WOW, that was an amazing weekend of football. All around the league, strange things are happening. In our neck of the woods, with two weeks remaining in the regular season, the Bills are still looking for a ticket to the playoffs. Despite the Jags' win, I think Buffalo's chances improved this week, with Miami's win over NE.
Here's what needs to happen for the Bills to get into postseason play:
The given
Bills win their next two games, vs. SF (no-brainer) and PIT (see below).
The likely
Pittsburgh beats the Ravens (very likely) and loses to Buffalo (see below).
Denver loses one game (they play TEN, then Indy). This will be interesting. The Titans have been unpredictable recently, and so has Denver. Indy may be fighting for a bye or #3 seed in week 17, or they may rest their players. But the short of it is that the Broncos seem to be self-destructing.
What to hope for We only need one of the two!
[I]The Jets lose their last two games.[/I] One loss is likely -- vs NE -- but week 17 vs. the Rams . . . not so much. To me, this is the back door in; the unlikely miracle, should the Jags let us down.
--OR--
The Jaguars lose one game. They already upset the Packers, but they still have to face Houston and Oakland, two teams playing for pride if not the playoffs, and doing it well. IMO, this event is the single most important possibility, because it's not for certain, but not out of the question. And it's a lot more likely than the Jets losing out. The way I see it, if the Jags lose, the Bills are very likely to make the playoffs.
The best news of the week is the Miami-New England upset. This puts the Steelers a game ahead of the Pats, so if/when PIT beats Baltimore, they'll be able to rest their starters for part or all of the Bills game week 17. Yes, I'd like to see the team go into the playoffs having beaten the best team in the AFC, but I'd much rather see them take care of business in the playoffs. With all the letdowns early on, I think we're due a freebie.
Here's what needs to happen for the Bills to get into postseason play:
The given
Bills win their next two games, vs. SF (no-brainer) and PIT (see below).
The likely
Pittsburgh beats the Ravens (very likely) and loses to Buffalo (see below).
Denver loses one game (they play TEN, then Indy). This will be interesting. The Titans have been unpredictable recently, and so has Denver. Indy may be fighting for a bye or #3 seed in week 17, or they may rest their players. But the short of it is that the Broncos seem to be self-destructing.
What to hope for We only need one of the two!
[I]The Jets lose their last two games.[/I] One loss is likely -- vs NE -- but week 17 vs. the Rams . . . not so much. To me, this is the back door in; the unlikely miracle, should the Jags let us down.
--OR--
The Jaguars lose one game. They already upset the Packers, but they still have to face Houston and Oakland, two teams playing for pride if not the playoffs, and doing it well. IMO, this event is the single most important possibility, because it's not for certain, but not out of the question. And it's a lot more likely than the Jets losing out. The way I see it, if the Jags lose, the Bills are very likely to make the playoffs.
The best news of the week is the Miami-New England upset. This puts the Steelers a game ahead of the Pats, so if/when PIT beats Baltimore, they'll be able to rest their starters for part or all of the Bills game week 17. Yes, I'd like to see the team go into the playoffs having beaten the best team in the AFC, but I'd much rather see them take care of business in the playoffs. With all the letdowns early on, I think we're due a freebie.
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