DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Pure Football Forum AFC Playoff Chase Continued

We would be out because of that stupid 3rd winning team in the division is out rule.

I don't want to see the likely scenario of the Browns are 11-4 but miss the playoffs if they don't beat the Steelers at home,

for a chance to face the Steelers at home a week later.

(The Steelers play at Cleveland 2 weeks in a row with 2 chances to end Clevelands' season and only the 2nd one putting the steelers season in jeopardy.

I'd much rather see a partially rest week followed by a playoff game vs. Tennessee, or Buffalo.

And Pittsburg in the 2nd rd or AFC Championship game.

(And any comment bout "that team we saw yesterday" , have some memory, this is not the first time, or the first year in the last 20,
that the Steelers have appeared to tank some games, play poorly until the stakes reach the brink.

What happens when the stakes are high? (Wha'dya know, Ben comes back, the passing game wakes up, the defense starts looking unbeatable again)

Don't be lured in by their bullstuff, they won the first 11 in a row.
and they hope to lose a few so their first round is against Cleveland or Indy.
They are trying to manipulate the system they aren't stupid.

All this bickering. None of this would have been an issue if they had just found a way to beat the Ravens Monday Night.

It's the Steelers and Ravens every year.

The Steelers have been a thorn in our side since the merger in 1970 with the possible exception for about 4 or 5 years in the mid to late 80's. Watch what happens when we play them. Suddenly, all their problems will miraculously disappear and will look like the Steelers of old. The announcers will proclaim them back, Big Ben looks great and they contenders for the Super Bowl. That's why it's important we win Sunday and get some help so the Steelers game is not a must win for us. The league likes and wants the Steelers to contend for it all because of their national popularity. If it's a close game when we play them look out, we won't get any calls and I really believe that. JMO

Let’s say it comes down to a win the division, or go home final game vs the Steelers. Vegas would probably ave that close to a pick em game, or maybe a 3 point spread either way. Which would give the browns maybe 40%-60% of losing that game.

Are people really ok with a 40-60% chance of missing the playoffs? Assuming we get that win or go home scenario people want?

I'm not OK with it especially against the Steelers for the reasons I gave on a previous post.

If we don’t have a playoff spot clinched after this weekend, I think it will mean we will be in a win or go home situation. The Dolphins need to win out, and they are at Buffalo week 17. Buffalo will likely rest starters that week if they clinch the #2 seed this weekend, here is how they could do that

1) the Bills win + the Indianapolis Colts beat the Pittsburgh Steelers + the Tennessee Titans lose to the Green Bay Packers on Sunday Night Football
This would clinch the two seed before any games are played in Week 17, allowing the Bills the opportunity to rest key starters before the playoffs begin and avoid the Kansas City Chiefs until the AFC Championship Game.

2) the Bills win + the Indianapolis Colts beat the Pittsburgh Steelers + the Cleveland Browns beat the New York Jets


So basically if the Colts win, it gives Miami a great chance to win in Buffalo week 17. Dolphins fans will be rooting hard for the colts Sunday.

J/C
The Steelers sure have traumatized a lot of posters on this board!

I’m really just doing a test post because I haven’t posted in forever. Go Browns!

Your way of thinking can right back to week 6

Browns lost 7 to 38 to the steelers! You want your opportunity THERE IT WAS!

you want your special feeling win chance to take them out of the playoffs

chance to win the division?

THEY HAD IT, WEEK NUMBER 6,
CLEVELAND WAS 4-1

If Browns had won that game the Browns would already have clinched a playoff berth!

Since they didn't do that! Then it's just THEIR OWN FAULT that we have to hope the steelers beat the Colts so the Browns can lock up a playoff berth and not have to play Pittsburgh for a chance to play pittsburgh!

I'M GONNA BREAK THIS THING IF IT CAPITALZES THE WORD pittsburgh one more $%$%$% Time!

playoff berth 1st, Division 2nd. It's always been that way, since they started the wild card.

Can't win a SB if you can't get in the playoffs!

Did you by chance see a post on Twitter talking about this site?

Maybe I'm blind because I'm a football fan!
Lay up at night thinking about how all plays in football have 4 separate word descriptions, how hard it must be to eplain the game of football to a European or something.

But the NFL is, like it or not, and Professional sports like the big 4, are, like it or not, a television show.

Sometime, probably in the 50's or early 60's they left being primarily an in person attendance event for being a television show.

And the FCC runs a large part of the crap orchestrated lies we get as television in this country.

And the US economic capitalistic system relies a large deal on adevertising paying for television shows.

And there is a big deal in making compelling matchups in sports, like the convient coincidence that all 7 game series go at least 6 games in.

And The NFL set up everything on their schedule starting at least 5 years ago, when they changed how they'd make their schedule so that

Every game on week 17 would be as compelling as possible. (ooooohh, week 17, oooohh) pfft!

So I've been blind I'm a football fan, I'm a Browns Fan!

The FCC runs stuff, and they don't give s acare about level playing field, what they like is markets, MARKETS!

And, A little history lesson, one of the first 3 TV an Radio stations in the USA in the 1920-1930s,
were in Pittsburgh, if memory serves me right.

And Where else is the Government big?
East coast
West Coast
Miami, Dallas, Denver and Philadelphia,

(Shoot, Denver Philly and Atlanta make the greenbacks by factory!)

So, level playing field for the Midwest, Ohio Sports as a "television show"

Who
Would
Expect
It!

that's what she said-

If I see a fellow Dawg hyperventilating during the next few weeks, I'm going to make him read this.


Perspective: a better way to frame what we see in the here & now.

I can feel my heart rate returning to normal even as I type this.

According to what I'm seeing, the Flex Rules say it must be done within 12 days. 12 days is TODAY.

Would they flex before we even know if the Browns/ Pitt game means anything? Hmmm. Hopefully NOT. I HATE night games.

2nd resp. 1st was worse...

Of course the major article above, is crap!

2. Browns already took care of business 10 times, about to be 11!

3. If the Browns are 11-4 and facing elimination if they don't beat the steelers in about 10 days!

Heck to pay
Heads gonna roll

swept 2 divisions!
6th best record in all of the NFL!
Swept the Bengals!

Played better Qb's before injury vs cincy, cincy, dallas, Jacksonville.

About to be 11 wins! Already "took care of business!
Already did "the job".

Browns Beat Buffalo last time they played!
Browns beat Miami by double digits twice in the last 10 years! iirc.

If the Browns don't make the playoffs, we should make this the lowest rated playoffs and super bowl of all time.

( I stopped watching Major League Baseball in 2003 ish, don't miss it.)

Now that the playoffs have been expanded to 3 wildcard teams this year, that rule doesn't apply any longer.

According to the ESPN playoff machine and numerous articles one of them from CBS sports it does

j/c

I don't get to pat myself on the back all too often but I think my post from 12/06/20 has aged fairly nicely...

A thought just occurred to me...

"what happens if we win our next game and PIT loses their next game? We're 10-3... they are 11-1...

I know a lot unlikely things would still have to happen, but there's enough football left. I think the possibility of making a push for the Division Title is worth keeping on the back, back burner.
_________________________"

Well I didn't find any mention of it in an article by sporting news on the expansion of the NFL playoffs to 14 from 12 teams.

I'll admit to learning something new, I'd just wish they'd advertise it more.
( One thing I still couldn't figure out, is if, in a 3 way tie the three teams come to the tie break of common games and the teams were all 2nd place,)

(In this scenario, the Steelers lost out, and ended up in a tie with the dolphins and titans, 11-5, 8-4 in the conf, and the 4th tie breaker among all 3 teams, common games among all 3 teams, minimum 4

and they ended up with 4 teams, being, bengals jaguars bills broncos, (that the language of the rule reads best w-l-t among commong games minimum 4)
And if the end result were
Titans 4-1,
Dolphins 3-1
Steelers 3-2, that winning percentage wise, that would be spots 5, 6, and 7, putting the steelers in spot 7,

Why the site I use, has the Steelers as already clinched above the 7th seed.

Oh well, doesn't much really matter, it will play out.


https://operations.nfl.com/the-rules/nfl-tiebreaking-procedures/

The rule being discussed, (which I don't think really matters at this point because they fill one spot at a time)
is in the tie breaking procedures,

to break a tie between 3 or more clubs from different divsions.
#1, apply the division tie breaker to remove all but the highest ranking clubs from each division prior to step 2.
continuing:
The original seeding within a division upon application of the tie breaker remains the same for all subsequent applications of the procedure that are necessary to identify the (two) wild card participants.
-----
(there are 3 after 2019)

Doesn't matter.

BEAT THE JETS!!

If there are 2 teams the Browns can't beat it must be the Ravens and Steelers.

Won't it be convienent that the Browns will have to play the Steelers week 17, win or miss the playoffs, and if they do win, the Browns next opponent would be play the steelers again round 1.


Such a crock! We never get to see the matchups that would be best.
We never saw the Browns vs Chargers in 2007!

Hopefully we'll get to see the Browns vs. Titans and Browns vs Bills this year.

Who knows, They pretty much proved you can win all your games except the Steelers and Ravens, and won't that won't get them in the playoffs.
Even at 11-5? Even at 11-5.

Oh Well, Go Beat the Jets,

Jets are going to be tough, the Jets are 4-2 in their last 6, if you count a close game as a good try.

Bone, I don't think he's trying to say its fixed but I believe much favoritism is used no doubt.

We can assume the Steelers are the loss that makes the Browns 11-5
1 seed KC
2 seed Buffalo
3 Seed Pittsburgh 12-4
4 seed Colts,
(if Tennessees loss is to the packers they finish 8-4 in the AFC if it's to the Texans they finish 7-5 in the afc, which matters.)

Dolphins only play afc so would be 8-4 in the afc.

(Tennessee beat the ravens) (looking at a 3 way tie, dolphins, ravens, titans for spot #5.) (Nobody swept the other two or lost to the other two because they just didn't play this year, in most 3 way ties; including this one,) so next up is conf. record.

(Browns might actually get help, if the Titans beat the Packers, and then lose to the texans in this scenario.)

(Because first, way, Pack beat the titans,

Spot 5 goes to the titans. after the Ravens are removed for 7-5 conf record while titans + Dolphins are 8-5 conf record.

So, aha, ( Tennessee is 4-1 in common games w/ dolphins Miami is 3-2). But, if Miami gets the 5 spot, it helps the Browns I think,

So if the Pack lose to the Titans and the Texans beat the Titans , the 3 way tie goes
Dolphins 11-5 8-4
Ravens 11-5 7-5
Titans 11-5 7-5, (Browns out for 3rd place in div. for now.

Then, Dolphins get the 5 (Yippee)

Then it's Ravens Titans Browns, (Remove browns again, and Ravens Titans 1 v 1.

Nope, Nope, see, What the Browns are counting on at 11-5,
is if the Titans stay above the Colts,
Then the Ravens, Who beat the colts, need to be against the colts in one of those 1 on 1 tie breaks

So we can shove the Ravens in a spot! and have the Browns face the Colts 1 v 1 in the final tie break,

instead of the Browns face the Ravens 1 v1 in the final tie break.

The Colts have to lose!
Or the Dolphins have to lose!
Or the Ravens have to lose!
Or the Titans have to lose Twice!

Or the Browns have to beat both the Steelers and the Jets!

No Matter what happens, we can be sure, if the Browns had beaten the Ravens on MNF, (or opening day) they would have already clinched a playoff berth when they beat the Giants.

http://www.espn.com/nfl/playoffs/machine

Nothing has changed. Plug in the results and see the outcome. Really, really, really simple.

Come on Colts ! Beat the stinking Steelers.

Could you imagine the joy if:

- Vegas beats Miami
- Indy beats Pitt
- We beat NYJ

Right? Can't the Gridiron Gods grant us that much after the turnaround this season? I want to pop the first cork this Sunday at 4pm!

and the following week, we beat Pittsburgh and become the 3rd Seed. Buffalo will be the 2nd Seed unless they lose both of their last two games, which is unlikely.

By my guesstimations, we will play the Titans in the Wild Card round.
If Buffalo loses in that round (unlikely), then we would actually have a path to Home games right up to the AFC Championship game, albeit an unlikely one.

In Week 17, in order to ensure a Sunday night game with playoff implications, the decision to move the start time may be made on six days notice.

https://www.nfl.com/schedules/flexible-scheduling-procedures

Ironically, there aren’t MANY games in week 17 of great importance. There’s a chance that NYG/DAL is important, but it could also be meaningless.

I don’t put it above the NFL to help push the Browns/Steelers for all the marbles on SNF

I don't want to peak too far ahead. . . . 1-0 is good with me each week. But the only two AFC teams that really scare me if we are in the post season - KFC obviously, and the Ravens because we don't seem to have any answer for Lamar.

Things are tenuous right now...yes 10-4 is great and we are on the upswing but I want a playoff game and I think we'll need to beat Pitt to get in. I don't care how Pitt looks right now we don't fare well against them ever and I don't want our playoff birth to come down to beating them. I will be pulling for the Steelers on Sunday as much as I hate them. I do have battered fan syndrome, I will admit that but in my defence I have been a die hard fan since 1984 and have seen my share losses due to inferior teams and inexplicable game events.

I want a playoff game :

I want to experience that week of excitement leading up to a playoff game

I want to hear our team being talked about by the media ad nauseum during playoff week

I want to feel that extra pride when I wear my Browns gear

I want to feel the added excitement/anxiety that goes along with being in the playoffs

I want to feel the intensity that goes along with a playoff game

I want to experience optimism that we could win a playoff game and all that would go along with it....

Give me a damn playoff game ! I don't care how we get there...

If you'd rather have an all or nothing game against the Steelers in week 17 as opposed to losing the division and being a wildcard you haven't lived through the last 25 years of misery.

But I know a lot of these guys have lived through the last 25 years I've been (?) with them since 1995.

Buffalo scares me more than the Chiefs or the Ravens. Buffalo is a more complete team. I think they could slow down our offense and we would struggle to stop theirs..

KC and the Ravens, I know we can't stop them, but I think we have a better chance to race up and down and score with them. Not saying we could (or should) beat them but I think we could hang with them and it would be a game until very late and then somebody, for one team or the other, would make a few plays to win the game. Very much like our last Ravens game. If Hunt goes down on the 2 on that last TD and it takes us 3 more plays to score, we probably win.. or if Baker doesn't throw the INT... or if Parkey doesn't miss from inside 40..

I'd actually be happier to see the Giants beat the Ravens.

And Browns BEAT the Jets.

--------

And see the Bengals beat the Ravens week 17. (Can anybody loan the Bengals a Qb who can throw for more than 193 yards?, just for that week)

That would be
1 Chiefs
2 Bills
3 Browns
4 Colts
5 Steelers unless The titans were 12-4 in which case the titans
6 (team that plays the Browns) Titans unless they're 12-4, in which case the Steelers
7 (Ravens or Dolphins)
the other, Ravens or Dolphins eliminated.

edit: I'm wrong, BC if the Titans were 12-4 they'd still have the division over the colts, I'd have to start over, (oh well can't get them all).

For me...

Goal/wish priority
#1 Get in the playoffs
#2 Win the division
#3 Ravens don't make the playoffs

it's all pretty easy to see if you use the ESPN tool. Just make your picks for each game and it figures it all out.... which is how I know that unless the Bills lose both of their remaining games, they will be the #2 Seed. When we beat Pitt, we'll be the #3 Seed.

If my guesses on how the games fall end up being correct, they will make it as the #7 Seed and play Buffalo, where they will likely get eliminated. If they somehow manage to beat Buffalo, then they have to get past KC. In that scenario, we could actually face them in the AFC Championship game at Home.