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Is Your Nfl Team Playoff Bound?
SEASON OVER
The regular season for 2014 is over and the following standings are final.
What is the purpose of this article?
If you are as big of an NFL fan as I am, you may wonder from time to time 'What if the season ended right now?' 'Would my team make the playoffs?' Well I have decided that I will save you the hassle of looking at records and tie-breakers by giving you the answer. Every week I will update this hub and tell you, the reader, who would be in the playoffs if the season ended right then.
Warning!!!
I would first like to say that these are not predictions of my own, they are statistical facts. The teams that are listed as being in the playoffs are, in fact, the teams that would be in the playoffs if this were the final week of the season. I will be sure to give at least a little detail, like the teams record, as well as an explanation to why a team wins in a tie breaker situation. I will not give an in depth explanation, unless asked to, as to why a certain team doesn't win their tie-breaker until later in the season. If you are looking for predictions you will need to look elsewhere. Sorry.
Explanation
So we can finally get started. I will break up each division and give records for each team. The current division winner will be marked by an DW in front of their name. If a division has a current wild card team, I will denote them by placing a WC in front of that team's name. Every team that does not have one of these markers is currently on the outside of the playoffs. To the right of the team name will be two or three numbers (i.e. 9-5-1). The first number represents the number of wins, the second number is the number of loses and the third number is the number of ties. After this may be something like '#3 Seed'. This is simply an indicator of what seed the team is using current records. As the season's end draws nearer I will include designators for teams that have clinched their division, a wild card slot, a playoff berth and home field advantage.
NFC East
z - DW - Philadelphia Eagles
| 10-6
| #3 Seed
| |
Dallas Cowboys
| 8-8
| ||
New York Giants
| 7-9
| ||
Washington Redskins
| 3-13
|
The Eagles have made it into the playoffs on the arm of their back-up QB Nick Foles. After such a strong showing, it would be silly to believe that he will move back down on the depth chart.
NFC North
z - DW - Green Bay Packers
| 8-7-1
| #4 Seed
| |
Chicago Bears
| 8-8
| ||
Detroit Lions
| 7-9
| ||
Minnesota Vikings
| 5-10-1
|
The Detroit Lions are currently in the playoffs. This could easily change from one week to the next. I do not mean that they are bad, the NFC is just really wide open right now. If the rushing attack can hit a stride (coupled with a hefty dose of Stafford to Megatron), they could show some promise and lock up a playoff spot.
NFC South
DW - New Orleans Saints
| 9-3
| #2 Seed
| Wins tie break over Carolina based on best win percentage in common games.
|
WC - Carolina Panthers
| 9-3
| #5 Seed
| |
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
| 3-9
| ||
Atlanta Falcons
| 3-9
|
The Saints could very easily hold onto the top NFC South spot. They did lose a very tough game against Seattle and will have to beat Carolina to hold onto their Division. The road will not be easy but Drew Brees is as good as ever and the pass defense is looking good. If they find a way to run the ball and stop the run, they will be closer to a complete package.
Carolina has suddenly become a hot team to watch. An efficient offense coupled with a dominating defense has led the Panthers to 8 straight victories. They do have some upcoming tests though. They will play games at New Orleans, at New York and at Atlanta. They also host a game against New Orleans. The Panthers defense will be tested against Brees, the same way it was tested by Brady. They are currently in the top 6 in opponents passing yards and rushing yards as well as 9th in offensive rushing yards. They will look to keep winning as they continue to defeat great teams, no matter how controversial the endings may be. Keep Pounding.
NFC West
x-DW - Seattle Seahawks
| 11-1
| #1 Seed
| |
WC - San Francisco 49ers
| 8-4
| #6 Seed
| |
Arizona Cardinals
| 7-5
| ||
St. Louis Rams
| 5-7
|
The Seahawks are looking to continue their run going deeper into the season and could easily do that. Seattle plays teams with a combined record of 25-23. The Seahawks have already won 11 games and have now clinched a playoff berth. There is still a chance they do not make the #1 seed but that chance is minuscule with the way this team is playing.
The 49ers may be limping to the finish line instead of sprinting. They are returning their injured players but still seem to be slightly off compared to last year. The Colin Kaepernick of last year is not clearly present. This team could still be a force to reckon with but they will have to put their pieces back together and stay strong.
AFC East
DW - New England Patriots
| 9-3
| #2 Seed
| |
Miami Dolphins
| 6-6
| ||
New York Jets
| 5-7
| ||
Buffalo Bills
| 4-8
|
The Patriots are still the Patriots. As long as Tom Brady is throwing the ball and Bill Belichick is coaching, New England has a shot at the playoffs. The Patriots ability to spread the ball to nearly every receiver is a gift not given to many NFL teams and continues to make them a hard team to defend.
AFC North
DW - Cincinnati Bengals
| 8-4
| #4 Seed
| |
WC - Baltimore Ravens
| 6-6
| #6 Seed
| Wins tie break over Miami based on head-to-head win percentage.
|
Pittsburgh Steelers
| 5-7
| ||
Cleveland Browns
| 4-8
|
The Bengals have quietly made their way into the playoff race. They are not a team that anyone is raving about but the can still score in many ways and have a proven defense that can stop teams in both facets of the game. The trio of A.J. Green, Giovanni Bernard and Andy Dalton makes this team very dangerous. If you add in The Law Firm, Green-Ellis, and Marvin Jones you get a force to reckon with. Two of their four loses have come in overtime and they do not play an extremely tough schedule in the last part of the season.
The Baltimore Ravens have slowly inched their way back into playoff contention. A Ray Lewis-less defense is trying to show they still have the same ferociousness and the offense is trying to show that they can still get the job done. Flacco has had his leadership called into question and will need to prove that he is the leader that Baltimore may need.
AFC South
DW - Indianapolis Colts
| 8-4
| #3 Seed
| Wins tie break over Cincinnati based on best win percentage in conference games.
|
Tennessee Titans
| 5-7
| ||
Jacksonville Jaguars
| 3-9
| ||
Houston Texans
| 2-10
|
The Colts have had great wins over teams like Denver, Seattle and San Francisco. The intriguing part is that they have lost to San Diego (5-7), Miami (6-6), and St. Louis (5-7). If the Colts want to prove they have what it takes to continuously beat Denver-like teams they can't lose by 30 points to a bottom of the barrel team. In Luck they trust.
AFC West
DW - Denver Broncos
| 10-2
| #1 Seed
| |
WC - Kansas City Chiefs
| 9-3
| #5 Seed
| |
San Diego Chargers
| 5-7
| ||
Oakland Raiders
| 4-8
|
If not for a week 7 loss to the Colts, the Broncos would be getting almost as much attention as the Chiefs. Peyton Manning has slowed a bit since the fiery start of the season but is still sitting at 4125 passing yards and 41 passing touchdowns with 4 games left in the season (both on par to surpass Tom Brady's 2007 single season touchdown record, of 50, and Dan Marino's 1984 single season passing yards record, of 5,084). Knowshon Moreno has been a pleasant surprise for Bronco fans and has added more artillery to a large offensive arsenal. In the coming weeks, with games against Oakland and San Diego, this team could clinch a #1 Seed. This is because they already have a better record than all other AFC teams.
I do not believe that many people had the Chiefs as being the final unbeaten team, but they were. Behind a fantastic head coach, Andy Reid, and a great defense this team has flown through an easy schedule. With a game against Indianapolis and Denver and 2 games against San Diego, the Chiefs could easily fall from 9-1 to a less impressive 9-5. This team is good, it's time for them to prove it against better opponents.
Which NFL team will win Super Bowl XLVIII?
© 2013 dm75968