Archive for the ‘NFL playoffs’ Category

Rematches galore in first round action

The final weekend of the season is now complete and New York has advanced into the wild card round of the playoffs next week. That finalizes the AFC playoff picture, pushing the Jets and the Ravens into the bottom two seeds and sets the stage for several interesting contests in the first round.

The NFC side of things was finished earlier in the day when Dallas demolished the Eagles to win the NFC East, making Minnesota the #2 overall seed and dropping Philadelphia to the #6 spot.

With all of that in mind, here’s how the playoffs are set in both conferences. We’ll have plenty of analysis on each game throughout the week, so be sure to drop back in for that.

Wild Card round – Saturday January 9th

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Strength of Schedule – Week 16

With the regular season coming to a close next week, I wanted to take a look at how the strength of schedule for this season breaks down, especially with several teams vying for playoff positioning and several others in line for top five draft picks.

The percentages are calculated by adding up the total wins and losses for each team’s opponents through week 16 of this season. I will update this list next week following all of the week 17 contests, and then use it to finalize the main portion of the draft order for 2010. The order will be finalized prior to the Super Bowl in February.

Rank Team Win Loss Tie Pct.
1 Tampa Bay 126 99 0 .560
2 Tennessee 126 99 0 .560
3 Miami 125 100 0 .555
4 Denver 124 101 0 .551
5 Baltimore 120 105 0 .533
6 Atlanta 119 106 0 .528
7 Carolina 119 106 0 .528
8 New York Giants 119 106 0 .528
9 St. Louis 119 106 0 .528
10 Detroit 118 107 0 .524
11 Kansas City 117 108 0 .520
12 Oakland 117 108 0 .520
13 Chicago 116 109 0 .515
14 San Francisco 115 110 0 .511
15 New England 115 110 0 .511
16 Cleveland 114 111 0 .506
17 Houston 114 111 0 .506
18 Jacksonville 114 111 0 .506
19 Buffalo 110 115 0 .488
20 Dallas 109 116 0 .484
21 New York Jets 109 116 0 .484
22 Indianapolis 108 117 0 .480
23 Pittsburgh 108 117 0 .480
24 Washington 108 117 0 .480
25 Seattle 107 118 0 .475
26 Cincinnati 106 119 0 .471
27 Philadelphia 106 119 0 .471
28 San Diego 105 120 0 .466
29 Arizona 96 129 0 .426
30 Minnesota 96 129 0 .426
31 New Orleans 95 130 0 .422
32 Green Bay 94 131 0 .417

Bears thrilling win keeps Saints at home in post-season

When asked, many players will tell you that having a first round BYE in the playoffs means a lot after slogging through 17 weeks of football. The rest and extra practice can often make a difference in how well a team plays in the post-season.

But if given the choice, those same players would be almost unanimous in their preference for having home field advantage throughout the playoffs and getting the coveted rest during the first round. The only problem is that there’s just one team that gets that right and after Chicago pulled off the unthinkable tonight in their 36-30 overtime victory over the Vikings, New Orleans took home the honor.

Minnesota had plenty of opportunities to win the game last night, with quarterback Brett Favre putting on an aerial display yet again, in spite of the frigid conditions. But unfortunately for the Vikings, their special teams and defense let them down once again, and instead of preparing for a huge game next week where a win would guarantee home field advantage, Minnesota is now forced into hoping for an Eagles loss in Dallas to ensure a first round BYE with the #2 seed.

As for the Saints, they couldn’t be more ecstatic right now, given the horrible way they’ve handled their business over the past two weeks, and should rest their starters next week for most of the game in Carolina. Having a chance to play two games at home in front of a raucous crowd in New Orleans for a Super Bowl trip is huge for this team, as they feed heavily off the energy their fans give them in the Superdome.

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March of the Eagles; playoffs await for McNabb and Co.

The Philadelphia Eagles clinched a playoff spot with their win last Sunday, but they know they still have work to do. Their running game is currently ranked 19th in the league, and while running backs LeSean McCoy and Leonard Weaver have done an admirable job over the past few weeks, having Brian Westbrook back would be huge for this offense.

Both Weaver and McCoy are averaging over four yards per carry, and have done a nice job picking up the slack since Westbrook suffered his first concussion against the Washington Redskins on October 26th. Another key injury is to rookie wide receiver Jeremy Maclin, who has four touchdowns and is averaging over 13 yards a reception.

“My feeling when you have great players is that helps you a little bit more. We’re not going to get worse with Brian Westbrook coming back. He adds to that flexibility.”

– Philadelphia head coach Andy Reid

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Playoff Scenarios – Week 15

Here’s the latest roundup of how the playoffs would shape up if the season ended today…

Not much changed from last week, but that will probably not hold true after this week’s contests, as both Jacksonville and Dallas seem to be sinking ships headed in the wrong direction.

AFC Wild Card - January 9th & 10th

#6 Jacksonville Jaguars (7-6) at #3 Cincinnati Bengals (9-4) 

Somehow Jacksonville is still in this picture, although they’re fading fast and it doesn’t seem likely that they’ll make it to the finish line when things are all said and done. If they do survive, their matchup with Cincinnati will probably be a snooze fest with the Bengals cruising en route to a showdown in San Diego.

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