completely disagree but i will use the caveat that we have to win one out of the next two. if we lose here we go into our bye week 2-2 one game back. for us thats a great start historically. we would have to come out and destroy green bay however not the easiest team in the world but one we can beat. i would prefer to jump right back on the horse however and beat the patriots badly. two weeks of these boards whining about losing two games in a row would be intolerable

 

Been saying this since Monday morning. That Jets loss was tremendous. We need to beat the Patriots, and then we need the Jets to choke against what looks like a manageable schedule. Vikings, Broncos, Packers, Lions, Browns, Texans, Bengals… they can win most of those games. Then, down the stretch, they have the Patriots, us, Steelers, Bears, and Bills.

Basically, they can pad their win column before playing the division again, so even if they lose to us and the Patriots in December, they still might be okay.

We need to go on a tear. The defense needs to stiffen up and the offense needs to do better in the red zone.

 

One game at a time. Each and every one is important.

 

plus it would be nice to make him cry

 

If we want the division it is pretty much a must win. Not a must win for playoff hopes, though it would certainly help them if we win.

 

The Texans have the second-worst pass defense in the league. That game will likely be a shootout and can go to either team.

The Vikings turn the ball over too often and the Jets have an excellent run defense. That game will come down to Favre, and relying on Brett Favre to win a game usually ends in disaster. Reference the 2007 and 2009 NFC Championship Games. Lastly, the Vikings have never really had a great pass defense, so their getting healthy at cornerback means little to me.

The Packers should do well against the Jets if their OL holds up. Aaron Rodgers could get the Green Bay district attorney to file attempted murder charges against his OL and he’d have a case.

 

our first half is brutal but our second half is easy. if we can go into the 9th game with a record of 5-3 we can easily get to 12 or 11 wins which means we are in the playoffs.

 

Of course it's a must win. If we lose to the Pats and the Jets beat the Bills we're two games down on them in division record PLUS the head to head loss.

Pretty big hole to have to start digging out of.

 

I think it's a must-win. Going 1-2 in the division, with those two losses coming at home, would be a killer. Especially with the rough schedule we have coming up.

 

The loser of this game will be irrelevant until December.

There is no way in hell that either team loses two division games and then arrives at December with a 9-2 record. I think the BEST case scenario for the Sunday loser would be to arrive at December with a 7-4 record. Then it's back to division play and a fight for survival.

 

Home games inside the division are ALWAYS must win.

That is why last week was a completely unacceptable loss.

 

I agree with you, but it is ironic that we won all three home divisional games last year and still finished at 7-9.

Still though, every game matters.

 

I would absolutely say it is a must win. If we lost in NY...and we lost Monday night IN Mass.....wouldnt be quite as critical.....but losing to your division rivals....at home....that puts a ton of pressure for you to just even the deck by going to there field. And the Jan 2 game is in NE. Anyone want to guess how f'n cold thats gonna be?

Yeh....its a MUST WIN.

 

Mon Oct 4 NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS 8:30 PM
Sun Oct 10 ** BYE WEEK **
Sun Oct 17 at Green Bay Packers 1:00 PM
Sun Oct 24 PITTSBURGH STEELERS 1:00 PM
Sun Oct 31 at Cincinnati Bengals 1:00 PM
Sun Nov 7 at Baltimore Ravens 1:00 PM
Sun Nov 14 TENNESSEE TITANS 1:00 PM
Thu Nov 18 CHICAGO BEARS 8:20 PM NFLN
Sun Nov 28 at Oakland Raiders 4:05 PM
Sun Dec 5 CLEVELAND BROWNS 1:00 PM
Sun Dec 12 at New York Jets 4:15 PM
Sun Dec 19 BUFFALO BILLS 1:00 PM
Sun Dec 26 DETROIT LIONS 1:00 PM
Sun Jan 2 at New England Patriots

we have 4 easy games in raiders, browns, bills and lions. a legit playoff team is 4-0 against those teams

we have winnable games against bengals, ravens, bears, patriots x2, jets, titans. a playoff team would go at least 4-3 here

we have 2 brutal games against packers and steelers. i'll be happy for a split 1-1

thats an 11-5 season and that gets us into the playoffs 90% of the time. Add one more victory and we are in 100% of the time. take away one victory and we are in 50% of the time

 

Absolutely this is in important game. But a MUST win in Week 4, for a team that's 2-1? No such thing.

 

if we cant beat the raiders then we arent making the playoffs regardless. playoff teams dont lose to that caliber of team and the bears are not the toughest opponent we have. they got off to a fast start and cutler will improve as the season progresses but we can handle them

 

Must win implies that if we're 2-2 after 4 games, we're done. That's not even close to true IMO.

My seldom reliable crystal ball tells me that the division will come down to the Jets and us. NE will wilt in November-December due to schedule, lack of defense, and lack of running game. If anything, we have to avoid getting swept by the Jets, that would freeze us out of any tiebreaker. And with the number of good teams in the AFC, 9 or even 10 wins doesn't guarantee anyone a playoff birth. In 2008 the Pats were 11-5 and still didn't get in. Winning the division is the only sure way, but I don't see the Pats as a problem, neither down the stretch, nor this week.

 

Its absolutely a must win.

 

Good point, but you're wrong. 2009, The Bengals swept the Ravens and Steelers, won the division, but lost to the Raiders. Good teams lose "trap" games all the time, especially on the road.

 

Of course. We'll likely lose a game to a team we are better than. Chances are the Jets and Pats will as well.

 

I agree with you, losing this game means we'll probably have to go on the road and beat them later in the year. But that doesnt make it a must win. The only teams who "must" win in Week 4 are the ones who are 0-3. Split my @ss, what allowed us to win the division was Bernard Pollard destroying Tom Brady's knee :lol:.

 

obviosuly you can lose to any team on any sunday. we could lose to the lions also. but if you're looking at the schedule you have to circle these as wins. if we beat the steelers we can lose to the browns but looking at our schedule i dont think we're going to be sitting atop the afc east with room to spare. oakland will be a must win when we play them and p[layoff teams win those types of games against inferior opponents when they have to.

 

at that point in the saeason every game will be a must win if we're going to control our destiny and not backdoor our way into the playoffs the way the jets did. you're correct that no single game is a must win until it becomes mathematically so but this really is one we should win

 

I don't circle any game as a win or a a loss with this team. We seem to play to the level of the competition. Our offense plays better at home, our defense plays better on the road, the entire team plays better as underdogs than as favorites. I could see us beating the Ravens but losing to the Raiders, or beating the Packers and losing to the Lions. I'd be fine either way. The only game I have circled as a semi-must win is the Jets game. Can't afford to get swept, it'll kill us in the tie break.

 

Absolute must win if we want to compete for the division title.

 

I agree. We should handle them fairly easily, and I think we will. Their secondary is an abomination, Marshall should have even more space than he did last week. Their front 7 is weak, Wilfork has big contract disease. Their pass rush is non-existent. So is their run game. It's our game to lose.

 

yeah i agree overall but like i said we should win. whether we do is always open. I also agree that we have beat the jets to even up the series and its also why i'm not too concerned this week one way or the other. i would rather beat the pats and make them have to beat us the second time around rather than the reverse but divisional games dont produce must wins until the rematches

 

yup. other than asamougha that team isnt firing on all cylinders. if we lose that one it will be an upset.

 

Heading into the bye week at 3-1, (2-1) division is a heck of a lot better than 2-2, (1-2) division, with both division loses at home.

:wink2:

Must win??

 

god i can already see how this place will have a meltdown if we lose. :lol: