Who to cheer for this week! (Week 15)

[A London Hawk]

"Raiders @ Chiefs: CHEER FOR RAIDERS."

I'll be cheering for the Chiefs, I want to see Smith in the playoffs, just cos.

"Texans @ Colts: DOESN'T MATTER"

Colts already have the refs cheering for them, I'm going Texans.

Almost as exciting as watching paint dry...almost.

Yes, but it's not to watch Smith in the playoffs, it's for the Smith > Kap explosion in Ninerdoom

 

[pehawk]

Byau, I appreciate your posts. Love the enthusiasm and love the effort.

Thank you!

 

[jacobsod]

Thanks for this post! Good stuff!

 

[byau]

Byau, I appreciate your posts. Love the enthusiasm and love the effort.

Thank you!

Thanks for this post! Good stuff!

Thanks guys, appreciate it. Honestly the post came because i was trying to figure out how to root for and after doing the research and *mostly* understanding it I figured I'd post it in a more simple form for guys like me

But really it's just an attempt at summarization from some of these guys that know better. Esp. when it comes to the uncertainty surrounding the Lions vs Vikings game (see below quotes)

Thanks Cartire, JonRud, Polaris!

The Lions game is tricky.

If they take the north by winning out, the highest GB could be is 12-4 (which is very possible). That would mean that if AZ maintains the West, and we get shoved into a Wild Card race, we'll be at most, 11 wins. This means the #6 seed at most.

I think at this point, we have to hope for GB to take the north (but still drop a game to lose their seed) and Detroit to just fall out from here.

Great post. it's not all clear cut with 3 weeks to go but I am going under the assumption that the Hawks will win out.

In that case how do we get the #1 seed?

Bottom line is we need GB to lose a game (at Buf, at TB, vs. Det). In that case I would like to see if the Lions can remain a game back of GB for the Week 17 Showdown Detroit at GB. If Detroit has major incentive in that game maybe they can pull it out. If they are already locked into a wildcard and can't win the Division they probably don't win.

Therefore I think I'm rooting for the Lions this week so they stay alive for the NFC North title even though we can possibly be in contention with them for a playoff spot or seeding.

I also agree with some other posters to root against the Steelers no matter what. I am probably rooting for the Falcons to win the NFC South because they would have the best chance to take out Dallas/Philly, Arizona or Detroit in a wildcard game at home. They would be a favorite over Arizona.

If we can get the #1 seed and the two home teams win on wildcard weekend we could possibly have the Falcons come to Seattle in the Divisional round. How sweet would that be!

I mostly agree with the OP except that:

1. Raiders vs Chiefs is AFC vs AFC and doesn't affect us (except strength of schedule as noted above).

2. I agree that normally you'd want to root for the Vikings, but this is an exception. We want the Lions to win. Why? In the first place a Lions win along with our own eliminates at least two rival NFCW teams from the playoffs altogether. In the second place, assuming we win out, the best the Lions can do is win out and have an Identical Record....and if they do they will tie with us for 12-4 records and we beat the Lions on the tiebreak (esp if it's a three way tiebreak).