I thought they were done, but one more loss and they'd still end up 10-6 which might be good enough. I think they are the only team the pats could definitely beat, that is if they don't choke. Well, should be able to beat the raiders too, I think.
The Pats *should* go 4-0 and finish 13-3. But I could see them dropping one of these last four and finishing at 12-4.
Baltimore (9-3): vs Ind, at SD, vs Cle, at Cin - I think they go 3-1. That would give them the conference tiebreaker over New England.
Houston (9-3): at Cin, vs Car, at Ind, vs Ten - I think they go 3-1 as well. NE would have the strength of victory tiebreaker, most likely, over Houston. That would put NE as the #2 seed.
Denver (7-5): vs Chi, vs NE, at Buf, vs KC - They could go anywhere from 4-0 to 0-4. Let's say 2-2, so they finish at 9-7.
Oakland (7-5): at GB, vs Det, at KC, vs SD - I see them going, at best, 2-2. That means they finish tied with Denver at 9-7. I think Denver would likely have the better division record, so Denver gets the #4 seed.
Cincinnati (7-5): vs Hou, at StL, vs Ari, vs Bal - I see 2-2 or 3-1 here, putting them at either 9-7 or 10-6.
Tennessee (7-5): vs NO, at Ind, vs Jax, at Hou - They should win the Ind and Jax games, probably lose vs NO. That puts them at 9-6 with the last game against Houston to go. I think Hou will have the division locked up at that point, but Ten will need it to make the playoffs. That'll be one interesting game for sure. Figure they go 9-7 or 10-6.
NYJets (7-5): vs KC, at Phi, vs NYG, at Mia - They could go 4-0 or 0-4, and neither would surprise me (ok, I would be surprised if they lost to KC). I think they go 2-2 or 3-1 to finish at 9-7 or 10-6.
That last weekend could be crazy, with these being huge games:
- NE vs Buf - NE playing for #1 or #2 seed
- Bal at Cin - Bal playing for the division title, and a #1 or #2 seed; Cin playing for their playoff lives
- Pit at Cle - Pit playing for the division title, and a #1 or #2 seed
- Ten at Hou - Hou playing for the #2 seed, Ten playing for the playoffs
- NYJ at Mia - Jets playing for the playoffs
- Den vs KC - Den playing for the division title or wild card
- Oak vs SD - Oak playing for the division title or wild card
That's about as good a list of games as you're going to find on the last weekend of the season.
My prediction:
#1 Baltimore (12-4)
#2 New England (12-4) - loses the tiebreaker to Bal
#3 Houston (11-5 or 12-4) - loses the tiebreaker to NE
#4 Denver (9-7)
#5 Pittsburgh (12-4) - loses the tiebreaker to Bal
#6 NYJ (10-6) - somehow gets in
And if that happens, we'd see:
NYJ at Hou - Jets will win that game
Pit at Den - Pit will shut down Tebow and win that game
then...
NYJ at Bal - a war; Bal wins
Pit at NE - NE gets revenge
then...
NE at Bal - who knows