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Lexwhat
11-22-2005, 09:01 AM
Forked from: Can you actually go to the playoffs at 8 and 8? (http://www.billszone.com/fanzone/showpost.php?postid=1251192)

I'm not sure if anyone actually looked into the playoff scenarios. But I guess it's possible. Things could fall into place. I mean, they did last year (even though we lost to Pitt), so why not this year?


Ok so I just woke up today and my thanksgiving break has started for college, so I'm in a good mood. Let me try to put a positive spin on things. By the way, after breaking it down, it IS entirely possible, Please read ahead...I know it's a little complicated:

Now, I think that if we can TIE the Patriots after week 17 is over, IMO it is going to be VERY CLOSE...the BILLS I believe will hold the divisional tiebreaker:
1. Head-to-head (best won-lost-tied percentage in games between the clubs).
2. Best won-lost-tied percentage in games played within the division.
3. Best won-lost-tied percentage in common games.
4. Best won-lost-tied percentage in games played within the conference.
5. Strength of victory.<!--Best net points in division games.-->
6. Strength of schedule...(It will probally stop here, the Pats most likely have a harder schedule.)

Again, please read ahead...

For any of this to work, we need to beat the Patriots at the Ralph.

Unfortunatly, we have lost to the (1) NO Saints, (2) Oakland Raiders, and (3) Atlanta Falcons while the Patriots are 3-0 against those teams this year. However, the Patriots lost to the Broncos and Panthers. We play both the Broncos and Panthers at home. I believe we have a good chance at beating both those teams because our defense tends to play much better at home, and so does Willis. The Panthers are NOT a great road team (If Miami beat them, so can we), and Denver is 2-2 away from Mile High. I think with Denver being a Sunday Night Game at HOME, the Ralph should be jumpin...

What would need to happen is that the Pats would need to lose to the Chiefs, Bucs, and us. It's entirely possible. The Chiefs play well at home, and the Bucs look like a contender in the NFC with Chris Simms emerging and Cadillac re-emerging (Bucs are 3-2 on the road).

Now, we CAN lose to the Bengals and win the rest of our games. That would mean that we will be in a 9-7 tie with the Patriots and our division record and record against common opponents would be the SAME.

Which would lead us to tie-breaker scenario #4. If what I said above holds true, the BILLS would have the better record against AFC opponents.

I realize that this scenario seems a little far-fetched, but the Pats losing to the Chiefs, Bucs, and Bills is not a stretch. Nor is it a stretch to say that we can win those home games against Denver and Carolina and still lose to the Bengals.

Now people will say that we won't go anywhere even if we go to the playoffs. That's true, we'll never beat the Broncos or Bengals on the road, and we'll never beat the Colts regardless of where we play them. We'll probally not even beat the Chargers or Steelers even if we play at home.

However, if we even get to this, it would likely mean that:
1. JP is playing well. To me, if JP is playing well, I would consider it a successful season. We have our franchise QB and franchise RB and can build a team around those two.
2. JP would have the chance to play a playoff game at home. Say what you want, but it will be a great experience for him and Willis too.

Oh well, hope that someone found that helpful...

Lexwhat
11-22-2005, 09:10 AM
And then...


You know, after reading what I wrote above, I wouldn't be surprised if the wild card to this whole scenario is the NY Jets. They would primarily be playing the spoiler role and have games against both the Bills and the Patriots at home.

NY Jets home games:

<TABLE cellSpacing=1 cellPadding=2 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR class=bg2 vAlign=center align=right height=17><TD align=left>Sep 18 (http://www.nfl.com/scores/2005/week2)</TD><TD align=left>Miami (http://www.nfl.com/teams/news/MIA)</TD><TD align=left>Won 17-7 (http://www.nfl.com/gamecenter/recap/NFL_20050918_MIA@NYJ)</TD><TD align=left></TD><TD align=left></TD><TD></TD></TR><TR class=bg2 vAlign=center align=right height=17><TD align=left>Sep 25 (http://www.nfl.com/scores/2005/week3)</TD><TD align=left>Jacksonville (http://www.nfl.com/teams/news/JAC)</TD><TD align=left>Lost 20-26 (http://www.nfl.com/gamecenter/recap/NFL_20050925_JAC@NYJ)</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
<TABLE style="WIDTH: 515px; HEIGHT: 23px" cellSpacing=1 cellPadding=2 width=515 border=0><TBODY><TR class=bg2 vAlign=center align=right height=17><TD align=left>Oct 9 (http://www.nfl.com/scores/2005/week5)</TD><TD align=left>Tampa Bay (http://www.nfl.com/teams/news/TB)</TD><TD align=left>Won 14-12 (http://www.nfl.com/gamecenter/recap/NFL_20051009_TB@NYJ)</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
<TABLE cellSpacing=1 cellPadding=2 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR class=bg2 vAlign=center align=right height=17><TD align=left>Nov 6 (http://www.nfl.com/scores/2005/week9)</TD><TD align=left>San Diego (http://www.nfl.com/teams/news/SD)</TD><TD align=left>Lost 26-31 (http://www.nfl.com/gamecenter/recap/NFL_20051106_SD@NYJ)</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

Damn, now that I think about, the Bills might very well lose to the Jets in NY. Oh well...just gotta hope for the best!

OpIv37
11-22-2005, 12:50 PM
Good analysis but there's no way we beat the Broncos, even at home, and I doubt we can beat the Panthers.

I honestly don't think this team deserves to go to the playoffs. And if we do make it to the playoffs, it will take the heat off of Donahoe and there won't be any major changes in the off-season. We need major changes.

BillsFever21
11-22-2005, 07:17 PM
End the playoff examination. How can anyone actually think we have a chance in hell after this weekend?

We'll be lucky to beat anybody let alone the Broncos and Panthers. This team is pathetic.