Clinching scenarios discussion

[ctpatsfan77]

Crazy to be discussing the #1 seed not even a full season removed a 4 win season.

A little less surprising when you realize there's been over 50% turnover.

 

[JoeSixPat]

Although they can't quite technically clinch this weekend, the number of things that have to go wrong to keep them out of the playoffs entirely is a pretty long one with hardly any chance they miss out.

As far as remaining schedule and tie breakers, at the very least the Pats control their destiny. While a Bye giving the injured a chance to further heal would be great, given that the Pats have a better record on the road than at home, if they don't have home field advantage so be it.

The Colts remaining schedule may see them miss the playoffs entirely, facing opponents with 41 total wins at this juncture, with the Texans, who just beat them, being the "easiest" game on the schedule.

The Broncos don't have the easiest path either with 32 total wins - the Raiders being the only easy win for them.

The Pats play teams with 21 total wins with Buffalo being the "toughest" team, followed by a 6 win Ravens team (though the Ravens should never be looked at as an easy game.). The notion of the Pats running the table seems more likely than the Broncos getting just one loss along the way with Chargers, Packers, Chiefs and Jags still on their schedule.

 

[p8ryts]

I just ran the playoff machine and had them lose out. That made them the 7 seed. If they dropped the Bills and Ravens and beat the Jets and Fins, I still had them as the #1. I did not have Denver winning out, and at one point I had the Texans as a #1 seed. A lot of the convoluted scenarios we can concoct will have to play out in reality.

Crazy to be discussing the #1 seed not even a full season removed a 4 win season.

It's all about Buffalo, don't worry about the future.

 

[Uptown]

Welp. As expected; we need to handle to business.

 

[Foxypats]

The game next week is a must win . Even though it is a week away, I am already very nervous about it.
How on earth could the Bengals lose like that when they were leading the whole game till that stupid pick 6 ?

 

[WhatJustHappened]

The game next week is a must win . Even though it is a week away, I am already very nervous about it.
How on earth could the Bengals lose like that when they were leading the whole game till that stupid pick 6 ?

Burrito is dumb?
Yeah, Burrito sounds about right.

 

[sb1]

Lots of clinching scenarios now.

New England Patriots Playoff Spot Clinching Options

This Clinching Options page presents sets of game outcomes ("cases") that result in the Patriots winning certain playoff spots.

www.playoffstatus.com

Beat Buffalo and the Pats lock up at least the 3 seed.

 

[jmt57]

AFC Most Important Games

The Most Important Games for the AFC are those games in the upcoming week whose outcome most changes the final playoff picture.

www.playoffstatus.com

Lol, under 'Week 14 AFC most important games', on an importance factor of zero to 100, the Bills-Pats game rates a 109.

New math.

 

[PatsFan2]

The game next week is a must win . Even though it is a week away, I am already very nervous about it.
How on earth could the Bengals lose like that when they were leading the whole game till that stupid pick 6 ?

Two picks in over over a minute: IF Buffalo Defense play like they did on Sunday... we are winning by Two Scores. Drake Maye won't pull what Joe Burrow did on Sunday.

 

[TommyD4207]

Two picks in over over a minute: IF Buffalo Defense play like they did on Sunday... we are winning by Two Scores. Drake Maye won't pull what Joe Burrow did on Sunday.

They've played like that for 2 months.

 

[Borg140]

The game next week is a must win . Even though it is a week away, I am already very nervous about it.
How on earth could the Bengals lose like that when they were leading the whole game till that stupid pick 6 ?

They’ve blown several late double digit leads over the last two seasons. Mostly, it’s due to their poor defense. But Burrow did them in yesterday.

 

[Borg140]

They've played like that for 2 months.

Yeah, I didn’t see that they played any differently than they have all season. They really can’t stop a good running game. And that will probably be the main reason they get eliminated.

 

[Hammer of Thor]

NFL published clinching scenarios for this week.

New England Patriots (11-2) vs. Buffalo Bills (9-4); Sunday, 1 p.m. ET, CBS
New England clinches AFC East division title with:

1. NE win

New England clinches a playoff berth with:

1. NE win OR
2. NE tie + LAC loss OR
3. NE tie + HOU loss or tie OR
4. NE tie + IND loss or tie OR
5. NE tie + JAX loss OR
6. HOU loss or tie + IND loss or tie as long as both games don't end in a tie.

NFL Week 15 Playoff Scenarios

 

[XLIX]

It's all about Buffalo, don't worry about the future.

 

[Uptown]

 

[sb1]

Update: we can’t clinch the division next weekend but a playoff spot clinch looks straightforward. Win and we’re in.

 

[PatriotSpy]

Obviously we have to have the Ravens game. Jets are tanking for Mendoza. Dolphins/Tua in cold weather should be an easy W.

We're road warriors. I'm going to say we win at Baltimore and take the last two easy dubs.

Broncos can easily lose 2 of their last 3 games. Hopefully, best case scenario, Lawrence, Minshew (At Home) and Herbert ball out and hand the broncos 3 straight losses.

 

[jmt57]

Ignoring ties, here are this week's clinching scenarios:

Pats clinch a playoff spot with
- a win over the Ravens; or
- a Texans loss to the Raiders; or
- a Colts loss to the 49ers

In addition, the Pats can clinch at least the #6 seed with
- a win over the Ravens, plus Texans lose to Raiders; or
- a win over the Ravens, plus Chargers lose to Cowboys


====================================


As far as clinching the AFC East goes, what if the Patriots were to lose at Baltimore?
Even if that happens the Pats would still have an excellent chance of winning the division.

NFL.com | Official Site of the National Football League

The official source for NFL news, video highlights, fantasy football, game-day coverage, schedules, stats, scores and more.

www.nfl.com

1.) Head-to-Head
Tied 1-1 with Buffalo, so move on.

2.) Best won-lost-tied percentage in games played within the division
Buffalo lost at Miami in week 10, so the best the Bills can finish is 4-2.
As long as the Pats beat the Jets and win at home against Miami, they win the AFC East.

Bottom line is that as long as the Patriots beat the Dolphins and Jets, they are division winners.


=====================================


As far as #1 - #2 - #3 seed goes, it all hinges on next week's Jacksonville at Denver game,
and then possibly week 17 Chargers at Broncos.

12-2 Denver remaining games:
Home vs Jaguars
Away at Kansas City
Home vs Chargers

10-4 LA Chargers remaining games:
Away at Dallas
Home vs Texans
Away at Denver



10-4 Jacksonville remaining games:
Away at Denver
Away at Indianapolis
Home vs Tennessee

9-5 Houston remaining games:
Home vs Raiders
Away at Chargers
Home vs Colts



11-3 New England remaining games:
Away at Baltimore
Away at Jets
Home vs Dolphins

10-4 Buffalo remaining games:
Away at Cleveland
Home vs Eagles
Home vs Jets

 

[jmt57]

Fooling around with this simulator, it claims that if the Patriots and Broncos both finish 14-3, Denver still gets the #1 seed.
I'm not sure why, because I even had Denver lose to the Chargers, giving the Broncos a 4-2 division record, as opposed to the Pats 5-1.

ESPN.com's 2025 NFL Playoff Machine - Playoff Matchup Predictor

Use the NFL Playoff Machine from ESPN to predict the NFL Playoff matchups by generating the various matchup scenarios based on your selections.

www.espn.com

 

[SVN]

i wish the ravens gsme wasnt a night game. i hate pats at baltimore in prime time. And after blowing the lead this week , the pressure will be intense.