December Dilemma
By Staff
The title of this post is my best attempt to create a March Madness slogan for the NFL and I think it’s alright.
The Chicago Bears have been hanging off the elimination cliff by one arm for a while now, but on Monday night they pulled themselves back up and are now close to pushing the Vikings off the mountain. The NFC North has been an absolute gongshow for the first 15 weeks of the season, so who would expect anything else now?
But, before I get to the playoff scenarios, what better way to end the 2008 Monday Night Football season than with this little dandy from our friend Tony Kornheiser.
(Just before Green Bay’s Mason Crosby attempts a field goal to take the lead at the end of the fourth quarter).
“We saw the same scenario with Carolina last night against the Giants, except it was much windier and the kick was from much further out and ultimately the kick was drawn left by the wind. This is closer in and I don’t think the wind is anyone near as tough.”
I am not sure then how it is the same scenario, but hey it’s Tony Kornheiser. Wouldn’t expect anything less.
With the win on Monday night, Chicago has entered the playoff race and they have two doors in while Dallas, Tampa Bay, and Philadelphia only have one. And here are your Week 17 scenarios:
Carolina wins the NFC South…
with a win against the New Orleans or an Atlanta loss to St. Louis
Carolina wins the No. 5 seed as a wild card…
with a loss to New Orleans and an Atlanta win against St. Louis
Atlanta wins the NFC South…
with a win against St. Louis and a Carolina loss to New Orleans
Atlanta wins the No. 5 seed as a wild card…
with a win against St. Louis and a Carolina win against New Orleans
OR
a loss to St. Louis
Minnesota wins the NFC North…
with a win against the Giants or a Chicago loss to Houston
Chicago wins the NFC North…
with a win against Houston and a Minnesota loss to the Giants
Chicago wins the wild card spot…
with a win against the Houston and losses by both Dallas (at PHI) and Tampa Bay (vs OAK)
Dallas wins the wild card spot…
with a win against Philadelphia
Tampa Bay wins the wild card spot…
with a win against the Oakland and a Dallas loss to Philadelphia
Philadelphia wins the wild card spot…
with a win against Dallas and a Tampa Bay loss to Oakland
So there you have it. Sunday should be the most hectic day of the season given the scenarios lined up right there, but wait it gets better. There is still a whole other conference that needs to be solved.
New York Jets win the AFC East…
with a win against Miami and a New England loss to Buffalo
New York Jets win the wild card spot…
with a win against Miami and a New England loss to Buffalo and a Baltimore loss to Jacksonville
Miami wins the AFC East…
with a win against the Jets
New England wins the AFC East…
with a win against Buffalo and a Miami loss to the Jets
New England wins the wild card…
with a win against Buffalo and a Baltimore loss to Jacksonville
Baltimore wins the wild card spot…
with a win against Jacksonville or losses by both the Jets (vs MIA) and New England (at BUF)
San Diego wins the AFC West…
with a win against Denver
Denver wins the AFC West…
with a win against San Diego
And there you have the AFC puzzle. Also note that Miami can’t win the wild card spot because if they win they win the division and if they lose, even with a Baltimore loss or New England they still don’t make it because the Baltimore beat Miami in Week 7.
So what do I think will happen?
Well, lets start in the NFC.
The Giants beat the Vikings.
The Bears beat the Texans.
The Eagles beat the Cowboys.
The Buccaneers beat the Raiders.
That would line up the NFC this way.
#1 New York Giants – bye
#2 Carolina Panthers – bye
#3 Chicago Bears vs #6 Tampa Bay Buccaneers
#4 Arizona Cardinals vs #5 Atlanta Falcons
And the AFC.
The Dolphins beat the Jets.
The Ravens beat the Jaguars.
The Patriots beat the Bills.
The Chargers beat the Broncos.
And the seeds will look like this.
#1 Tennessee Titans – bye
#2 Pittsburgh Steelers – bye
#3 Miami Dolphins vs #6 Baltimore Ravens
#4 San Diego Chargers vs #5 Indianapolis Colts
And here are the game times. (All times EST)
1:00 – New England @ Buffalo
1:00 – Chicago @ Houston
1:00 – New York Giants @ Minnesota
1:00 – Carolina @ New Orleans
1:00 – Oakland @ Tampa Bay
4:15 – Jacksonville @ Baltimore
4:15 – Miami @ New York Jets
4:15 – Dallas @ Philadelphia
8:15 – Denver @ San Diego
So, there you have it your guide to Week 17.
Also, make sure to check back daily and multiple times a day as the G-Men HQ is now in postseason mode even with Week 17 still to go. We will have extensive coverage of your New York Football Giants as well as the other 11 postseason teams. There will be interviews with beat writers and bloggers and possibly some players. So stay tuned, the second season is just beginning.