Did You Enjoy Your Christmas Gift?
Last week as our Christmas gift to you, we gave all our readers a free 13-point teaser parlay for you to play. It was a winner! Let’s take a look at it once again.
Pittsburgh – ½ vs. Carolina
Jacksonville +6 vs. Washington
Baltimore +9 ½ vs. Cleveland
Oakland +13 vs. Indianapolis
Thanks to an excellent QB draw by David Garrard, the Jaguars force overtime with Washington and lost on a field goal, which was okay for this parlay. Oakland scored a late TD to prevent the Colts from threatening to ruin the parlay at the end of the day. Pittsburgh and Baltimore were never in doubt. Did you use this and win?
NFL Playoff Possibilities
NFC
East
Philadelphia
Clinched the division and will be the number three seed no matter what happens this week
New York Giants
Can get in as a Wildcard two ways
1. A win over Washington and Green Bay loses or ties
2. A tie with Washington and a both a Green Bay loss and Tampa Bay loss or tie
North
Chicago
Clinched the division and has earned a first round bye regardless of what happens this week
They can clinch home-field advantage throughout the NFC playoffs with a win plus an Atlanta loss and a New Orleans loss or tie
Green Bay
Can earn a Wildcard spot three different ways
1. A win over the Bears automatically gives them a Wildcard
2. If they lose to the Bears, they still qualify if both the Giants and Tampa Bay also lose
3. If they tie the Bears, they qualify as a Wildcard if both the Giants and Tampa Bay lose or tie
South
Atlanta
Has not clinched the division, but a win or tie over Carolina clinches it
They also would clinch with a New Orleans loss or tie
If they win the division, they will also clinch a first-round bye.
Can clinch home-field advantage throughout the NFC Playoffs if they win or tie or if Chicago and New Orleans both lose or tie
New Orleans
Has clinched a playoff spot
If the Saints win and Atlanta loses, they would become division champions and earn home-field advantage throughout the NFC playoffs
Tampa Bay
Can still earn a Wildcard spot with a win over the Saints plus a Green Bay loss or tie and a Giants loss or tie
West
The winner of the St. Louis—Seattle game will clinch the division and earn the number four seed
If they tie, the Rams win the division
AFC
East
New England
Has already clinched home-field advantage throughout the AFC Playoffs
New York Jets
Have clinched a Wildcard spot.
North
Pittsburgh and Baltimore have already clinched playoff spots
Pittsburgh
Can clinch the division and earn the other first-round bye three different ways
1. A win over Cleveland
2. A tie with Cleveland coupled with a loss or tie by Baltimore
3. A loss to Cleveland, coupled with a loss by Baltimore
Pittsburgh can be a #2 seed with a win, but they could fall all the way to #6 if they lose and both Baltimore and the Jets win.
Baltimore
Can clinch the division and earn a first-round bye two ways
1. A win over Cincinnati coupled by a Pittsburgh loss or tie
2. A tie with Cincinnati and a Pittsburgh loss.
South
This division has not yet been decided
The division winner will play in the opening week in the Wildcard Playoff round
Indianapolis
Clinches the division with a win or tie or a Jacksonville loss or tie
The Colts would be the number three seed if they win and Kansas City loses and the number four seed if they win the division and Kansas City wins or ties
Jacksonville
Can clinch the division with a win over Houston and Indianapolis loss to Tennessee
The Jaguars would be the number four seed.
West
Kansas City
Has already clinched the division title and will play in the Wildcard Round of the playoffs
If they win or tie or if Indianapolis loses or ties, the Chiefs would be the third seed
If they lose and Indianapolis wins, the Chiefs will be the fourth seed
Here is our projected Playoff bracket
NFC
#6 Green Bay at #3 Philadelphia
#5 New Orleans at #4 St. Louis
#2 Chicago hosts the better remaining seed that wins in the Wildcard round
#1 Atlanta hosts the worse remaining seed that wins in the Wildcard round
AFC
#6 Pittsburgh at #3 Kansas City
#5 New York Jets at #4 Indianapolis
#2 Baltimore hosts the better remaining seed that wins in the Wildcard round
#1 New England hosts the worse remaining seed that wins in the Wildcard round
| Current NFL Standings, PiRate, Mean, and Biased Ratings | |||||||||||
| Listed By PiRate Rating | |||||||||||
| NFC East | Won | Lost | Tied | Pts | Opp | PiRate | Mean | Biased | |||
| Philadelphia | 10 | – | 5 | – | 0 | 426 | 363 | 105.9 | 104.0 | 104.7 | |
| NY Giants | 9 | – | 6 | – | 0 | 377 | 333 | 103.6 | 102.5 | 102.2 | |
| Dallas | 5 | – | 10 | – | 0 | 380 | 423 | 97.9 | 98.4 | 96.6 | |
| Washington | 6 | – | 9 | – | 0 | 288 | 360 | 94.3 | 97.0 | 97.4 | |
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| NFC North | Won | Lost | Tied | Pts | Opp | PiRate | Mean | Biased | |||
| Green Bay | 9 | – | 6 | – | 0 | 378 | 237 | 111.2 | 109.2 | 106.8 | |
| Chicago | 11 | – | 4 | – | 0 | 331 | 276 | 103.9 | 104.4 | 105.0 | |
| Detroit | 5 | – | 10 | – | 0 | 342 | 356 | 98.4 | 100.5 | 100.1 | |
| Minnesota | 6 | – | 9 | – | 0 | 268 | 328 | 97.4 | 98.1 | 99.4 | |
| NFC South | Won | Lost | Tied | Pts | Opp | PiRate | Mean | Biased | |||
| New Orleans | 11 | – | 4 | – | 0 | 371 | 284 | 107.0 | 105.3 | 107.0 | |
| Atlanta | 12 | – | 3 | – | 0 | 383 | 278 | 106.6 | 105.7 | 105.8 | |
| Tampa Bay | 9 | – | 6 | – | 0 | 318 | 305 | 100.0 | 100.2 | 101.0 | |
| Carolina | 2 | – | 13 | – | 0 | 186 | 377 | 90.2 | 88.4 | 88.3 | |
| NFC West | Won | Lost | Tied | Pts | Opp | PiRate | Mean | Biased | |||
| San Francisco | 5 | – | 10 | – | 0 | 267 | 339 | 96.2 | 94.5 | 96.7 | |
| St. Louis | 7 | – | 8 | – | 0 | 283 | 312 | 95.6 | 94.9 | 99.0 | |
| Seattle | 6 | – | 9 | – | 0 | 294 | 401 | 92.0 | 91.6 | 94.1 | |
| Arizona | 5 | – | 10 | – | 0 | 282 | 396 | 89.0 | 91.4 | 91.0 | |
| AFC East | Won | Lost | Tied | Pts | Opp | PiRate | Mean | Biased | |||
| New England | 13 | – | 2 | – | 0 | 480 | 306 | 115.3 | 113.2 | 112.0 | |
| NY Jets | 10 | – | 5 | – | 0 | 329 | 297 | 102.7 | 102.9 | 103.9 | |
| Miami | 7 | – | 8 | – | 0 | 266 | 295 | 99.1 | 99.2 | 98.2 | |
| Buffalo | 4 | – | 11 | – | 0 | 276 | 387 | 95.8 | 96.3 | 95.8 | |
| AFC North | Won | Lost | Tied | Pts | Opp | PiRate | Mean | Biased | |||
| Baltimore | 11 | – | 4 | – | 0 | 344 | 263 | 107.0 | 106.2 | 106.0 | |
| Pittsburgh | 11 | – | 4 | – | 0 | 334 | 223 | 105.5 | 105.7 | 106.2 | |
| Cleveland | 5 | – | 10 | – | 0 | 262 | 291 | 99.3 | 98.2 | 94.4 | |
| Cincinnati | 4 | – | 11 | – | 0 | 315 | 382 | 97.9 | 97.9 | 95.3 | |
| AFC South | Won | Lost | Tied | Pts | Opp | PiRate | Mean | Biased | |||
| Indianapolis | 9 | – | 6 | – | 0 | 412 | 368 | 102.2 | 102.5 | 103.1 | |
| Jacksonville | 8 | – | 7 | – | 0 | 336 | 385 | 98.7 | 97.7 | 98.4 | |
| Houston | 5 | – | 10 | – | 0 | 356 | 410 | 98.0 | 97.7 | 96.5 | |
| Tennessee | 6 | – | 9 | – | 0 | 336 | 316 | 93.9 | 98.3 | 95.8 | |
| AFC West | Won | Lost | Tied | Pts | Opp | PiRate | Mean | Biased | |||
| San Diego | 8 | – | 7 | – | 0 | 408 | 294 | 104.3 | 105.0 | 102.2 | |
| Kansas City | 10 | – | 5 | – | 0 | 356 | 295 | 100.9 | 101.8 | 102.7 | |
| Oakland | 7 | – | 8 | – | 0 | 379 | 361 | 98.9 | 99.0 | 100.5 | |
| Denver | 4 | – | 11 | – | 0 | 316 | 438 | 91.7 | 92.3 | 94.1 | |
| PiRate, Mean, and Bias Spreads | |||||||
| Home Team in CAPS | |||||||
| Ratings Do Not Reflect Resting of Regulars by Teams That Have Nothing to Play for | |||||||
| Week 17: January 2, 2011 | |||||||
| Vegas Line as of 12:00 PM EST Wednesday | |||||||
| Favorite | Underdog | PiRate | Mean | Bias | Vegas | Totals | |
| KANSAS CITY | Oakland | 6.0 | 6.8 | 6.2 | 3 1/2 | 43 ½ | |
| NEW ENGLAND | Miami | 19.2 | 17.0 | 16.8 | 3 | 43 | |
| INDIANAPOLIS | Tennessee | 11.3 | 7.2 | 10.3 | 9 1/2 | 48 | |
| Jacksonville | HOUSTON | 2.7 | 2.0 | 3.9 | 2 1/2 | 49 ½ | |
| Pittsburgh | CLEVELAND | 2.2 | 3.5 | 7.8 | 6 | 37 | |
| BALTIMORE | Cincinnati | 12.1 | 11.3 | 13.7 | 9 1/2 | 43 | |
| DETROIT | Minnesota | 5.0 | 6.4 | 4.7 | NL | NL | |
| WASHINGTON | New York Giants | 6.3 | 2.5 | 1.8 | 4 | 44 ½ | |
| GREEN BAY | Chicago | 10.3 | 7.8 | 4.8 | NL | NL | |
| PHILADELPHIA | Dallas | 10.0 | 7.6 | 10.1 | NL | NL | |
| NEW YORK JETS | Buffalo | 9.9 | 9.6 | 11.1 | 3 | 35 ½ | |
| ATLANTA | Carolina | 19.4 | 20.3 | 20.5 | 14 1/2 | 41 | |
| NEW ORLEANS | Tampa Bay | 9.0 | 7.1 | 8.0 | 7 1/2 | 47 | |
|
St. Louis | 0.4 | 0.7 | -0.9 | 3 | 41 1/2 | |
| SAN FRANCISCO | Arizona | 11.2 | 7.1 | 9.7 | 6 | 38 ½ | |
| San Diego | DENVER | 8.6 | 8.7 | 4.1 | 3 1/2 | 47 | |
Note to our subscription clients: We will not issue an “official” pick for this week’s games because we do not like any of the possible parlays; too many teams have nothing to play for, but at the same time, this does not mean they will not use their regulars for four quarters.
We will only issue three unofficial picks. We advise you to take everything off the table unless you want to speculate with profits.
The Pi-Rate Ratings 