AFC Playoff Picture after week 14

[tk13]

After struggling to even get 6 teams with a winning record the last couple years... the AFC has 12 teams with a winning record with three games to go. Houston has now thrown themselves into the mix too.

1) New England 10-3
2) Denver 10-3

3) Indianapolis 9-4
6) San Diego 8-5

4) Cincinnati 8-4-1
5) Pittsburgh 8-5

-----

7) Baltimore 8-5
8) Houston 7-6
9) Miami 7-6
10) Kansas City 7-6
11) Buffalo 7-6
12) Cleveland 7-6

There are a million different things that could happen from this point forward. This entire chart could look completely different by next week, let alone three weeks from now.

[cdcox]

Chiefs control their own destiny. Win 3 and they are in.

[tk13]

Yeah, at this point no one has even clinched a spot yet. Sometimes teams have clinched homefield by this point.

It's still possible, although unlikely, New England and Denver miss the playoffs. Denver's gotta play @SD and @CIN the next two weeks, and Manning's been in a slump. The AFC North is going to beat up on each other too.

[TLO]

Yeah, at this point no one has even clinched a spot yet. Sometimes teams have clinched homefield by this point.

It's still possible, although unlikely, New England and Denver miss the playoffs. Denver's gotta play @SD and @CIN the next two weeks, and Manning's been in a slump. The AFC North is going to beat up on each other too.

That would be absolutely hillarious.

[Rain Man]

Gosh, it'll be so exciting to see a playoff series featuring new teams like New England and Denver and Indianapolis and Pittsburgh. That's not boring and repetitious at all.

[Pablo]

Gosh, it'll be so exciting to see a playoff series featuring new teams like New England and Denver and Indianapolis and Pittsburgh. That's not boring and repetitious at all.

Teams that have real qbs. Odd how that works in the modern NFL.

[Sannyasi]

The best result for the Chiefs at this point would be for them to go 7-9 with one of the most pathetic meltdowns of all time, ending the season with a 6 game losing streak. That at least might make Reid and Dorsey take a look at dumping Alex before his 2015-2016 salary becomes guaranteed in March.

I know we all assume Smith is here to stay, but the fact that an escape was even written in to his contract means that there has to be at least a small piece of rationality of Dorsey's brain. He must know deep down what a piece of shit Smith is. Maybe, just maybe, if we play bad enough he will start to think long and hard about whether he wants to pay Alex $26 million over the next two years.

[Rain Man]

The first Super Bowl that I really remember watching as a knowledgeable football fan was Super Bowl 6 - Dallas over Miami.

Since then, I've been witness to 43 Super Bowls featuring 86 teams. Those teams (and appearances) are as follows:

Pittsburgh 8
Dallas 7
Denver 7 (2 involved cheating on the salary cap)
New England 7
San Francisco 6
Miami 5
NY Giants 5
Washington 5
Buffalo 4
Oakland 4
Green Bay 3
Minnesota 3
St. Louis Rams 3
Baltimore 2
Chicago 2
Cincinnati 2
Indianapolis 2
Philadelphia 2
Seattle 2
Arizona 1
Atlanta 1
Carolina 1
New Orleans 1
San Diego 1
Tampa Bay 1
Tennessee 1

So if you set aside things like the LA Rams versus St. Louis Rams, I've seen 26 franchises in the Super Bowl. But the downside is that there are only 5 teams that comprise 35 of the 86 spots, which means that one of those five teams is pretty much in the Super Bowl every year (if you discount the fact that Denver was caught cheating).

In my entire life, the AFC Super Bowl team has been Pittsburgh, New England, or Denver (caught cheating twice) every second year. The NFC isn't much better since it's been either Dallas, San Francisco, the Giants, or the Redskins every other year.

No wonder I'm bored with football these days. I've pretty much seen already seen every Super Bowl.

[Mile High Mania]

Big games in week 15:

Steelers @ Falcons -- spotty Steelers team, should win though, move to 9-5
Jags @ Ravens --- Ravens win, move to 9-5
Texans @ Colts --- they were 'in it' for a week or so, Colts win huge
Packers @ Bills --- Bills get stomped
Dolphins @ NE -- MIA loss seals their fate
OAK @ KC -- scrappy team playing for nothing, huge for KC
Bengals @ Browns --- who knows, but CIN should win
Broncos @ Chargers --- Broncos should win, anything can happen on the road in the AFC. Everyone wants to say Manning is slumping - ok.

The games in blue are 'up for grabs'...

[kcxiv]

Gosh, it'll be so exciting to see a playoff series featuring new teams like New England and Denver and Indianapolis and Pittsburgh. That's not boring and repetitious at all.

Its called elite franchises. They are always in, because they know what the fuck they are doing and got good quarterbacks.

[kcxiv]

The best result for the Chiefs at this point would be for them to go 7-9 with one of the most pathetic meltdowns of all time, ending the season with a 6 game losing streak. That at least might make Reid and Dorsey take a look at dumping Alex before his 2015-2016 salary becomes guaranteed in March.

I know we all assume Smith is here to stay, but the fact that an escape was even written in to his contract means that there has to be at least a small piece of rationality of Dorsey's brain. He must know deep down what a piece of shit Smith is. Maybe, just maybe, if we play bad enough he will start to think long and hard about whether he wants to pay Alex $26 million over the next two years.

Smith isnt going anywhere, he's going to get bullshit excuses that the ONline was terrible and he has no wide receivers. Chiefs fans are yet again, FUCKED>

[The Bad Guy]

The best result for the Chiefs at this point would be for them to go 7-9 with one of the most pathetic meltdowns of all time, ending the season with a 6 game losing streak. That at least might make Reid and Dorsey take a look at dumping Alex before his 2015-2016 salary becomes guaranteed in March.

I know we all assume Smith is here to stay, but the fact that an escape was even written in to his contract means that there has to be at least a small piece of rationality of Dorsey's brain. He must know deep down what a piece of shit Smith is. Maybe, just maybe, if we play bad enough he will start to think long and hard about whether he wants to pay Alex $26 million over the next two years.

We aren't assuming anything. He's here until at least 2017. Alex got 30 million guaranteed when he signed the extension.

[Pepe Silvia]

Big games in week 15:

Steelers @ Falcons -- spotty Steelers team, should win though, move to 9-5
Jags @ Ravens --- Ravens win, move to 9-5
Texans @ Colts --- they were 'in it' for a week or so, Colts win huge
Packers @ Bills --- Bills get stomped
Dolphins @ NE -- MIA loss seals their fate
OAK @ KC -- scrappy team playing for nothing, huge for KC
Bengals @ Browns --- who knows, but CIN should win
Broncos @ Chargers --- Broncos should win, anything can happen on the road in the AFC. Everyone wants to say Manning is slumping - ok.

The games in blue are 'up for grabs'...

Broncos are going to win out, congrats.

[Mile High Mania]

Broncos are going to win out, congrats.

I agree, but SD is a wildcard - they can look all word and then fall flat, esp at home. Bengals @ their house - that's just a weird team.

Denver's hopes of getting that #1 seed died last night in SD, so it's all about staying healthy at this point... #2 seed is ideal because it drags a bye week with it.

Three games remaining - Denver is 2 up on CIN (with a H2H to play) and they are 1 up on IND (Den won the H2H), so they can lock up that #2 seed (I believe) before the final game.

Pros and cons to resting if that's the case or keeping your foot to the pedal, I think you play your studs, but limit the workload. Feed Anderson and Thompson a ton over the next 3 weeks, set the tone now. We know what Manning and company can do when needed - let's win some ugly ground games with defense and rushing.

[WhawhaWhat]

W-L-L as the Chiefs sputter to an 8-8 season.

[YayMike]

like I said in the other thread yesterday....if we win out, we deserve to be in. Since we won't....we deserve not to be in.

Reid has to make some big adjustments in the final 3, first and foremost benching McGlynn. That alone should be enough of a difference to beat the Faid. Anything can happen against an "on and off" Steelers team. We can't beat Sandy Eggo the way we are playing....

[gosampel]

The good thing is with Chargers lost the Chefs are back in 2nd place

[YayMike]

again, not sure that playoff engine is accurate...but if we win all 3, we are in 100%. and again....if we beat SD and Pitt, we deserve to be in. End of story.

[Mile High Mania]

The good thing is with Chargers lost the Chefs are back in 2nd place

8-5 > 7-6

[Mile High Mania]

I just ran through the ESPN simulator again, got the following...

AFC
#1 NEP / #2 DEN
#6 CIN @ #3 IND
#5 BAL @ #4 PIT

NFC
#1 GBP / #2 SEA
#6 AZ @ #3 PHI
#5 DET @ #4 CAR

I have KC finishing #2 in AFCW, tied with SD at 9-7. PIT ties BAL for that division, wins on tiebreaker.

Big difference in my scenarios is KC @ PIT, KC wins that game and they get in - bumping out CIN and then they are the #5 seed traveling to BAL.

Or, KC needs CIN to lose at CLE this week - KC can still go 2-1 and advance.

Bengals are your bugaboo, you need them to crater.

[Rain Man]

again, not sure that playoff engine is accurate...but if we win all 3, we are in 100%. and again....if we beat SD and Pitt, we deserve to be in. End of story.


If the Chiefs get in, let's just hope that they don't face the Titans or Raiders.

[Mile High Mania]

If the Chiefs get in, let's just hope that they don't face the Titans or Raiders.

Ok, I laughed.

[tk13]

The first Super Bowl that I really remember watching as a knowledgeable football fan was Super Bowl 6 - Dallas over Miami.

Since then, I've been witness to 43 Super Bowls featuring 86 teams. Those teams (and appearances) are as follows:

Pittsburgh 8
Dallas 7
Denver 7 (2 involved cheating on the salary cap)
New England 7
San Francisco 6
Miami 5
NY Giants 5
Washington 5
Buffalo 4
Oakland 4
Green Bay 3
Minnesota 3
St. Louis Rams 3
Baltimore 2
Chicago 2
Cincinnati 2
Indianapolis 2
Philadelphia 2
Seattle 2
Arizona 1
Atlanta 1
Carolina 1
New Orleans 1
San Diego 1
Tampa Bay 1
Tennessee 1

So if you set aside things like the LA Rams versus St. Louis Rams, I've seen 26 franchises in the Super Bowl. But the downside is that there are only 5 teams that comprise 35 of the 86 spots, which means that one of those five teams is pretty much in the Super Bowl every year (if you discount the fact that Denver was caught cheating).

In my entire life, the AFC Super Bowl team has been Pittsburgh, New England, or Denver (caught cheating twice) every second year. The NFC isn't much better since it's been either Dallas, San Francisco, the Giants, or the Redskins every other year.

No wonder I'm bored with football these days. I've pretty much seen already seen every Super Bowl.

I've posted this before... but if you look at the AFC, there really isn't that much parity over the years. From the 1985 season to now, it's pretty much been the same six teams. The Patriots, Broncos, Colts, Steelers, Bills and Ravens have made something like 24 of the 29 Super Bowls from the AFC.

[Mile High Mania]

I've posted this before... but if you look at the AFC, there really isn't that much parity over the years. From the 1985 season to now, it's pretty much been the same six teams. The Patriots, Broncos, Colts, Steelers, Bills and Ravens have made something like 24 of the 29 Super Bowls from the AFC.

There's consistency with how those franchises have been managed.

[tk13]

Yeah, but it's just funny because football is supposed to be the sport where there's "parity." It may have the least parity, at least in terms of championship series teams.

[ping2000]

Bengals are your bugaboo, you need them to crater.


No, the Chiefs are their own bugaboo. Masters of shitting our own pants.

[scho63]

The first Super Bowl that I really remember watching as a knowledgeable football fan was Super Bowl 6 - Dallas over Miami.

Since then, I've been witness to 43 Super Bowls featuring 86 teams. Those teams (and appearances) are as follows:

Pittsburgh 8
Dallas 7
Denver 7 (2 involved cheating on the salary cap)
New England 7
San Francisco 6
Miami 5
NY Giants 5
Washington 5
Buffalo 4
Oakland 4
Green Bay 3
Minnesota 3
St. Louis Rams 3
Baltimore 2
Chicago 2
Cincinnati 2
Indianapolis 2
Philadelphia 2
Seattle 2
Arizona 1
Atlanta 1
Carolina 1
New Orleans 1
San Diego 1
Tampa Bay 1
Tennessee 1

So if you set aside things like the LA Rams versus St. Louis Rams, I've seen 26 franchises in the Super Bowl. But the downside is that there are only 5 teams that comprise 35 of the 86 spots, which means that one of those five teams is pretty much in the Super Bowl every year (if you discount the fact that Denver was caught cheating).

In my entire life, the AFC Super Bowl team has been Pittsburgh, New England, or Denver (caught cheating twice) every second year. The NFC isn't much better since it's been either Dallas, San Francisco, the Giants, or the Redskins every other year.

No wonder I'm bored with football these days. I've pretty much seen already seen every Super Bowl.

WHERE ARE THE CHIEFS ON YOUR LIST??? ROFLROFLROFLROFLROFL

You and I are close in age and experience. I watched all the Super Bowls since 1970 when I got suckered into liking the Chiefs. Not sure what year or age I would consider myself a "knowledgeable football fan". Maybe 12 or 13 years old, which would be 1975 or 1976. :D

[BossChief]

We aren't assuming anything. He's here until at least 2017. Alex got 30 million guaranteed when he signed the extension.

Vick signed a 100 million dollar deal with Philly and was released 2 seasons later (and was benched for a third round rookie halfway through throu the second season.)

If Alex doesn't continue to win, Andy will make a change.

[penbrook]

Vick signed a 100 million dollar deal with Philly and was released 2 seasons later (and was benched for a third round rookie halfway through throu the second season.)

If Alex doesn't continue to win, Andy will make a change.

This :clap:

[Amnorix]

I've posted this before... but if you look at the AFC, there really isn't that much parity over the years. From the 1985 season to now, it's pretty much been the same six teams. The Patriots, Broncos, Colts, Steelers, Bills and Ravens have made something like 24 of the 29 Super Bowls from the AFC.


It seems that the pendulum swings slowly for teams most of the time. If you listed the powerhouses of the AFC from '67 to '85, you would not see Patriots, Bills, Broncos or Ravens (obviously, or their predecessory, the Browns) really. It'd be Steelers, Raiders, Dolphins, with a nod to the Chiefs.

In other words, if you take any 10 or even 20 year segment of NFL history, there doesn't seem to be all that much parity within that period. From '72 to '85, for example, there were only TWO appearances by a team not named Dolphins, Steelers or Raiders -- one each by Broncos and Bengals.