchen sink at us. What I love and hate about this at the same time is that we have to earn every step from here on out...if we make it, we will 100% deserve it AND be the hottest team in football going into the playoffs. Not sure if it's possible but it will definitely be a lot of fun!
I gotta root for Cincy so we get a higher draft pick. I don’t think we’re going to make the playoffs or really do anything IF we make it, so might as well get a better player.
Excellent points. I'm certainly not taking anything for granted. Honestly, I expect us to lose at Tennessee. It will largely depend on how healthy they are and what kind of game plan Flores and Boyer can cook up. They're beaten up right now, but we don't know if that will be the case by then. I think that we have a shot, but I wouldn't be shocked if we got blasted either. And NE at the end is a toss up. But the good news is that we continue to get lucky with the schedule, as the Jets suck and we get them at home off of the bye. There is zero reason that we shouldn't win easily. If we don't, then we don't deserve to go further. And the Saints are just horribly torn apart right now. A shadow of what they were to start the year. So, while I don't think that the Fins would be able to go on this run against a lot of other teams, the ones that we've had on the schedule and the few coming up are set up about as well as things could have been, so I'll take it. And as long as there's hope, we can play the "what if Game" watching the other contenders and hoping that they fall off.
I think it depends if they can stop their running game. While Tannehill is a quarterback who can make quick decisions and is accurate, he is also prone to making mistakes. That could lead to some interceptions, which would help Miami in victory. It is probably similar in New England. That line is fantastic.
It goes without saying that whether or not Derek Henry comes back makes all the difference in the world. There's been talk this week that he could return as soon as Week 14.
I take it back. I wanted to look at the stats to back up my statement. In the last 4 games, the two games they won they had under 300 yards of offense and an enimic running game. The two games they lost, they had over 300 yards of offense with a decent running game. If Henry comes back, oof, he is scary. He is still 4th in the league in rushing.
The best counter to Tennessee's running game is scoring a few quick TD's in the 1st quarter, taking the lead, and forcing the Titans to abandon the run while we dial up the pressure. Then we let the secondary eat against Tannehill and hopefully it's a blowout. It could easily go the exact opposite way as well though, Titans grind out a few long drives, never feel obligated to pass and keep steady control the entire game. It really is a chess match since they're so dominant when they're playing their brand of football, so it's impossible to call three weeks out. No Henry would help a lot though, for sure.
