So what exactly do we have to do to make the playoffs?

Jags need to lose 2 - Indy, @ NE, @ Browns
Ravens need to loose 2 - Bears, @ Steelers, @ Oakland
Jets need to loose 2 - Atl, @ Indy, Cinci
Steelers need to lose 1 - Packers, Balt, @ Miami

... all with us winning out...

A lot depends if the Colts will be trying to go undefeated or not. It is over if they hand the Ws to the Jags and Jets.

 

heres what we need on a realistic point of view (meaning im not picking the browns to beat the steelers type of game )

6-7 Tennessee: wins vs MIA, wins vs SD, wins @ SEA = 9-7
7-6 Jacksonville: Loses vs IND, Loses @ NE, wins @ CLE = 8-8
7-6 Baltimore: Loses vs CHI, Loses @PIT, Wins @ OAK = 8-8
7-6 Miami: Loses @ TEN, Wins vs HOU, Wins vs PIT= 9-7
7-6 N.Y. Jets: Lose 2/3 of there remaining games ATL, @IND, CIN = 8-8
6-7 Pittsburgh: Must Lose either to Green Bay or Miami depending on what Miami's record is, but MUST beat Baltimore 8-8 or 7-9

It looks like a lot, but if you think about it. We'll be rooting for the favorite in a lot of these games, all but one or two. I think our hopes rest in the Baltimore-Chicago game if anything..As long as we win out.

A lot of you think we need some sort of miracle from god, we don't. If we handle our business, we SHOULD make it. I've been saying that since the Indy game.

Jacksonville isn't beating Indy or New England, and even the browns in cleveland aren't a gimmie the way they played the steelers.

we need baltimore to lose to chicago, but if they don't, theres still hope with the Steelers in Heinz and a tough Oakland team in a game that could go either way.

If we beat Miami there all but elminated.

NY Jets aren't that good of a team, I'm not worried about them, their schedule is difficult. I don't see them winning 1 of 3 let alone 2 of 3.

Pittsburgh just has to lose 1 of its remaining 3 games but not the Baltimore game, so Miami and Green Bay.

we have the tiebreaker over Houston I beleive, so if we win out there elminated no matter what.

 

Titans need to win out and
5 of these 6 need to happen:

1. BAL 1-2 or 0-3 (CHI, @PIT, OAK)
2. PIT 2-1, 1-2, or 0-3 (GB, BAL, @MIA)
3. JAX 1-2 or 0-3 (IND, @NE, @CLE)
4. DEN 0-3 (OAK, @PHI, KC)
5. HOU 2-1 or 1-2, or 0-3 (@STL, @MIA, NE)
6. Either (NE 3-0 OR 2-1 AND MIA 2-1 AND NYJ 2-1 OR 1-2 OR 0-3) or (NE wins the division AND NYJ 1-2 or 0-3)

For 1-5, the Titans have the worst conference record among playoff contenders so they need all of those teams to finish with a worse record than 9-7. As for 6, the Titans beat MIA in a tiebreaker assuming they beat MIA in the regular season. Also, MIA would beat NYJ in a tiebreaker so if NE wins the division, then if NYJ go 9-7, we also need to root for MIA to go 9-7 since we lose the tiebreaker to NYJ but MIA wins the tiebreaker against NYJ and we win the tiebreaker against MIA. If NYJ finish worse than 9-7 though, we don't need to worry about MIA.
Also if HOU or JAX finish 9-7, then MIA and NYJ both need to finish worse than 9-7.

 

Also, this is what we should root for this weekend:

TEN beats MIA
IND beats JAX
NE beats BUF
STL beats HOU (probably wishful thinking)
ATL beats NYJ
CHI beats BAL
OAK beats DEN
GB beats PIT

Not all of these have to happen, but it would help a lot in making the playoffs if they did.

 

Well...

It's funny that everyone's gonna be a Jay Cutler fan next week, but the Bears are down in the dumps after this weekend in which there playoff hopes were crushed. Hope they take their frustration out on the Ravens and don't mail in the rest of the season.

And frankly, us winning out (especially beating the Chargers) might be the most difficult task in getting to the playoffs. The Chargers are firing on all cylinders right now and we'll have to bring our A game which we didn't bring against the Colts. Forget mathematics...I give us a 25% chance at the playoffs but that number will move each week!

Gut

 

Indy is going to lay down the rest of the way, probably. JAX might catch a break this week if they rest Freeney, Manning, Clark and Wayne.

Our best hope is that it's still a little early to rest guys completely. Manning, Clark and Wayne may play up to the half - which could be enough to put the Jags away. Especially with Peyton's 3 INTs... he's not going to want to take a month off with that last half in the books.

PIT and BAL are wildly inconsistent. I don't know what to expect from them, but based on the way the "in the running" pack in the AFC is playing a 9-7 team will get that last spot in the playoffs. Based on remaining schedules I give the Ravens the best chance of grabbing it, followed by the Jags and then Titans. The next 2 weeks won't be easy for us, but it's still surprisingly possible to sneak in.

 

We NEED Colts to go 16-0, Chicago and Pitt to beat Ravens, and we win out. If that happens I THINK we are in regardless of anything else that happens. Please correct me if I'm wrong.

As far as the Colts packing it up til the playoffs, they wouldbe stupid to do that. Play for perfection. You can't tell me Manning doesn't want to meet Brees in a 18-0 vs 18-0 Super Bowl. Plus the NFL and network ratings for that Super Bowl would be the highest ever, and we are guaranteed an undefeated team. So I say go for it. Titans vs Saints in Super Bowl, or Colts vs Saints in Super Bowl is all I want. Hopefully the Colts won't pack it in the next few weeks which will really help our playoff chances out.

 

Pray

 

I'm really looking for our match up against San Diego. Rivers better put his head on a swivel because Finnegan is coming for him.

 

There's a lot we still need. Assuming we win out:

Teams that we need to lose 2 of their last 3:

Jags 7-6 (hold tie-breaker based on Division record). IND, @NE, @CLE. Celeveland in January might not be a cake-walk for a Florida team.

Jets 7-6 (hold head-to-head tie breaker) ATL, @IND, CIN. No way does Indy try to go 16-0, so just give up the idea now. They've always rested when they could, and have been indicating that's the plan again. So we need ATL and CIN to have something to play for.

Ravens 7-6 (hold tie-breaker based on Conference record). CHI, @PIT, @OAK.

Teams that we need to lose 1 of their last 3:

Miami 7-6 (if we beat them we hold the head-to-head tie breaker). Simple.

Steelers 6-7 (they hold head-to-head tie-breaker). GB, BAL, @MIA. One of those teams should beat them and that's all we need.


So even if IND goes 16-0 we still need Jags and Jets to lose somewhere else. But again, it's not going to happen. Saints will try for 16-0, but not the Colts. The picture gets much easier next week if Jags, Jets and Ravens lose. And I wouldn't put it past any of them.