The Quest for a Bye
 

The Pats opponents for the first round bye-

Baltimore- 9-3
At KC
Cleveland
at Pitt
Buffalo
- If the Raven's performance against the Bengals is a ny kind of indication then they will certainly lose at KC, with the Chiefs being life and death to even make the playoffs after losing to the Browns. So, if the Pats win out we're on top of Baltimore for certain, and we appear to beat them in a tiebreaker if they lose another AFC game. Interestingly, Baltimore beat SD, so if they are tied with SD for seeding, then Baltimore would be the higher seed. I assume that means if we are also tied with SD and Baltimore and we beat Baltimore on tie breakers then we would vault both SD and the Ravens into the 2nd seed!

SD - 10-2
Denver
KC
At Seattle
AZ
- Denver looked weak at home last night so I doubt they have the tools to beat SD on the road. KC again could be our friend, though. As stated before KC can't lose again and be sure of making the playoffs, especially within their division. You never know what you're going to get from Seattle but they play much better at home so there's some hope in that game particularly since the SeaHawks might be playing for the number 2 seed themselves. I figure SD to lose only one of these games, but that is all we need if the Pats win out (see above tiebreaker note).

Indy- 10-2
At Jax
Cincy
At Houston
Miami
-well, we all know that Indy has to lose two while we win out to beat them in seeding for the playoffs. Could it happen? Maybe, since Indy will face two teams, Jax and Cincy that cannot lose any more games if they want to be sure of making the post-season. I like a life and death Jaguars team to take down Indy in Jax, no surprise there considering the struggles Indy has had with Jax in recent years. But with Cincy's D playing a little better and the offense able to score with anyone now that Ocho-Cinco and Palmer have re-united, could the desperate Bengals smack down Indy in Indy? Miami and Houston offer little resistance. Ironically, Indy could be the team that stumbles twice and gets us a bye and the number one seed overall (assuming SD loses at least once) - IF WE WIN OUT.

Key games to watch
Balt at KC
KC at SD
Indy at Jax
Cincy at Indy

Synopsis - The Pats win out and they very likely have a bye.
Fly In The Ointment - losing that Jets game, oh the humanity!!! Win that game and we are the number two seed this morning.

Re: The Quest for a Bye
 

We need SD to lose an AFC game, if they lose to a NFC team then they have the better conference record and win the tie breaker.

Re: The Quest for a Bye
 

I'll do a full tiebreaker analysis update soon, but it's not just an AFC opponent, it's Denver they have to lose to. Otherwise they beat us via common games.

Re: The Quest for a Bye
 

We're toast then as Cuttlefish was exposed as yet another pre-season phenom, great against guys who aren't in the league anymore. I'm not saying he's a bust or anything, just a rookie kid QB with talent that desperately needs seasoning.

Re: The Quest for a Bye
 

Right, thanks for the correction.

Re: The Quest for a Bye
 

Nope, it doesn't work that way, we would need to beat both. If at any tiebreaking stage we have the advantage over Baltimore but not over SD then Baltimore is eliminated and it starts over with the first 2-team tiebreaker to decide between us and SD.

Re: The Quest for a Bye
 

I could see the Colts stumbling again in 1 of their next 4 games. Unfortunately I don't think the Pats win the head to head or AFC versus Colts so again it would come down to beating out SD to get a bye seeding. Humm. Can the Pats win out considering their last 2 performances. In years past I would not have hesitated to say but now... they really need to bounce back from a very sloppy seat of the pants win over the Lions.

Re: The Quest for a Bye
 

S.D. could lose to either the bronco's/chiefs and at Seatlle so that's 2 more loses BUT... we have to run the table.
I don't see Indy losing more than 1 more game.

Re: The Quest for a Bye
 

The Colts play @Jax and Cincy and finish the season against Miami. I could see them dropping two. They have been flirting with this all season but Manning has bailed them out every week. He didn't this week and you see what happened. If Manning doesn't play a near perfect game that team will lose.

Re: The Quest for a Bye
 

So what happens if the Pats and SD both finishs the season 13-3 with SD's only loss coming from KC.Will the Pats win the tiebreaker (due to SD getting swept by a team in their division)?