Can Patriots Clinch #1 Seed Next Week with win and Broncos loss?

Quick question, do the Patriots clinch the #1 seed next week if they win and Denver loses in Cincy on Monday night? I know we have the head-to-head tie breaker vs DEN, but if NE, DEN, and Indy all end up 12-4, would the Patriots win the three way tiebreaker due to beating both teams?

My magic eight ball says "Yes"
But when I asked if Denver will lose at Cincy, it said "Outlook not so good"

Let's just win these division games because well they are division games after all and we need to let them know who "Runs the East" and not leave anything to chance.

Buffalo will be a tough test. They will be fighting for a playoff spot in week 17.

TommyBrady12 said:

Buffalo will be a tough test. They will be fighting for a playoff spot in week 17.

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I'd love a repeat of last year's game versus Buffalo. The weather was horrible and Buffalo simply didn't have the willpower to deal with Blount or Ridley. They combined for 7.3 ypc on 36 carries.

Also, watching the highlights here: it's remarkable to watch how much better this year's defense is than last year's. Credit to last year's team for making it as far as it did with the injuries they sustained, but it's very noticeable.

To the OP's question yes. As I understand it, if three teams are tied and they've each played the other two an equal number of times, the team that has beaten both other teams would win out as the first tie breaker. I forget how it goes if each team is 1-1 against the other two, but that obviously wouldn't apply here.

TommyBrady12 said:

Buffalo will be a tough test. They will be fighting for a playoff spot in week 17.

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I think if Pittsburgh and Baltimore both win next week, I think Buffalo may be eliminated from the playoffs because they don't have the tiebreakers against anyone with 8 or more wins right now.

I think the Bills will be the pats 2nd shutout of the season.....their offense is pathetic

I think the Pats have a good chance at clinching #1 seed and getting home filed advantage. The team needs to just continue playing good as a team and execute.

Rob0729 said:

I think if Pittsburgh and Baltimore both win next week, I think Buffalo may be eliminated from the playoffs because they don't have the tiebreakers against anyone with 8 or more wins right now.

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If ravens and steelers win next week, Buffalo could still be in for example if KC beats Chargers in week 17 and the browns beat the ravens in week 17 (and Buffalo beats the Pats) and some other things happen, ie KC and San Diego game week 17.

Per CBS Sports.com

NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS

New England can clinch home-field advantage the AFC playoffs with:
1) NE win + DEN loss

New England can clinch a first-round bye with:
1) NE win
2) NE tie + IND loss or tie
3) IND loss + CIN loss or tie + PIT loss or tie

Sicilian said:

To the OP's question yes. As I understand it, if three teams are tied and they've each played the other two an equal number of times, the team that has beaten both other teams would win out as the first tie breaker. I forget how it goes if each team is 1-1 against the other two, but that obviously wouldn't apply here.

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So if Denver and Indy had not played each other Week One, would the head-to-head not have counted due to an uneven number of games?

kennyb said:

If ravens and steelers win next week, Buffalo could still be in for example if KC beats Chargers in week 17 and the browns beat the ravens in week 17 (and Buffalo beats the Pats) and some other things happen, ie KC and San Diego game week 17.

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I went into ESPN's playoff simulator and checked it. I guess they still have a shot if they win out and the Ravens lose one. I guess I was wrong.

cclocke said:

So if Denver and Indy had not played each other Week One, would the head-to-head not have counted due to an uneven number of games?

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The way it reads to me - no, that would not matter. If there is a three-way tie and Team A has defeated both Team B and Team C, then Team A gets the top spot. In this scenario since the Patriots defeated both the Broncos and the Colts, the Pats get the top spot. After that tiebreaking procedures would start all over again for Denver and Indy.

http://www.nfl.com/standings/tiebreakingprocedures

"To determine home-field priority among division-titlists, apply Wild Card tie-breakers."

Three or More Clubs
(Note: If two clubs remain tied after third or other clubs are eliminated, tie breaker reverts to step 1 of applicable two-club format.)

1. Apply division tie breaker to eliminate all but the highest ranked club in each division prior to proceeding to step 2. The original seeding within a division upon application of the division tie breaker remains the same for all subsequent applications of the procedure that are necessary to identify the two Wild-Card participants.
2. Head-to-head sweep. (Applicable only if one club has defeated each of the others or if one club has lost to each of the others.)
3. Best won-lost-tied percentage in games played within the conference.
4. Best won-lost-tied percentage in common games, minimum of four.
5. Strength of victory.
6. Strength of schedule.
7. Best combined ranking among conference teams in points scored and points allowed.
8. Best combined ranking among all teams in points scored and points allowed.
9. Best net points in conference games.
10. Best net points in all games.
11. Best net touchdowns in all games.
12. Coin toss

jmt57 said:

1. Coin toss

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Really? One of the tiebreakers is a coin toss? I know there isn't a chance in hell of it ever getting this far but if for some reason it did all hell would break lose.

cclocke said:

So if Denver and Indy had not played each other Week One, would the head-to-head not have counted due to an uneven number of games?

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I was confused by this as well. In the case of a three way tie, the conference record takes the precedent. In a two way tie, the head to head takes precedent. I think.

What else could it be other than some random process? You have to break the tie, the NFL season doesn't accomodate play-in games, so what else do you have once you've factored in all the things they already do factor in?

I'm interested to hear (probably too lazy to look it up) what would happen if the Pats win, and donkeys lose to Cinci... does that mean donkeys lose 1st round bye?

mosi said:

I was confused by this as well. In the case of a three way tie, the conference record takes the precedent. In a two way tie, the head to head takes precedent. I think.

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The coin has Roger Goodell's face on one side and Rex Ryan's *** on the other. Heads or tails? It's impossible to tell the difference.

pwes said:

Really? One of the tiebreakers is a coin toss? I know there isn't a chance in hell of it ever getting this far but if for some reason it did all hell would break lose.

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The odds must be astronomically small of it getting to that point. In the years of watching, I can't ever remember any tiebreaker getting past stage 5 or 6. Does anyone remember it coming down to points in any form?

dannydyn said:

I'm interested to hear (probably too lazy to look it up) what would happen if the Pats win, and donkeys lose to Cinci... does that mean donkeys lose 1st round bye?

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No they would still be number 2 seed