Who to Root for: Week 16

The Steelers win on Thursday formally ended any hope of the Colts nabbing the two seed, so let’s review what’s still possible.

The Colts get the 3 seed with:

2 wins AND 1 KC loss AND one San Diego loss.

Indy wins the AFC South with:

2 wins OR

1 win over Tennessee and 1 Jags loss OR

2 Jags losses and the Titans lose to KC today.

Here’s who to root for today:

Washington at Jacksonville

MJD isn’t playing, so this game is very much in play.  This is the one game that really matters for the Colts.  A Jags loss would render the Indy/Oakland game meaningless in terms of the Colts making the playoffs. 

Chargers at Bengals

We want San Diego out of the playoffs, but we also want them to drop a game so we can take the three seed.

Titans at Chiefs

While technically we get some help from a Chiefs loss, because I think it’s unlikely the Chargers lose, we’d rather the Chiefs keep winning.  In addition, the Raiders would be eliminated with a Chiefs win.  The Titans long-shot hopes would be over as well, opening the door for the Colts to make the playoffs by losing out.  So for now, let’s pull for KC, though if the Chargers go down, it’s acceptable to switch this to pro-Titans.

Browns at Ravens

We want the Ravens to take the two seed.  Think about it.  Would you rather play at Baltimore or at Pittsburgh in the second round?  Yeah.  Me too.

Jets at Bears

Two Jets wins and two Pats losses means NY wins the AFC East.  Let’s root for that long-shot.  If the Jets lose, it’s no big deal.

Patriots at Bills

For the record, my ideal (realistic) playoff scenarios are:

NE, Balt, Indy, KC, Pitt, NYJ

(2 Balt W, 2 Indy W, 1 KC W, 1 Pitt L, 2 NYJ L)

or

NE, Balt, KC, Ind, NYJ, Pitt

(2 Balt W, 1 NYJ W, 1 Pitt L)