NFL Playoff Picture 2014: Wild Card Scenarios and Pre-Week 14 Super Bowl Odds: With just four weeks remaining in the NFL season, the playoff scenarios are aplenty. With 26 of the 32 teams in the league still mathematically alive in the race for the postseason, there are a ton of possibilities. Heres a breakdown of the teams that would be in the postseason if it began on Thursday and the squads still alive but currently on the outside looking in. Which Teams Can Clinch a Playoff Berth in Week 14? The NFC is so tight, no team can clinch a spot in the postseason with a win or combination of losses from other conference teams. In the AFC, there are a few possibilities. Indy Thinking Division Title The Indianapolis Colts can clinch their second straight AFC South title—and ninth overall—with a win at the Cleveland Browns and a Houston Texans loss at the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday. The Colts have won two straight since being humbled by the New England Patriots in Week 11. Andrew Luck and his blossoming group of young passing targets seem to be getting stronger every week. T.Y. Hilton continues to be a steady player for Indy, but rookie Donte Moncrief looks to be pushing veteran and future Hall of Famer Reggie Wayne for snaps. Moncrief has seven catches for 172 yards and two scores in his last two games. Comparatively, Wayne has seven catches for 41 yards and no scores in that span. Tight end Coby Fleener has also stepped up. He torched Washington in Week 13 for four catches, 127 yards and two touchdowns. The team heads into the Dawg Pound with Browns castoff Trent Richardson seemingly determined to have a big game against the team that traded him away. Per Mike Wells of ESPN, Richardson said this about the meeting with his old mates: I dont want to say its a revenge game, but its going to be a lot of emotion put in this game. Factor in the Colts having an opportunity to wrap up the division, and this could be one of the biggest games of the week. Denver Looking to Clinch the Inevitable If the home-standing Denver Broncos can defeat the Buffalo Bills, they will have done their part to clinch a playoff spot in the AFC. The Broncos also need a ton of help with losses or ties from the Texans and Kansas City Chiefs, as well as losses from the Baltimore Ravens, Pittsburgh Steelers and Browns. Whenever there are so many contingencies involved in a clinching scenario, its either too soon for that talk or an unrealistic playoff scenario. In this case, its the former. The Broncos will be in—likely as a division champion. Im not saying all the chips wont fall in order on Sunday, but Week 15s scenario should be less complicated. Updated Super Bowl Odds When the season began, most would have put the Seattle Seahawks and Denver Broncos at the top of their lists of Super Bowl favorites. Per Odds Shark, both teams still rank favorably in this respect, but the Green Bay Packers have emerged as a favorite. Week 13 Rematch in the Super Bowl The Packers and New England Patriots battled in an epic Week 13 contest that saw Aaron Rodgers and Green Bay defend their turf with a 26-21 win. Rodgers was in usual form completing 24 of 38 passes for 368 yards and two touchdowns. He still hasnt thrown an interception at Lambeau Field since 2012. Green Bay is plenty tough at home. It is 6-0 there so far this season, but what would happen if these two teams met on a neutral field? I think it just might happen. The Packers have separated themselves from the rest of the NFC in recent weeks. They have won four games in a row and sit tied for the best record in the NFC with the Philadelphia Eagles and Arizona Cardinals. Green Bay already beat the Eagles this season, so it would hold the tiebreaker over them if the two teams remain tied at the end of the regular season. Things could be sticky if Green Bay finishes tied with the Cardinals. The Packers are 6-3 in the NFC, and Arizona is 7-2. However, when you look at the two teams remaining schedules, the Packers look to have the easiest path. Green Bay finishes up against the Atlanta Falcons, Buffalo Bills, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Detroit Lions. The Cardinals have the Chiefs, St. Louis Rams, Seahawks and San Francisco 49ers left on their schedule. If the Packers gain home-field advantage through the NFC playoffs, they are the closest thing to a lock to reach the Super Bowl in the NFL. The Patriots had their seven-game win streak snapped, but theres nothing shameful about a five-point loss at Green Bay. Tom Brady and Co. have already beaten most of the top teams in the AFC. Bill Belichick and his staff have cracked the code on Luck and the Colts. The young star has never led his team to a win over the Patriots in three tries. Luck has thrown six touchdown passes and eight interceptions in those games. The Colts havent managed to come any closer than 21 points in any of the three meetings. New England also won the most recent Brady vs. Peyton Manning matchup back in Week 9 by the score of 43-21. At 9-3 and owning the tiebreaker over the Broncos and Colts, the Pats could really make a power move in Week 14 with a win over the 8-4 San Diego Chargers. Not only would the win push New England to 10-3, but it would also give it another tiebreaker over a potential competitor for home-field advantage in the AFC playoffs. Like the Packers, the Pats are 6-0 at home. If they can wrap up home-field advantage, we might just get our Week 13 rematch in Arizona at the Super Bowl. Read more NFL news on BleacherReport #Football #NFL #Opinion #2014NFLPlayoffs
Posted on: Thu, 04 Dec 2014 20:52:40 +0000
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