PiRate Ratings For Super Bowl 55

February 7, 2021

Margins

Home	Visitor	PiRate	Mean	Bias
Tampa Bay	Kansas City	1.8	1.8	2.0

Total

Home	Visitor	Total
Tampa Bay	Kansas City	58

PiRate Ratings–NFL Conference Championship Games

Margins

Home	Visitor	PiRate	Mean	Bias
Green Bay	Tampa Bay	1.1	1.3	1.4
Kansas City	Buffalo	-1.6	-2.4	-2.9

Totals

Home	Visitor	Total
Green Bay	Tampa Bay	56.0
Kansas City	Buffalo	49.0

Sunday, Jan. 25th
Home	Visitors	Time (ET)	TV
Green Bay	Tampa Bay	3:05 PM	FOX
Kansas City	Buffalo	6:40 PM	CBS

PiRate Ratings–NFL Playoffs Divisional Round

Spreads

Home	Visitor	PiRate	Mean	Bias
Green Bay	LA Rams	6.0	6.1	6.5
Buffalo	Baltimore	2.3	3.0	2.8
Kansas City	Cleveland	9.7	9.5	9.0
New Orleans	Tampa Bay	0.2	-0.1	-0.3

Totals

Home	Visitor	Total
Green Bay	LA Rams	46.5
Buffalo	Baltimore	48
Kansas City	Cleveland	53.5
New Orleans	Tampa Bay	58.5

Schedule

Saturday	January 16
Home	Visitor	Network	Time (EST)
Green Bay	LA Rams	FOX	4:35 PM
Buffalo	Baltimore	NBC	8:15 PM
Sunday	January 17
Home	Visitor	Network	Time (EST)
Kansas City	Cleveland	CBS	3:05 PM
New Orleans	Tampa Bay	FOX	6:40 PM

PiRate Ratings For NFL Wildcard Round

PiRate Ratings Spreads For Wildcard Round

Margins

Home	Visitor	PiRate	Mean	Bias
Buffalo	Indianapolis	8.5	9.4	9.8
Seattle	LA Rams	3.0	3.3	3.1
Washington	Tampa Bay	-9.0	-9.1	-9.9
Tennessee	Baltimore	-6.4	-6.3	-6.4
New Orleans	Chicago	8.6	8.9	8.9
Pittsburgh	Cleveland	4.5	4.6	4.4

Totals

Home	Visitor	Total
Buffalo	Indianapolis	49.5
Seattle	LA Rams	49.5
Washington	Tampa Bay	51.5
Tennessee	Baltimore	55
New Orleans	Chicago	46.5
Pittsburgh	Cleveland	44.5

NFL Playoff Schedule–Wildcard Round

Day	Date	Time (ET)	Network	Home	Visitor
Sat	Jan 9	1:05 PM	CBS	Buffalo	Indianapolis
Sat	Jan 9	4:40 PM	FOX	Seattle	LA Rams
Sat	Jan 9	8:15 PM	NBC	Washington	Tampa Bay
Sun	Jan 10	1:05 PM	ESPN	Tennessee	Baltimore
Sun	Jan 10	4:40 PM	CBS	New Orleans	Chicago
Sun	Jan 10	8:15 PM	NBC	Pittsburgh	Cleveland

PiRate Ratings For NFL Week 17: January 3, 2021

This Week’s PiRate Ratings Spreads

Home	Visitor	PiRate	Mean	Bias
Buffalo	Miami	9.3	9.1	9.7
Chicago	Green Bay	-4.7	-5.3	-5.4
Cincinnati	Baltimore	-14.7	-14.2	-14.4
Cleveland	Pittsburgh	-1.0	-1.1	-0.9
Detroit	Minnesota	-4.4	-4.3	-4.3
Indianapolis	Jacksonville	17.7	18.0	18.0
Kansas City	LA Chargers	14.7	14.6	14.4
New England	N.Y. Jets	8.1	6.9	7.3
N.Y. Giants	Dallas	-1.2	-0.7	-0.6
Philadelphia	Washington	-0.8	-0.9	-1.3
Tampa Bay	Atlanta	6.8	7.5	7.5
Carolina	New Orleans	-5.1	-5.1	-4.9
Houston	Tennessee	-3.4	-3.9	-4.1
Denver	Las Vegas	-0.6	-0.6	-0.1
LA Rams	Arizona	2.6	3.0	3.1
San Francisco	Seattle	-2.4	-3.3	-3.2

This Week’s PiRate Ratings Totals

Home	Visitor	Total
Buffalo	Miami	48
Chicago	Green Bay	45
Cincinnati	Baltimore	45.5
Cleveland	Pittsburgh	44.5
Detroit	Minnesota	54.5
Indianapolis	Jacksonville	47.5
Kansas City	LA Chargers	48.5
New England	N.Y. Jets	37.5
N.Y. Giants	Dallas	47
Philadelphia	Washington	43.5
Tampa Bay	Atlanta	56
Carolina	New Orleans	53.5
Houston	Tennessee	56
Denver	Las Vegas	49
LA Rams	Arizona	51
San Francisco	Seattle	52.5

This Week’s PiRate Ratings

Dec. 29, 2020
A F C
East	PiRate	Mean	Bias	Avg	Totals	W-L
Buffalo	109.2	110.0	110.1	109.8	22.5	12-3
Miami	101.4	102.4	101.9	101.9	25.5	10-5
New England	97.1	96.6	96.2	96.6	19.5	6-9
N. Y. Jets	90.0	90.7	89.9	90.2	18	2-13
North	PiRate	Mean	Bias	Avg	Totals	W-L
Baltimore	107.9	107.8	108.0	107.9	25	10-5
Pittsburgh	101.5	101.8	101.8	101.7	19	12-3
Cleveland	99.0	99.2	99.4	99.2	25.5	10-5
Cincinnati	92.2	92.6	92.6	92.4	20.5	4-10-1
South	PiRate	Mean	Bias	Avg	Totals	W-L
Indianapolis	104.7	104.6	104.5	104.6	25.5	10-5
Tennessee	101.5	101.6	101.8	101.6	29	10-5
Houston	96.6	96.2	96.2	96.3	27	4-11
Jacksonville	88.5	88.1	88.0	88.2	22	1-14
West	PiRate	Mean	Bias	Avg	Totals	W-L
Kansas City	109.5	109.6	109.4	109.5	26.5	14-1
Las Vegas	99.1	99.0	98.6	98.9	29.5	7-8
Denver	97.0	96.9	97.0	97.0	19.5	5-10
LA Chargers	96.3	96.5	96.5	96.4	22	6-9
N F C
East	PiRate	Mean	Bias	Avg	Totals	W-L
Washington	97.7	97.6	97.5	97.6	20	6-9
Dallas	96.6	96.8	96.5	96.6	26.5	6-9
Philadelphia	95.9	95.7	95.2	95.6	23.5	4-10-1
N.Y. Giants	93.9	94.6	94.4	94.3	20.5	5-10
North	PiRate	Mean	Bias	Avg	Totals	W-L
Green Bay	107.8	108.0	108.6	108.1	24.5	12-3
Chicago	102.1	101.7	102.2	102.0	20.5	8-7
Minnesota	97.3	96.7	96.6	96.8	26.5	6-9
Detroit	91.9	91.4	91.3	91.5	28	5-10
South	PiRate	Mean	Bias	Avg	Totals	W-L
Tampa Bay	108.0	108.0	108.5	108.2	31	10-5
New Orleans	105.8	105.5	105.8	105.7	27	11-4
Atlanta	102.7	102.0	102.5	102.4	25	4-11
Carolina	99.2	98.9	99.4	99.2	26.5	5-10
West	PiRate	Mean	Bias	Avg	Totals	W-L
Seattle	104.2	104.7	104.7	104.6	27.5	11-4
LA Rams	102.9	102.9	103.0	102.9	23	9-6
Arizona	101.8	101.4	101.4	101.5	28	8-7
San Francisco	100.8	100.4	100.5	100.6	25	6-9

This Week’s Playoff Projections

A F C

1-Seed: Kansas City

2-Seed: Buffalo

3-Seed: Pittsburgh

4- Seed: Indianapolis

5-Seed: Baltimore

6-Seed: Cleveland

7-Seed: Tennessee

NFC

1-Seed: Green Bay

2- Seed: New Orleans

3-Seed: Seattle

4-Seed: Washington

5-Seed: Tampa Bay

6-Seed: LA Rams

7-Seed: Chicago

—

—

Wild Card Round

Buffalo over Tennessee

Cleveland over Pittsburgh

Baltimore over Indianapolis

New Orleans over Chicago

Seattle over LA Rams

Tampa Bay over Washington

---

Divisional Round

Cleveland over Kansas City

Buffalo over Baltimore

Green Bay over Tampa Bay

New Orleans over Seattle

---

Conference Championships

Buffalo over Cleveland

Green Bay over New Orleans

---

Super Bowl

Buffalo over Green Bay

PiRate Ratings For NFL Week 16: December 25-28, 2020

This Week’s PiRate Ratings Spreads

Home	Visitor	PiRate	Mean	Bias
New Orleans	Minnesota	7.8	7.9	8.1
Detroit	Tampa Bay	-10.7	-11.1	-11.7
Las Vegas	Miami	-0.9	-1.8	-1.8
N.Y. Jets	Cleveland	-11.5	-11.1	-12.5
Arizona	San Francisco	4.8	5.2	5.1
LA Chargers	Denver	0.2	0.3	0.3
Kansas City	Atlanta	9.6	10.8	10.3
Pittsburgh	Indianapolis	-2.3	-2.1	-2.2
Washington	Carolina	0.5	1.1	0.4
Jacksonville	Chicago	-9.9	-9.8	-10.2
Baltimore	N.Y. Giants	15.5	14.7	15.1
Houston	Cincinnati	8.7	7.9	8.1
Seattle	LA Rams	2.0	2.2	1.9
Dallas	Philadelphia	-1.6	-1.4	-1.4
Green Bay	Tennessee	3.6	3.5	3.7
New England	Buffalo	-6.0	-7.2	-7.5

This Week’s PiRate Ratings Totals

Home	Visitor	Total
New Orleans	Minnesota	51.5
Detroit	Tampa Bay	59
Las Vegas	Miami	55
N.Y. Jets	Cleveland	43.5
Arizona	San Francisco	55
LA Chargers	Denver	42.5
Kansas City	Atlanta	53.5
Pittsburgh	Indianapolis	43.5
Washington	Carolina	48
Jacksonville	Chicago	41
Baltimore	N.Y. Giants	45.5
Houston	Cincinnati	45.5
Seattle	LA Rams	52.5
Dallas	Philadelphia	50
Green Bay	Tennessee	53.5
New England	Buffalo	41

This Week’s PiRate Ratings

December 22, 2020
A F C
East	PiRate	Mean	Bias	Avg	Totals	W-L
Buffalo	106.6	107.4	107.4	107.2	22	11-3
Miami	101.4	102.4	101.9	101.9	25.5	9-5
New England	99.7	99.2	98.9	99.3	19	6-8
N. Y. Jets	88.3	88.9	87.9	88.4	18	1-13
North	PiRate	Mean	Bias	Avg	Totals	W-L
Baltimore	107.9	107.8	108.0	107.9	25	9-5
Pittsburgh	101.2	101.4	101.3	101.3	18.5	11-3
Cleveland	100.7	101.0	101.4	101.1	25.5	10-4
Cincinnati	90.8	91.2	91.1	91.0	19.5	3-10-1
South	PiRate	Mean	Bias	Avg	Totals	W-L
Indianapolis	105.0	105.0	105.0	105.0	25	10-4
Tennessee	103.6	103.8	104.1	103.8	29	10-4
Houston	98.0	97.6	97.7	97.8	26	4-10
Jacksonville	89.8	89.5	89.5	89.6	21.5	1-13
West	PiRate	Mean	Bias	Avg	Totals	W-L
Kansas City	109.9	110.2	110.1	110.1	27.5	13-1
Las Vegas	99.1	99.0	98.6	98.9	29.5	7-7
Denver	97.1	97.0	97.1	97.1	20	5-9
LA Chargers	96.2	96.4	96.4	96.3	22.5	5-9
N F C
East	PiRate	Mean	Bias	Avg	Totals	W-L
Washington	98.2	98.3	98.2	98.2	21	6-8
Philadelphia	97.8	97.7	97.3	97.6	23.5	4-9-1
Dallas	94.7	94.8	94.4	94.6	26.5	5-9
N.Y. Giants	93.9	94.6	94.4	94.3	20.5	5-9
North	PiRate	Mean	Bias	Avg	Totals	W-L
Green Bay	105.7	105.8	106.3	105.9	24.5	11-3
Chicago	100.8	100.3	100.7	100.6	19.5	7-7
Minnesota	98.4	97.9	97.9	98.0	25.5	6-8
Detroit	94.1	93.7	93.6	93.8	28	5-9
South	PiRate	Mean	Bias	Avg	Totals	W-L
Tampa Bay	105.8	105.7	106.2	105.9	31	9-5
New Orleans	104.7	104.3	104.5	104.5	26	10-4
Atlanta	102.3	101.4	101.8	101.8	26	4-10
Carolina	98.7	98.2	98.7	98.6	27	4-10
West	PiRate	Mean	Bias	Avg	Totals	W-L
Seattle	103.5	103.9	103.8	103.8	28.5	10-4
LA Rams	103.6	103.7	103.9	103.7	24	9-5
Arizona	103.0	102.7	102.8	102.8	29	8-6
San Francisco	99.6	99.1	99.1	99.3	26	5-9

This Week’s PiRate Ratings Playoff Projections

AFC Seeding
1	Kansas City
2	Buffalo
3	Cleveland
4	Indianapolis
5	Pittsburgh
6	Tennessee
7	Baltimore
NFC Seeding
1	New Orleans
2	Seattle
3	Green Bay
4	Washington
5	Tampa Bay
6	LA Rams
7	Chicago

Wildcard Round
Buffalo over Baltimore
Cleveland over Tennessee
Indianapolis over Pittsburgh
Seattle over Chicago
Green Bay over LA Rams
Tampa Bay over Washington
Divisional Round
Kansas City over Indianapolis
Cleveland over Buffalo
Tampa Bay over New Orleans
Green Bay over Seattle
Conference Championship
Kansas City over Cleveland
Green Bay over Tampa Bay
Super Bowl
Kansas City over Green Bay

PiRate Ratings for NFL Week 15: December 17-21, 2020

This Week’s PiRate Ratings Spreads

Home	Visitor	PiRate	Mean	Bias
Las Vegas	LA Chargers	4.6	4.7	4.4
Denver	Buffalo	-5.7	-6.3	-6.0
Green Bay	Carolina	8.5	9.1	9.0
Tennessee	Detroit	8.3	8.7	9.1
Indianapolis	Houston	8.7	9.3	9.3
LA Rams	N.Y. Jets	21.7	21.4	23.0
Atlanta	Tampa Bay	-2.3	-3.2	-3.2
Miami	New England	1.9	3.2	2.9
Minnesota	Chicago	-0.8	-0.6	-0.8
N.Y. Giants	Cleveland	-3.1	-2.3	-2.9
Washington	Seattle	-3.2	-3.2	-3.1
Baltimore	Jacksonville	18.4	18.4	18.4
Arizona	Philadelphia	7.1	7.1	7.5
New Orleans	Kansas City	-3.7	-4.4	-4.1
Dallas	San Francisco	-5.4	-4.9	-5.5
Cincinnati	Pittsburgh	-15.0	-15.1	-15.2

This Week’s PiRate Ratings Totals

Home	Visitor	Total
Las Vegas	LA Chargers	52
Denver	Buffalo	40
Green Bay	Carolina	52.5
Tennessee	Detroit	55
Indianapolis	Houston	51
LA Rams	N.Y. Jets	42
Atlanta	Tampa Bay	57
Miami	New England	46.5
Minnesota	Chicago	42.5
N.Y. Giants	Cleveland	47
Washington	Seattle	50.5
Baltimore	Jacksonville	45
Arizona	Philadelphia	51.5
New Orleans	Kansas City	52.5
Dallas	San Francisco	50.5
Cincinnati	Pittsburgh	37.5

This Week’s PiRate Ratings

A F C
East	PiRate	Mean	Bias	Avg	Totals	W-L
Buffalo	105.4	106.1	106.0	105.9	21	10-3
Miami	100.7	101.7	101.1	101.2	26.5	8-5
New England	100.4	99.9	99.7	100.0	20	6-7
N. Y. Jets	86.1	86.6	85.4	86.0	18	0-13
North	PiRate	Mean	Bias	Avg	Totals	W-L
Baltimore	107.3	107.1	107.2	107.2	24.5	8-5
Pittsburgh	104.0	104.4	104.3	104.2	18.5	11-2
Cleveland	99.6	99.7	100.1	99.8	26.5	9-4
Cincinnati	88.0	88.3	88.1	88.1	19	2-10-1
South	PiRate	Mean	Bias	Avg	Totals	W-L
Indianapolis	105.1	105.2	105.3	105.2	25	9-4
Tennessee	102.5	102.6	102.9	102.7	28	9-4
Houston	97.9	97.4	97.4	97.6	26	4-9
Jacksonville	90.4	90.2	90.3	90.3	20.5	1-12
West	PiRate	Mean	Bias	Avg	Totals	W-L
Kansas City	109.9	110.2	110.1	110.1	27	12-1
Las Vegas	99.5	99.5	99.2	99.4	29.5	7-6
Denver	98.3	98.3	98.5	98.4	19	5-8
LA Chargers	95.8	95.9	95.8	95.8	22.5	4-9
N F C
East	PiRate	Mean	Bias	Avg	Totals	W-L
Washington	98.3	98.5	98.5	98.4	21.5	6-7
Philadelphia	97.8	97.7	97.3	97.6	23.0	4-8-1
N.Y. Giants	95.0	95.9	95.7	95.6	20.5	5-8
Dallas	93.5	93.5	93.0	93.3	25.5	4-9
North	PiRate	Mean	Bias	Avg	Totals	W-L
Green Bay	105.7	105.8	106.3	105.9	25	10-3
Chicago	100.5	99.9	100.2	100.2	18	6-7
Minnesota	98.7	98.3	98.4	98.4	24.5	6-7
Detroit	95.2	94.9	94.8	94.9	27	5-8
South	PiRate	Mean	Bias	Avg	Totals	W-L
Tampa Bay	105.7	105.6	106.1	105.8	31	8-5
New Orleans	104.7	104.3	104.5	104.5	25.5	10-3
Atlanta	102.4	101.5	101.9	101.9	26	4-9
Carolina	98.7	98.2	98.7	98.6	27.5	4-9
West	PiRate	Mean	Bias	Avg	Totals	W-L
LA Rams	105.8	106.0	106.4	106.1	24	9-4
Seattle	103.4	103.7	103.5	103.6	29	9-4
Arizona	103.0	102.7	102.8	102.8	28.5	7-6
San Francisco	100.8	100.4	100.5	100.6	25	5-8

Playoff Projections

AFC Seeding
1	Kansas City
2	Buffalo
3	Pittsburgh
4	Tennessee
5	Cleveland
6	Baltimore
7	Indianapolis
NFC Seeding
1	Green Bay
2	New Orleans
3	Los Angeles
4	Washington
5	Seattle
6	Tampa Bay
7	Arizona

Wildcard Round
Buffalo over Indianapolis
Pittsburgh over Baltimore
Cleveland over Tennessee
Arizona over New Orleans
Los Angeles over Tampa Bay
Seattle over Washington
Divisional Round
Kansas City over Cleveland
Buffalo over Pittsburgh
Green Bay over Arizona
Los Angeles over Seattle
Conference Championship
Kansas City over Buffalo
Green Bay over Los Angeles
Super Bowl
Kansas City over Green Bay

PiRate Ratings–NFL For Week 14: December 10-14, 2020

This Week’s PiRate Ratings Spreads

Home	Visitor	PiRate	Mean	Bias
LA Rams	New England	5.1	5.6	6.2
Chicago	Houston	-0.5	-0.8	-0.8
Cincinnati	Dallas	1.0	1.3	1.6
Detroit	Green Bay	-9.3	-9.6	-10.4
Miami	Kansas City	-7.2	-6.5	-7.0
N.Y. Giants	Arizona	-2.7	-1.6	-1.7
Tampa Bay	Minnesota	8.4	8.6	8.8
Carolina	Denver	3.5	3.2	3.8
Jacksonville	Tennessee	-7.8	-7.9	-7.9
Las Vegas	Indianapolis	-0.3	-0.2	-0.4
Seattle	N.Y. Jets	16.2	15.5	16.5
Philadelphia	New Orleans	-7.8	-7.7	-8.7
LA Chargers	Atlanta	-6.0	-5.3	-6.0
San Francisco	Washington	5.0	4.3	4.7
Buffalo	Pittsburgh	-0.4	-0.3	-0.5
Cleveland	Baltimore	-5.9	-5.6	-5.3

This Week’s PiRate Ratings Totals

Home	Visitor	Total
LA Rams	New England	45
Chicago	Houston	44
Cincinnati	Dallas	46.5
Detroit	Green Bay	52
Miami	Kansas City	52.5
N.Y. Giants	Arizona	51
Tampa Bay	Minnesota	57
Carolina	Denver	44.5
Jacksonville	Tennessee	49.5
Las Vegas	Indianapolis	52
Seattle	N.Y. Jets	48
Philadelphia	New Orleans	48.5
LA Chargers	Atlanta	50.5
San Francisco	Washington	47
Buffalo	Pittsburgh	39.5
Cleveland	Baltimore	48

This Week’s PiRate Ratings

A F C
East	PiRate	Mean	Bias	Avg	Totals	W-L
Buffalo	103.6	104.2	104.0	104.0	21	9-3
Miami	100.7	101.7	101.1	101.2	26	8-4
New England	101.5	101.1	100.9	101.2	20.5	6-6
N. Y. Jets	87.9	88.6	87.4	88.0	19.5	0-12
North	PiRate	Mean	Bias	Avg	Totals	W-L
Baltimore	107.0	106.8	106.9	106.9	23	7-5
Cincinnati	91.5	91.8	91.6	91.6	20.5	2-9-1
Cleveland	99.6	99.7	100.1	99.8	25	9-3
Pittsburgh	105.5	106.0	106.0	105.8	18.5	11-1
South	PiRate	Mean	Bias	Avg	Totals	W-L
Houston	100.2	99.8	99.9	100.0	26	4-8
Indianapolis	103.4	103.4	103.4	103.4	24	8-4
Jacksonville	91.5	91.4	91.6	91.5	21	1-11
Tennessee	101.3	101.3	101.5	101.4	28.5	8-4
West	PiRate	Mean	Bias	Avg	Totals	W-L
Denver	97.7	97.6	97.7	97.7	18	4-8
Kansas City	109.9	110.2	110.1	110.1	26.5	11-1
Las Vegas	101.1	101.2	101.0	101.1	28	7-5
LA Chargers	94.9	94.9	94.7	94.8	23.5	3-9
N F C
East	PiRate	Mean	Bias	Avg	Totals	W-L
Dallas	92.0	92.0	91.5	91.8	26	3-9
N.Y. Giants	96.3	97.2	97.1	96.9	21.5	5-7
Philadelphia	96.6	96.4	95.8	96.2	23	3-8-1
Washington	97.2	97.4	97.3	97.3	21.5	5-7
North	PiRate	Mean	Bias	Avg	Totals	W-L
Chicago	98.2	97.5	97.7	97.8	18	5-7
Detroit	95.1	94.8	94.6	94.8	27	5-7
Green Bay	105.8	105.9	106.5	106.1	25	9-3
Minnesota	98.9	98.6	98.8	98.7	25.5	6-6
South	PiRate	Mean	Bias	Avg	Totals	W-L
Atlanta	103.0	102.2	102.7	102.6	27	4-8
Carolina	99.2	98.8	99.4	99.2	26.5	4-8
New Orleans	105.9	105.6	106.0	105.8	25.5	10-2
Tampa Bay	105.3	105.1	105.5	105.3	31.5	7-5
West	PiRate	Mean	Bias	Avg	Totals	W-L
Arizona	101.6	101.3	101.3	101.4	29.5	6-6
LA Rams	104.6	104.7	105.1	104.8	24.5	8-4
San Francisco	101.6	101.2	101.4	101.4	25.5	5-7
Seattle	101.5	101.6	101.4	101.5	28.5	8-4

Playoff Projections

AFC Seedings

1	Kansas City
2	Pittsburgh
3	Buffalo
4	Indianapolis
5	Cleveland
6	Tennessee
7	Baltimore

NFC Seedings

1	New Orleans
2	Green Bay
3	Los Angeles
4	Washington
5	Tampa Bay
6	Seattle
7	Minnesota

Wildcard Round
Pittsburgh over Baltimore
Buffalo over Tennessee
Cleveland over Indianapolis
Green Bay over Minnesota
Los Angeles over Seattle
Tampa Bay over Washington
Divisional Round
Cleveland over Kansas City
Buffalo over Pittsburgh
Tampa Bay over New Orleans
Green Bay over Los Angeles
Conference Championship
Buffalo over Cleveland
Green Bay over Tampa Bay
Super Bowl
Green Bay over Buffalo

PiRate Ratings–NFL For Week 13: December 6-8, 2020

This Week’s PiRate Ratings Spreads

Home	Visitor	PiRate	Mean	Bias
Chicago	Detroit	7.0	6.8	7.4
Miami	Cincinnati	10.8	11.4	11.0
Houston	Indianapolis	-1.3	-1.5	-1.1
Minnesota	Jacksonville	9.3	9.3	9.5
N.Y. Jets	Las Vegas	-11.1	-10.7	-11.9
Atlanta	New Orleans	-1.2	-1.5	-1.2
Tennessee	Cleveland	4.8	4.9	4.9
Seattle	N.Y. Giants	10.5	9.9	10.0
Arizona	LA Rams	-0.7	-0.9	-1.3
Green Bay	Philadelphia	10.5	10.6	11.6
LA Chargers	New England	0.5	0.7	0.8
Kansas City	Denver	15.2	15.8	15.8
San Francisco	Buffalo	3.1	2.1	2.9
Pittsburgh	Washington	14.2	14.7	15.2
Baltimore	Dallas	16.3	16.1	16.7

This Week’s PiRate Ratings Totals

Home	Visitor	Total
Chicago	Detroit	43.5
Miami	Cincinnati	48.5
Houston	Indianapolis	50
Minnesota	Jacksonville	46.5
N.Y. Jets	Las Vegas	46
Atlanta	New Orleans	54
Tennessee	Cleveland	51.5
Seattle	N.Y. Giants	52
Arizona	LA Rams	53
Green Bay	Philadelphia	48
LA Chargers	New England	44
Kansas City	Denver	44.5
San Francisco	Buffalo	45.5
Pittsburgh	Washington	40
Baltimore	Dallas	49

This Week’s PiRate Ratings

A F C
East	PiRate	Mean	Bias	Avg	Totals	W-L
Buffalo	102.3	102.9	102.5	102.6	20.5	8-3
Miami	100.7	101.7	101.1	101.2	26.5	7-4
New England	99.0	98.6	98.4	98.7	19.5	5-6
N. Y. Jets	87.7	88.3	87.0	87.7	19	0-11
North	PiRate	Mean	Bias	Avg	Totals	W-L
Baltimore	106.9	106.7	106.8	106.8	23	6-5
Cincinnati	91.5	91.8	91.6	91.6	22	2-8-1
Cleveland	98.8	98.8	99.1	98.9	24	8-3
Pittsburgh	107.7	108.3	108.5	108.2	18.5	11-0
South	PiRate	Mean	Bias	Avg	Totals	W-L
Houston	100.4	100.1	100.3	100.3	26	4-7
Indianapolis	103.2	103.1	103.0	103.1	24	7-4
Jacksonville	91.3	91.1	91.2	91.2	21	1-10
Tennessee	102.1	102.2	102.5	102.3	27.5	8-3
West	PiRate	Mean	Bias	Avg	Totals	W-L
Denver	97.2	97.0	97.0	97.1	18	4-7
Kansas City	110.4	110.8	110.8	110.7	26.5	10-1
Las Vegas	101.3	101.5	101.4	101.4	27	6-5
LA Chargers	97.4	97.4	97.2	97.3	24.5	3-8
N F C
East	PiRate	Mean	Bias	Avg	Totals	W-L
Dallas	92.1	92.1	91.6	91.9	26	3-8
N.Y. Giants	94.9	95.7	95.5	95.4	22.5	4-7
Philadelphia	96.7	96.6	96.1	96.4	23	3-7-1
Washington	95.0	95.1	94.8	95.0	21.5	4-7
North	PiRate	Mean	Bias	Avg	Totals	W-L
Chicago	99.4	98.8	99.1	99.1	17	5-6
Detroit	93.9	93.5	93.2	93.5	26.5	4-7
Green Bay	105.7	105.7	106.2	105.9	25	8-3
Minnesota	99.1	98.9	99.2	99.0	25.5	5-6
South	PiRate	Mean	Bias	Avg	Totals	W-L
Atlanta	103.1	102.4	103.0	102.8	27.5	4-7
Carolina	99.2	98.8	99.4	99.2	26.5	4-8
New Orleans	105.8	105.4	105.7	105.6	26.5	9-2
Tampa Bay	105.3	105.1	105.5	105.3	31.5	7-5
West	PiRate	Mean	Bias	Avg	Totals	W-L
Arizona	102.5	102.3	102.3	102.4	29	6-5
LA Rams	103.7	103.7	104.1	103.8	24	7-4
San Francisco	102.9	102.5	102.9	102.8	25	5-6
Seattle	102.9	103.1	103.0	103.0	29.5	8-3

This Week’s Playoff Projections

AFC Seeding
1	Pittsburgh
2	Kansas City
3	Tennessee
4	Buffalo
5	Miami
6	Indianapolis
7	Cleveland
NFC Seeding
1	Green Bay
2	Seattle
3	New Orleans
4	Washington
5	Los Angeles
6	Tampa Bay
7	Minnesota

Wildcard Round
Kansas City over Cleveland
Indianapolis over Tennessee
Buffalo over Miami
Minnesota over Seattle
Tampa Bay over New Orleans
Los Angeles over Washington
Divisional Round
Pittsburgh over Indianapolis
Kansas City over Buffalo
Green Bay over Minnesota
Los Angeles over Tampa Bay
Conference Championship
Kansas City over Pittsburgh
Green Bay over Los Angeles
Super Bowl
Kansas City over Green Bay

Sunday Morning Musings

Roger Goodell Playing Favorites

Those of you coming to the PiRate Ratings expecting to see the updated college ratings, you will have to wait until Tuesday afternoon before they can be updated, because there is a game scheduled for Tuesday morning between Charlotte and Western Kentucky. We will update the ratings within 90 minutes of the finish of that game. Such is reality on Planet Covid.

The NFL also has a Tuesday game, this one to be played in primetime on NBC between rivals Pittsburgh and Baltimore. Ravens’ quarterback Lamar Jackson is in the Covid Protocol, as are other players, and the game, originally scheduled for Thanksgiving night, was moved to Sunday and then to Tuesday. The reasoning must have something to do with the fact that both teams are in the playoff hunt and fighting for the AFC North title.

Head West to the Mountain Time Zone, flyover country to the elites in Manhattan, like NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell. The Denver Broncos have not one quarterback, but all the quarterbacks on their roster unable to play today against New Orleans. Is their game postponed until Tuesday to give at least one of the quarantined players a chance to get enough negative tests to play, or for Denver to sign a free agent QB and attempt to install a couple of series for him? Goodell apparently does not care as much about the Broncos as he does the Ravens. Not only is the game scheduled to be played today, he would not allow the Broncos to activate their one offensive assistant coach young enough to play, Rob Calabrese, and also competent enough to run the offense. Goodell nixed the precedent-setting move that would allow teams to “hide” players as basically extra practice squad members.

Calabrese is not a ringer. He is 30 years old and a one-time part-time starting quarterback at Central Florida. He actually was moved to wide receiver for his final year at UCF. In his college career, he threw a total of 254 passes, completing just 46% of them and averaged a measly five yards per attempt. These are not stats of a “ringer.”

You might say that Denver is headed to the basement of the AFC West this year, so it doesn’t matter that they are forced to play almost a Single Wing offense today without any single wing series to take much advantage of the added running strength. In the NFL, this in essence makes for a walkover game for the New Orleans Saints. And, that is the problem. How fair is this to Tampa Bay? The Bucs did not get a walkover game on their schedule. New Orleans gets a free win.

How can Goodell gift New Orleans a win like this, and then he gives Baltimore five days extra to get ready for their game with Pittsburgh? The two games have comparable issues, but the ruling is 180° different.

What would happen if Denver announced today that they were unable to play and would have to forfeit the game? Goodell would be in hot water, and he’d be forced to take some additional type of action. If he backed down and moved the game to Tuesday, it would usurp his power and establish precedent for future caving in with the Commissioner’s office.

Goodell earns a salary near one million dollars a week! He certainly hasn’t earned that million this week.

Reverse Gold Rush

Santa Clara County, California, has issued a ban on contact sports (and almost everything else) inside the county for the next three weeks, as Covid numbers rise, leading to a potential emergency with unavailable hospital beds in the county. The San Francisco 49ers play their home games in Santa Clara, and they have two games scheduled inside this ban window. Where will the 49ers relocate for two games and three weeks?

Further complicating matters is the fact that one of those two games will be a Monday Night game against Buffalo. What that means is that the substitute stadium must have sufficient stadium lighting to meet the NFL’s and ESPN’s standards for televising a night game. While a day game could be played in any neighboring county, that Monday Night Football game almost has to be played in a professional sports stadium. Then, there is the issue of the substitute venue needing to have the technological advances that allow for instant replay and the keeping of the official book of the game–all those stats that every team needs for their analytics’ departments.

It leaves the team with few options if it wants to stay in the Bay Area and not separate players from their families. However, just because a venue has adequate lighting, there is no guarantee that the venue can be ready to host a football game on such short notice. Let’s look at some of the possibilities.

Oakland Coliseum: The O.Co housed the Oakland Raiders until this season. The Raiders had already declined to play one more season at the mausoleum if their new digs in Las Vegas were not ready on time. It isn’t easy to bring in all the personnel needed to convert a hibernating baseball park into an NFL stadium on short notice. It is possible, but it may be a secondary option at best.

California-Berkeley Memorial Stadium: This venue is also in Alameda County, and it is football ready with adequate lighting. Of course, UC may or may not wish to share their football facilities with additional teams. The locker rooms would have to be shared, meaning next week, there would be a Saturday college game followed by a Monday night (5:20 PM locally) NFL game. What would the labor and materials cost be to thoroughly disinfect two locker rooms on 48 hours notice? The electronics and computer setup would take the better part of a day to ready the stadium for Monday afternoon football. This is probably not possible.

Oracle Park: The home ballpark of the San Francisco Giants baseball team has adequate lighting and technological availability. The NFL approved the site as a potential one year rental for the Raiders, but the 49ers vetoed Oakland playing on their side of the Bay. It is the perfect venue to quickly ready a football game on eight days notice, but it has one major liability: San Francisco is likely to impose the same contact sports ban that Santa Clara County has imposed. There would be no way to play the 49ers-Bills game if it were unable to play in San Francisco about 72-96 hours before scheduled kickoff time. It’s probably too risky.

Redwood Bowl at Humboldt State University: This is almost an impossible probability, as it does not have the electronics needed to house an NFL game without several hours of installation. Additionally, it is likely to be a college football host for either Stanford, San Jose State, or both teams. Those two teams also must relocated.

Aggie Stadium–Davis, CA: This site offers a little better quality than the Redwood Bowl, and it is closer to the San Francisco area than Humboldt. But, it still lacks the electronic needs, and the lighting may have to be amended with temporary wattage for Monday Night Football. It could be the best option if the team wants to stay close to home, but Commissioner Goodell has proven not to always make the best option his priority.

Outside of California: This is the worst option for the players and coaches, but it is the NFL’s best option. All the counties surrounding the Bay are likely to impose the same restrictions by the middle of this week, so the real options are either the smaller college venues far removed from the Bay Area or moving out of state to NFL venues.

There is the option of moving the Monday Night game to Buffalo, but this would be as unfair to teams competing against the Bills as Goodell’s Folly of giving the Saints a free win.

The Arizona Cardinals and Dallas Cowboys offer potential Monday Night venues that would satisfy everybody but the 49ers players and coaches. When all is said and done, expect Goodell to put their needs aside when he makes the decision of where to allow the game to be played.

Detroit Lions Have A Candidate In Their Backyard

He’s just about reached his expiration date in Ann Arbor. Jim Harbaugh’s loss to winless Penn State yesterday may have sealed his fate with the Michigan Wolverines. At the same time, the Detroit Lions were issuing walking orders to coach Matt Patricia, yet another Bill Belichick disciple unable to replicate the Master’s success.

Would the Ford Family turn to Harbaugh? Personally, we do not see this being a good fit. Harbaugh’s smash mouth style of play is on the outs in college and pro football, and the Lions do not have the personnel to run that system. The Fords now have first dibs on hiring the best offensive mind available if he wants the job. Kansas City Chiefs Offensive Coordinator Eric Bieniemy is the perfect candidate for the job. Harbaugh’s next job should be as a commentator for Fox Sports or CBS. He could be a second Tony Romo type for college or pro football.