NFL Preview For Week 16: December 24-28, 2015

The Playoff Race Is About Over

With two weeks to go in the 2015-16 NFL schedule, the 12 playoff teams are almost set in stone with just a few exceptions.

AFC East

New England has clinched the division and has earned a first round bye.  They need one win to clinch home field advantage throughout the AFC Playoffs (or a Bengal loss).

The New York Jets are on the outside looking in as the #7-seed.  This week’s game with the Patriots is a virtual must-win game, because they lose tiebreakers to both Pittsburgh and Kansas City.

 

AFC North

Cincinnati plays at Denver this week, and the winner is most likely to earn the second seed and get a bye, while the loser will host a wildcard playoff game.

Pittsburgh has the easiest closing stretch with games against Baltimore and Cleveland.  If the Steelers win both games and Cincinnati loses their last two, the Steelers would earn the division title.  Pittsburgh wins a tiebreaker with the Jets, but not with Kansas City.

 

AFC South

This race is still up for grabs, as Indianapolis trails Houston by a game.  The Texans can clinch the division with one more win or one Colt loss.  Houston travels to 3-11 Tennessee, where the Titans would own the first pick in the 2016 draft if the season ended today, so the Texans are definitely in the driver’s seat.

 

AFC West

Kansas City can still win the division, as the Chiefs win the divisional tiebreaker over Denver, if they both finish 11-5 or 10-6.  The Chiefs hold the tiebreaker over both Pittsburgh and the New York Jets.

 

NFC East

This is the one division with a lot still up for grabs.  Washington leads Philadelphia and the New York Giants by a game, but the Redskins finish with road games against Philadelphia and Dallas.  If the Eagles win this weekend, they will pass the Redskins based on better divisional record.  The Giants can still win the division by winning out, which would include a week 17 victory over Philadelphia, while the Redskins lose twice.

 

NFC North

Green Bay has clinched a playoff spot but not the division.  If they lose to Minnesota in week 17 and finish in a tie, the Vikings will be the division winner.  The Vikings can only lose out to the Falcons in a tiebreaker situation if Seattle also finishes in a tie all at 9-7.

 

NFC South

Carolina must lose twice to have a chance to not have home field advantage throughout the NFC Playoffs.  Atlanta must win twice, and Seattle and Minnesota must both lose twice for the Falcons to make the playoffs.

 

NFC West

Arizona has already clinched the division, and Seattle has already clinched a wildcard spot.  The Cardinals can clinch the number two seed with a win over Green Bay or a loss by Green Bay to Minnesota in week 17, and they can clinch the top seed if they win out and Carolina loses their final two games.

 

Our Playoff Projections and Predictions Follow the Ratings and Spreads Below

 

Current NFL PiRate Ratings
N F C
East	PiRate	Mean	Bias	Average	W-L-T	Pts	Opp
N.Y. Giants	101.1	101.0	101.1	101.1	6-8-0	373	358
Philadelphia	98.7	98.4	98.8	98.6	6-8-0	318	362
Dallas	99.2	97.9	98.0	98.4	4-10-0	246	324
Washington	97.3	97.6	98.4	97.8	7-7-0	316	332
North	PiRate	Mean	Bias	Average	W-L-T	Pts	Opp
Green Bay	106.6	106.4	107.0	106.7	10-4-0	347	265
Minnesota	102.3	102.0	104.3	102.9	9-5-0	296	272
Detroit	99.3	98.2	98.3	98.6	5-9-0	302	363
Chicago	97.0	96.4	96.6	96.7	5-9-0	289	352
South	PiRate	Mean	Bias	Average	W-L-T	Pts	Opp
Carolina	109.4	109.9	111.5	110.3	14-0-0	449	278
Atlanta	96.0	95.8	95.3	95.7	7-7-0	302	312
Tampa Bay	94.4	94.2	93.3	94.0	6-8-0	311	353
New Orleans	94.5	93.0	94.4	94.0	5-9-0	350	432
West	PiRate	Mean	Bias	Average	W-L-T	Pts	Opp
Arizona	110.4	110.3	111.7	110.8	12-2-0	445	269
Seattle	110.8	110.4	111.0	110.7	9-5-0	370	248
St. Louis	95.0	95.6	95.2	95.3	6-8-0	241	294
San Francisco	94.8	93.7	95.1	94.5	4-10-0	202	339
A F C
East	PiRate	Mean	Bias	Average	W-L-T	Pts	Opp
New England	109.4	109.2	108.7	109.1	12-2-0	435	269
N. Y. Jets	102.0	102.7	102.4	102.4	9-5-0	344	272
Buffalo	100.7	101.2	100.5	100.8	6-8-0	341	336
Miami	95.4	95.1	94.0	94.8	5-9-0	278	361
North	PiRate	Mean	Bias	Average	W-L-T	Pts	Opp
Pittsburgh	108.7	108.9	108.8	108.8	9-5-0	378	287
Cincinnati	106.9	107.7	107.7	107.4	11-3-0	378	243
Baltimore	96.7	95.6	94.9	95.7	4-10-0	292	360
Cleveland	91.7	91.2	91.5	91.5	3-11-0	253	387
South	PiRate	Mean	Bias	Average	W-L-T	Pts	Opp
Houston	98.2	99.4	98.7	98.8	7-7-0	275	301
Indianapolis	95.1	95.2	94.7	95.0	6-8-0	285	372
Jacksonville	93.7	95.3	93.1	94.0	5-9-0	343	380
Tennessee	90.9	91.1	90.5	90.8	3-11-0	269	359
West	PiRate	Mean	Bias	Average	W-L-T	Pts	Opp
Kansas City	106.8	107.9	107.7	107.5	9-5-0	365	257
Denver	104.0	103.7	103.9	103.9	10-4-0	308	259
San Diego	96.7	97.1	96.9	96.9	4-10-0	280	348
Oakland	96.3	97.9	96.0	96.7	6-8-0	319	356

 

This Week’s Games
Week Number:	16
Date of Games:	December 24-28
Home	Visitor	PiRate	Mean	Bias
Oakland	San Diego	2.1	3.3	1.6
Philadelphia	Washington	3.9	3.3	2.9
NY Jets	New England	-4.4	-3.5	-3.3
Tennessee	Houston	-5.3	-6.3	-6.2
Kansas City	Cleveland	18.1	19.7	19.2
Miami	Indianapolis	2.8	2.4	1.8
New Orleans	Jacksonville	3.3	0.2	3.8
Detroit	San Francisco	6.5	6.5	5.2
Buffalo	Dallas	4.5	6.3	5.5
Tampa Bay	Chicago	-0.1	0.3	-1.1
Atlanta	Carolina	-10.9	-11.6	-13.7
Minnesota	NY Giants	4.2	4.0	6.2
Seattle	St. Louis	18.8	17.8	18.8
Arizona	Green Bay	6.8	6.9	7.7
Baltimore	Pittsburgh	-10.0	-11.3	-11.9
Denver	Cincinnati	0.1	-1.0	-0.8

 

NFL Playoff Projections
AFC SEED	TEAM
1	New England
2	Denver
3	Cincinnati
4	Houston
5	Kansas City
6	Pittsburgh
NFC SEED	TEAM
1	Carolina
2	Arizona
3	Green Bay
4	Washington
5	Seattle
6	Minnesota
Wildcard Playoff Round
Pittsburgh over Cincinnati
Kansas City over Houston
Green Bay over Minnesota
Seattle over Washington
Divisional Playoff Round
New England over Pittsburgh
Kansas City over Denver
Carolina over Seattle
Arizona over Green Bay
Conference Championship Round
Kansas City over New England
Arizona over Carolina
Super Bowl 50
Arizona over Kansas City

 

 

 

NFL Preview For Week 15: December 17-21, 2015

This week’s PiRate Ratings

Current NFL PiRate Ratings
N F C
East	PiRate	Mean	Bias	Average	W-L-T	Pts	Opp
N.Y. Giants	101.2	101.3	101.7	101.4	6-7-0	338	320
Philadelphia	100.2	100.2	100.9	100.4	6-7-0	301	322
Dallas	99.5	98.1	98.3	98.6	4-9-0	230	305
Washington	96.3	96.3	96.8	96.5	6-7-0	281	307
North	PiRate	Mean	Bias	Average	W-L-T	Pts	Opp
Green Bay	106.4	105.8	106.3	106.2	9-4-0	317	245
Minnesota	100.6	100.0	102.2	100.9	8-5-0	258	255
Chicago	98.7	98.4	98.7	98.6	5-8-0	272	314
Detroit	99.0	97.7	97.5	98.1	4-9-0	267	336
South	PiRate	Mean	Bias	Average	W-L-T	Pts	Opp
Carolina	109.3	109.6	110.9	109.9	13-0-0	411	243
Atlanta	95.3	94.5	93.9	94.6	6-7-0	279	295
Tampa Bay	94.8	94.8	94.1	94.6	6-7-0	288	322
New Orleans	94.8	93.5	95.2	94.5	5-8-0	323	397
West	PiRate	Mean	Bias	Average	W-L-T	Pts	Opp
Seattle	111.0	110.8	111.6	111.1	8-5-0	340	235
Arizona	108.9	108.5	109.6	109.0	11-2-0	405	252
St. Louis	94.6	95.0	94.4	94.7	5-8-0	210	271
San Francisco	94.8	93.7	95.1	94.5	4-9-0	188	315
A F C
East	PiRate	Mean	Bias	Average	W-L-T	Pts	Opp
New England	109.6	109.6	109.3	109.5	11-2-0	402	253
N. Y. Jets	101.7	102.5	102.1	102.1	8-5-0	325	256
Buffalo	101.7	102.5	102.1	102.1	6-7-0	316	301
Miami	96.8	96.7	95.8	96.4	5-8-0	264	331
North	PiRate	Mean	Bias	Average	W-L-T	Pts	Opp
Pittsburgh	108.7	108.9	108.8	108.8	8-5-0	344	260
Cincinnati	106.9	107.7	107.7	107.4	10-3-0	354	229
Baltimore	98.1	97.1	96.6	97.3	4-9-0	278	326
Cleveland	91.5	90.8	90.9	91.1	3-10-0	240	357
South	PiRate	Mean	Bias	Average	W-L-T	Pts	Opp
Houston	97.6	98.5	97.5	97.9	6-7-0	259	291
Indianapolis	95.7	96.1	95.9	95.9	6-7-0	275	356
Jacksonville	94.4	96.6	94.5	95.2	5-8-0	326	357
Tennessee	90.7	90.7	89.9	90.4	3-10-0	253	326
West	PiRate	Mean	Bias	Average	W-L-T	Pts	Opp
Kansas City	105.4	106.4	106.0	105.9	8-5-0	331	243
Denver	104.0	103.7	103.9	103.9	10-3-0	281	225
Oakland	96.5	98.5	96.7	97.2	6-7-0	299	326
San Diego	95.3	95.5	95.1	95.3	3-10-0	250	334

This Week’s Spreads

This Week’s Games
Week Number:	15
Date of Games:	December 17-21
Home	Visitor	PiRate	Mean	Bias
St. Louis	Tampa Bay	2.3	2.7	2.8
Dallas	NY Jets	0.8	-1.4	-0.8
Baltimore	Kansas City	-4.8	-6.8	-6.9
Indianapolis	Houston	0.6	0.1	0.9
Jacksonville	Atlanta	1.6	4.6	3.1
Minnesota	Chicago	4.4	4.1	6.0
New England	Tennessee	21.9	21.9	22.4
NY Giants	Carolina	-5.6	-5.8	-6.7
Oakland	Green Bay	-6.9	-4.3	-6.6
Philadelphia	Arizona	-5.7	-5.3	-5.7
Pittsburgh	Denver	7.7	8.2	7.9
San Diego	Miami	1.5	1.8	2.3
San Francisco	Cincinnati	-9.1	-11.0	-9.6
Seattle	Cleveland	23.0	23.5	24.2
Washington	Buffalo	-2.9	-3.7	-2.8
New Orleans	Detroit	-1.7	-1.7	0.2

NFL Playoffs Update

If Season Ended Today
AFC
1	New England
2	Cincinnati
3	Denver
4	Indianapolis
5	Kansas City
6	New York Jets
NFC
1	Carolina
2	Arizona
3	Green Bay
4	Washington
5	Seattle
6	Minnesota

PiRate Playoff Projections

NFL Playoff Projections
SEED	TEAM
1	New England
2	Denver
3	Cincinnati
4	Indianapolis
5	Kansas City
6	Pittsburgh
SEED	TEAM
1	Carolina
2	Arizona
3	Green Bay
4	Washington
5	Seattle
6	Minnesota
Wildcard Playoff Round
Pittsburgh over Cincinnati
Kansas City over Indianapolis
Green Bay over Minnesota
Seattle over Washington
Divisional Playoff Round
New England over Pittsburgh
Kansas City over Denver
Carolina over Seattle
Arizona over Green Bay
Conference Championship Round
Kansas City over New England
Arizona over Carolina
Super Bowl 50
Kansas City over Arizona

NFL Preview For Week 14: December 10-14, 2015

Current NFL PiRate Ratings
N F C
East	PiRate	Mean	Bias	Average	W-L-T	Pts	Opp
N.Y. Giants	100.7	100.6	100.9	100.7	5-7-0	307	296
Philadelphia	100.1	99.8	100.5	100.1	5-7-0	278	302
Dallas	100.7	99.6	100.1	100.1	4-8-0	223	277
Washington	95.9	95.6	95.8	95.8	5-7-0	257	286
North	PiRate	Mean	Bias	Average	W-L-T	Pts	Opp
Green Bay	105.2	104.3	104.5	104.7	8-4-0	289	238
Minnesota	100.2	99.4	101.4	100.3	8-4-0	238	232
Chicago	99.1	99.1	99.7	99.3	5-7-0	251	290
Detroit	99.7	98.6	98.7	99.0	4-8-0	253	315
South	PiRate	Mean	Bias	Average	W-L-T	Pts	Opp
Carolina	107.6	107.6	108.6	107.9	12-0-0	373	243
Atlanta	97.0	96.5	96.2	96.6	6-6-0	279	257
Tampa Bay	96.0	96.5	95.9	96.1	6-6-0	271	298
New Orleans	93.6	91.8	93.4	92.9	4-8-0	299	380
West	PiRate	Mean	Bias	Average	W-L-T	Pts	Opp
Arizona	109.3	109.1	110.4	109.6	10-2-0	382	232
Seattle	109.0	108.5	109.0	108.8	7-5-0	305	229
San Francisco	96.0	95.2	96.7	96.0	4-8-0	178	291
St. Louis	93.9	94.1	93.2	93.7	4-8-0	189	257
A F C
East	PiRate	Mean	Bias	Average	W-L-T	Pts	Opp
New England	108.6	108.2	107.6	108.1	10-2-0	375	247
Buffalo	101.8	102.9	102.5	102.4	6-6-0	296	278
N. Y. Jets	100.6	101.1	100.4	100.7	7-5-0	295	248
Miami	97.3	97.4	96.6	97.1	5-7-0	240	300
North	PiRate	Mean	Bias	Average	W-L-T	Pts	Opp
Cincinnati	108.7	109.9	110.3	109.6	10-2-0	334	196
Pittsburgh	106.9	106.7	106.2	106.6	7-5-0	311	240
Baltimore	100.1	99.4	99.2	99.6	4-8-0	272	291
Cleveland	90.3	89.3	89.3	89.6	2-10-0	216	347
South	PiRate	Mean	Bias	Average	W-L-T	Pts	Opp
Houston	98.6	99.9	99.2	99.2	6-6-0	253	264
Indianapolis	98.2	98.8	98.8	98.6	6-6-0	259	305
Jacksonville	91.9	93.9	91.6	92.5	4-8-0	275	341
Tennessee	91.8	92.1	91.6	91.8	3-9-0	245	296
West	PiRate	Mean	Bias	Average	W-L-T	Pts	Opp
Kansas City	105.7	106.9	106.7	106.4	7-5-0	321	240
Denver	105.3	105.1	105.8	105.4	10-2-0	269	210
Oakland	95.2	97.1	94.8	95.7	5-7-0	284	314
San Diego	95.0	95.0	94.4	94.8	3-9-0	247	324

 

This Week’s Games
Week Number:	14
Date of Games:	December 10-14
Home	Visitor	PiRate	Mean	Bias
Arizona	Minnesota	12.1	12.7	12.0
Philadelphia	Buffalo	0.8	-0.6	0.5
Cleveland	San Francisco	-2.7	-2.9	-4.4
St. Louis	Detroit	-3.3	-2.0	-3.0
Tampa Bay	New Orleans	4.9	7.2	5.0
NY Jets	Tennessee	11.3	11.5	11.3
Cincinnati	Pittsburgh	3.8	5.2	6.1
Houston	New England	-7.0	-5.3	-5.4
Jacksonville	Indianapolis	-3.8	-2.4	-4.7
Kansas City	San Diego	13.7	14.9	15.3
Chicago	Washington	5.7	6.0	6.4
Carolina	Atlanta	12.6	13.1	14.4
Denver	Oakland	12.6	10.5	13.5
Green Bay	Dallas	7.0	7.2	6.9
Baltimore	Seattle	-5.4	-5.6	-6.3
Miami	NY Giants	-0.9	-0.7	-1.8

 

N F L  Playoffs Roundup

If Season Ended Today
AFC
1	Denver
2	Cincinnati
3	New England
4	Indianapolis
5	Kansas City
6	New York Jets
NFC
1	Carolina
2	Arizona
3	Green Bay
4	Washington
5	Minnesota
6	Seattle

 

NFL Playoff Projections
AFC SEED	TEAM
1	Denver
2	New England
3	Cincinnati
4	Houston
5	Kansas City
6	New York Jets
NFC SEED	TEAM
1	Carolina
2	Arizona
3	Green Bay
4	Philadelphia
5	Seattle
6	Minnesota
Wildcard Playoff Round
Green Bay over Minnesota
Seattle over Philadelphia
New York Jets over Cincinnati
Kansas City over Houston
Divisional Playoff Round
Carolina over Seattle
Arizona over Green Bay
New York Jets over Denver
Kansas City over New England
Conference Championship Round
Arizona over Carolina
Kansas City over New York Jets
Super Bowl 50
Kansas City over Arizona

NFL Preview For Week 13: December 3-7, 2015

Current NFL PiRate Ratings
N F C
East	PiRate	Mean	Bias	Average	W-L-T	Pts	Opp
N.Y. Giants	100.7	100.6	100.9	100.7	5-6-0	287	273
Dallas	100.6	99.3	99.8	99.9	3-8-0	204	261
Philadelphia	97.4	96.8	97.4	97.2	4-7-0	243	274
Washington	96.0	95.9	96.1	96.0	5-6-0	241	267
North	PiRate	Mean	Bias	Average	W-L-T	Pts	Opp
Green Bay	105.1	104.3	104.5	104.6	7-4-0	262	215
Minnesota	103.2	102.4	104.4	103.3	8-3-0	231	194
Chicago	99.6	100.0	100.8	100.1	5-6-0	231	264
Detroit	99.8	98.6	98.7	99.0	4-7-0	230	288
South	PiRate	Mean	Bias	Average	W-L-T	Pts	Opp
Carolina	108.1	108.5	109.7	108.8	11-0-0	332	205
Atlanta	97.2	96.7	96.5	96.8	6-5-0	260	234
Tampa Bay	95.8	96.3	95.6	95.9	5-6-0	248	279
New Orleans	93.1	90.9	92.3	92.1	4-7-0	261	339
West	PiRate	Mean	Bias	Average	W-L-T	Pts	Opp
Arizona	108.1	107.6	108.7	108.1	9-2-0	355	229
Seattle	106.0	105.5	106.0	105.8	6-5-0	267	222
St. Louis	95.1	95.6	94.9	95.2	4-7-0	186	230
San Francisco	95.5	94.3	95.6	95.1	3-8-0	152	271
A F C
East	PiRate	Mean	Bias	Average	W-L-T	Pts	Opp
New England	111.3	111.2	110.7	111.1	10-1-0	347	212
Buffalo	101.4	102.3	101.7	101.8	5-6-0	266	257
N. Y. Jets	100.6	101.1	100.4	100.7	6-5-0	272	228
Miami	96.9	97.3	96.0	96.7	4-7-0	225	287
North	PiRate	Mean	Bias	Average	W-L-T	Pts	Opp
Cincinnati	106.0	107.1	107.2	106.8	9-2-0	297	193
Pittsburgh	103.6	103.4	102.9	103.3	6-5-0	266	230
Baltimore	100.5	99.5	99.8	99.9	4-7-0	259	276
Cleveland	93.0	92.1	92.4	92.5	2-9-0	213	310
South	PiRate	Mean	Bias	Average	W-L-T	Pts	Opp
Indianapolis	101.5	102.1	102.1	101.9	6-5-0	249	260
Houston	99.0	100.5	100.0	99.8	6-5-0	232	234
Jacksonville	91.9	94.2	91.6	92.6	4-7-0	236	299
Tennessee	91.8	91.8	91.6	91.7	2-9-0	203	257
West	PiRate	Mean	Bias	Average	W-L-T	Pts	Opp
Kansas City	105.3	106.2	105.9	105.8	6-5-0	287	220
Denver	104.6	104.1	104.6	104.4	9-2-0	252	207
Oakland	95.6	97.8	95.6	96.3	5-6-0	264	280
San Diego	95.7	96.0	95.6	95.8	3-8-0	244	307

 

This Week’s Games
Week Number:	13
Date of Games:	December 3-7
Home	Visitor	PiRate	Mean	Bias
Detroit	Green Bay	-2.8	-3.2	-3.3
NY Giants	NY Jets	0.1	-0.5	0.5
St. Louis	Arizona	-10.0	-9.0	-10.8
Tampa Bay	Atlanta	1.1	2.1	2.6
New Orleans	Carolina	-12.5	-15.1	-14.9
Minnesota	Seattle	0.2	-0.1	1.4
Buffalo	Houston	5.4	4.8	4.7
Miami	Baltimore	-0.6	0.8	-0.8
Cleveland	Cincinnati	-11.0	-13.0	-12.8
Tennessee	Jacksonville	2.4	0.1	2.5
Chicago	San Francisco	7.1	8.7	8.2
San Diego	Denver	-5.9	-5.1	-6.0
Oakland	Kansas City	-6.7	-5.4	-7.3
New England	Philadelphia	16.9	17.4	16.3
Pittsburgh	Indianapolis	5.1	4.3	3.8
Washington	Dallas	-1.6	-0.4	-0.7

 

NFL Playoffs

If Season Ended Today
AFC
1	New England
2	Cincinnati
3	Denver
4	Indianapolis
5	Kansas City
6	Houston
NFC
1	Carolina
2	Arizona
3	Minnesota
4	Washington
5	Green Bay
6	Seattle

 

NFL Playoff Projections

NFL Playoff Projections
AFC SEED	TEAM
1	New England
2	Denver
3	Cincinnati
4	Indianapolis
5	Kansas City
6	Pittsburgh
NFC SEED	TEAM
1	Carolina
2	Arizona
3	Minnesota
4	Washington
5	Green Bay
6	Seattle
Wildcard Playoff Round
Cincinnati over Pittsburgh
Kansas City over Indianapolis
Seattle over Minnesota
Green Bay over Washington
Divisional Playoff Round
New England over Kansas City
Denver over Cincinnati
Carolina over Seattle
Arizona over Green Bay
Conference Championship Round
New England over Denver
Arizona over Carolina
Super Bowl 50
Arizona over New England

 

NFL Preview For Week 12: November 26-30, 2015

In The Backstretch

The horses are in the backstretch positioning themselves as they approach the final turn to the homestretch, and we see some horses beginning to fade while some of the closers are beginning to make their move.

The Atlanta Falcons were once among the leaders in the opening furlong, but they are now in danger of falling out of the money. The Seattle Seahawks are running a bad race so far, but they do have a closing kick that could get them on the board. The Cincinnati Bengals were once in the lead by a couple lengths, but they have faltered some and now can just barely see the tail of the American Pharoah known as New England.

The horses making their moves as the final turn approaches include a couple that may be ready to finish strong and hit the board, while there are others that waited too late and have too many lenghts to make up. The Kansas City Chiefs have hit their stride and may be on pace to pass the Denver Broncos down the stretch. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers may have waited too late, but they have a chance to sneak into the money at the end. The Dallas Cowboys started strong out of the gate and then almost threw their jockey who had to hang on to get back in the stirrups just in the last 70 yards. Now, even though they are several lengths behind the field, there is a possibility they could lap the three horses they must defeat to get into the next race.

In football terms, there are six weeks left in the season. In the NFC, Carolina is a lock to make the playoffs, while Arizona is almost a lock. Green Bay and Minnesota appear to be in control of making the playoffs, but it is still undecided which team will be the NFC North Champion and which team will be a wild card.

The NFC East and the other wild card are still up in the air. In the NFC East, the New York Giants hold a one-game lead over the Philadelphia Eagles and Washington Redskins, and a two-game lead over Dallas. Any of the four teams could win the weak division.

As for the final wild card berth, Atlanta now leads Seattle and Tampa Bay by just one game. The Falcons are fading fast after a fast start.

In the AFC, New England is the one definite team in the playoffs. The Bills and Jets are now both five games back with six to go, and they are both in danger of falling out of the wild card race.

Cincinnati has now dropped two straight games, and the Bengals need to get back on the winning track before they can be considered a safe bet to win their division. Pittsburgh has the talent to finish 4-2, which would give the Steelers a 10-6 record.

Denver is going to limp home in the final six weeks, and at 8-2, there is no guarantee they would not collapse without Peyton Manning at QB or with an injured Manning that is not a good fit for the Gary Kubiak offense. Kansas City has hit their stride, and the Chiefs detroyed Denver a couple weeks ago. K-C could finish 10-6, and Denver could fall to 9-7, but it is still a long shot proposition.

The South is now a three-team race to 9-7 or even 8-8. Indianapolis has begun to show signs of life again, but Houston is playing its best ball of the year now as well. Jacksonville is just a game back and is just an upset or two away from being able to finish 9-7.

Here is how the playoffs would look if the season ends today.

AFC
1	New England
2	Cincinnati
3	Denver
4	Indianapolis
5	Pittsburgh
6	Kansas City
NFC
1	Carolina
2	Arizona
3	Green Bay
4	N. Y. Giants
5	Minnesota
6	Atlanta

Here is the consensus of the PiRates as to how the teams will finish.

AFC SEED	TEAM
1	New England
2	Cincinnati
3	Kansas City
4	Indianapolis
5	Denver
6	Pittsburgh
NFC SEED	TEAM
1	Carolina
2	Arizona
3	Green Bay
4	Philadelphia
5	Minnesota
6	Atlanta
Wildcard Playoff Round
Kansas City over Pittsburgh
Indianapolis over Denver
Green Bay over Atlanta
Minnesota over Philadelphia
Divisional Playoff Round
New England over Indianapolis
Kansas City over Cincinnati
Carolina over Minnesota
Arizona over Green Bay
Conference Championship Round
New England over Kansas City
Arizona over Carolina
Super Bowl 50
Arizona over New England

 

This Week’s Ratings

Current NFL PiRate Ratings
N F C
East	PiRate	Mean	Bias	Average	W-L-T	Pts	Opp
Dallas	102.4	101.0	101.7	101.7	3-7-0	190	228
N.Y. Giants	101.3	101.5	102.2	101.7	5-5-0	273	253
Philadelphia	100.4	99.8	100.4	100.2	4-6-0	229	229
Washington	95.4	95.0	94.8	95.1	4-6-0	221	253
North	PiRate	Mean	Bias	Average	W-L-T	Pts	Opp
Green Bay	105.9	105.1	105.4	105.5	7-3-0	249	198
Minnesota	102.4	101.3	103.1	102.3	7-3-0	211	184
Chicago	98.5	98.9	99.6	99.0	4-6-0	214	251
Detroit	97.3	96.1	96.2	96.5	3-7-0	185	274
South	PiRate	Mean	Bias	Average	W-L-T	Pts	Opp
Carolina	107.0	107.5	108.5	107.7	10-0-0	299	191
Atlanta	98.0	97.8	97.8	97.9	6-4-0	250	214
Tampa Bay	96.0	96.7	96.1	96.3	5-5-0	236	254
New Orleans	94.3	92.0	94.1	93.5	4-6-0	255	315
West	PiRate	Mean	Bias	Average	W-L-T	Pts	Opp
Arizona	108.3	108.1	109.4	108.6	8-2-0	336	216
Seattle	105.8	104.9	105.2	105.3	5-5-0	228	192
St. Louis	96.1	96.8	96.3	96.4	4-6-0	179	199
San Francisco	95.0	93.5	94.6	94.4	3-7-0	139	252
A F C
East	PiRate	Mean	Bias	Average	W-L-T	Pts	Opp
New England	111.5	111.7	111.4	111.5	10-0-0	323	182
Buffalo	101.4	102.3	101.7	101.8	5-5-0	244	227
N. Y. Jets	99.3	99.6	98.7	99.2	5-5-0	234	208
Miami	98.2	98.8	97.7	98.2	4-6-0	205	249
North	PiRate	Mean	Bias	Average	W-L-T	Pts	Opp
Cincinnati	105.0	105.9	105.8	105.6	8-2-0	266	186
Pittsburgh	103.8	104.0	103.7	103.8	6-4-0	236	191
Baltimore	100.4	99.4	99.7	99.8	3-7-0	226	249
Cleveland	93.1	92.2	92.5	92.6	2-8-0	186	277
South	PiRate	Mean	Bias	Average	W-L-T	Pts	Opp
Indianapolis	101.0	101.4	101.3	101.2	5-5-0	224	248
Houston	97.8	99.4	98.2	98.5	5-5-0	208	228
Jacksonville	92.4	95.3	92.5	93.4	4-6-0	211	268
Tennessee	91.9	91.8	91.8	91.8	2-8-0	182	233
West	PiRate	Mean	Bias	Average	W-L-T	Pts	Opp
Kansas City	105.0	105.9	105.6	105.5	5-5-0	257	198
Denver	104.1	103.3	103.6	103.7	8-2-0	222	183
San Diego	95.5	95.2	95.0	95.2	2-8-0	213	282
Oakland	95.5	97.8	95.4	96.2	4-6-0	240	259

 

This Week’s Games
Week Number:	12
Date of Games:	November 26-30
Home	Visitor	PiRate	Mean	Bias
Detroit	Philadelphia	-0.6	-1.2	-1.7
Dallas	Carolina	-1.6	-3.5	-3.8
Green Bay	Chicago	9.9	8.7	8.3
Tennessee	Oakland	-0.6	-3.0	-0.6
Kansas City	Buffalo	6.6	6.6	6.9
Indianapolis	Tampa Bay	8.0	7.7	8.2
Washington	NY Giants	-3.4	-4.0	-4.9
Houston	New Orleans	6.0	9.9	6.6
Atlanta	Minnesota	-1.9	-1.0	-2.8
Cincinnati	St. Louis	11.9	12.1	12.5
Jacksonville	San Diego	0.4	3.6	1.0
NY Jets	Miami	4.1	3.8	4.0
San Francisco	Arizona	-10.8	-12.1	-12.3
Seattle	Pittsburgh	5.0	3.9	4.5
Denver	New England	-4.4	-5.4	-4.8
Cleveland	Baltimore	-4.8	-4.7	-4.7

 

NFL Preview For Week 10: November 19-23, 2015

Current NFL PiRate Ratings
N F C
East	PiRate	Mean	Bias	Average	W-L-T	Pts	Opp
Philadelphia	103.1	102.5	103.1	102.9	4-5-0	212	184
N.Y. Giants	101.3	101.5	102.2	101.7	5-5-0	273	253
Dallas	101.4	99.8	100.5	100.6	2-7-0	166	214
Washington	96.7	96.5	96.5	96.6	4-5-0	205	209
North	PiRate	Mean	Bias	Average	W-L-T	Pts	Opp
Minnesota	103.8	103.0	105.1	104.0	7-2-0	198	154
Green Bay	104.5	103.4	103.4	103.8	6-3-0	219	185
Chicago	98.5	98.9	99.6	99.0	4-5-0	199	234
Detroit	97.3	95.8	96.3	96.5	2-7-0	167	261
South	PiRate	Mean	Bias	Average	W-L-T	Pts	Opp
Carolina	105.7	106.0	106.8	106.2	9-0-0	255	175
Atlanta	98.8	98.6	98.8	98.7	6-3-0	229	190
New Orleans	94.3	92.0	94.1	93.5	4-6-0	255	315
Tampa Bay	93.0	93.7	93.1	93.3	4-5-0	191	237
West	PiRate	Mean	Bias	Average	W-L-T	Pts	Opp
Arizona	108.4	108.2	109.7	108.8	7-2-0	302	185
Seattle	105.6	104.6	104.8	105.0	4-5-0	199	179
St. Louis	95.9	96.6	96.0	96.2	4-5-0	166	183
San Francisco	95.2	93.8	95.0	94.7	3-6-0	126	223
A F C
East	PiRate	Mean	Bias	Average	W-L-T	Pts	Opp
New England	111.8	112.1	111.9	111.9	9-0-0	303	169
Buffalo	101.1	101.9	101.2	101.4	5-4-0	231	207
N. Y. Jets	100.0	100.3	99.6	100.0	5-4-0	217	184
Miami	98.7	99.5	98.4	98.9	4-5-0	191	225
North	PiRate	Mean	Bias	Average	W-L-T	Pts	Opp
Cincinnati	104.9	105.8	105.5	105.4	8-1-0	235	152
Pittsburgh	103.8	104.0	103.7	103.8	6-4-0	236	191
Baltimore	100.6	99.6	100.0	100.1	2-7-0	210	236
Cleveland	93.1	92.2	92.5	92.6	2-8-0	186	277
South	PiRate	Mean	Bias	Average	W-L-T	Pts	Opp
Indianapolis	100.7	101.1	100.8	100.9	4-5-0	200	227
Houston	97.4	99.0	97.6	98.0	4-5-0	184	211
Jacksonville	92.2	95.3	92.2	93.2	3-6-0	192	255
Tennessee	92.4	92.1	92.4	92.3	2-7-0	169	214
West	PiRate	Mean	Bias	Average	W-L-T	Pts	Opp
Denver	104.1	103.3	103.6	103.7	7-2-0	205	168
Kansas City	102.7	103.6	103.1	103.1	4-5-0	224	195
San Diego	97.5	97.2	97.2	97.3	2-7-0	210	249
Oakland	95.5	98.1	95.3	96.3	4-5-0	227	241

 

This Week’s Games
Week Number:	11
Date of Games:	November 19-23
Home	Visitor	PiRate	Mean	Bias
Jacksonville	Tennessee	2.8	6.2	2.8
Detroit	Oakland	5.3	1.2	7.8
Atlanta	Indianapolis	0.6	0.0	0.5
Houston	NY Jets	0.4	1.7	1.0
Philadelphia	Tampa Bay	13.1	11.8	13.0
Chicago	Denver	-2.6	-1.4	-1.0
Minnesota	Green Bay	1.8	2.1	4.2
Baltimore	St. Louis	7.7	6.0	7.0
Miami	Dallas	0.3	2.7	0.9
Carolina	Washington	11.5	12.0	12.8
Arizona	Cincinnati	6.5	5.4	7.2
Seattle	San Francisco	13.4	13.8	12.8
San Diego	Kansas City	-2.2	-3.4	-2.9
New England	Buffalo	13.7	13.2	13.7

Playoff Standings

If Season Ended Today
AFC
1	New England
2	Cincinnati
3	Denver
4	Indianapolis
5	Pittsburgh
6	Buffalo
NFC
1	Carolina
2	Arizona
3	Minnesota
4	N. Y. Giants
5	Green Bay
6	Atlanta

 

NFL Playoff Projections
AFC SEED	TEAM
1	New England
2	Cincinnati
3	Denver
4	Houston
5	Pittsburgh
6	Buffalo
NFC SEED	TEAM
1	Carolina
2	Arizona
3	Minnesota
4	Philadelphia
5	Green Bay
6	Atlanta
Wildcard Playoff Round
Buffalo over Denver
Pittsburgh over Houston
Minnesota over Atlanta
Philadelphia over Green Bay
Divisional Playoff Round
New England over Buffalo
Pittsburgh over Cincinnati
Carolina over Philadelphia
Minnesota over Arizona
Conference Championship Round
New England over Pittsburgh
Carolina over Minnesota
Super Bowl 50
Carolina over New England

NFL Preview For Week 10: November 13-17, 2015

Current NFL PiRate Ratings
N F C
East	PiRate	Mean	Bias	Average	W-L-T	Pts	Opp
Philadelphia	104.0	103.4	104.5	104.0	4-4-0	193	164
Dallas	102.7	101.1	102.2	102.0	2-6-0	160	204
N.Y. Giants	100.6	100.6	101.1	100.8	5-4-0	247	226
Washington	94.7	94.5	94.5	94.6	3-5-0	158	195
North	PiRate	Mean	Bias	Average	W-L-T	Pts	Opp
Green Bay	105.9	105.1	105.3	105.4	6-2-0	203	167
Minnesota	102.2	100.7	103.1	102.0	6-2-0	168	140
Chicago	95.5	95.6	96.1	95.7	3-5-0	162	221
Detroit	96.2	94.4	94.7	95.1	1-7-0	149	245
South	PiRate	Mean	Bias	Average	W-L-T	Pts	Opp
Carolina	104.9	105.1	105.8	105.3	8-0-0	228	165
Atlanta	98.8	98.6	98.8	98.7	6-3-0	229	190
New Orleans	97.3	95.0	97.1	96.5	4-5-0	241	268
Tampa Bay	91.7	92.4	91.4	91.8	3-5-0	181	231
West	PiRate	Mean	Bias	Average	W-L-T	Pts	Opp
Arizona	107.2	106.8	108.1	107.4	6-2-0	263	153
Seattle	106.5	105.7	106.1	106.1	4-4-0	167	140
St. Louis	98.7	99.7	99.3	99.2	4-4-0	153	146
San Francisco	95.2	93.8	95.0	94.7	3-6-0	126	223
A F C
East	PiRate	Mean	Bias	Average	W-L-T	Pts	Opp
New England	112.5	113.0	113.0	112.8	8-0-0	276	143
Buffalo	100.6	101.2	100.1	100.6	4-4-0	209	190
N. Y. Jets	100.3	100.8	100.5	100.5	5-3-0	200	162
Miami	97.8	98.6	97.0	97.8	3-5-0	171	206
North	PiRate	Mean	Bias	Average	W-L-T	Pts	Opp
Cincinnati	106.6	107.7	107.7	107.3	8-0-0	229	142
Pittsburgh	102.9	103.1	102.6	102.9	5-4-0	206	182
Baltimore	102.0	100.9	101.7	101.5	2-6-0	190	214
Cleveland	93.8	92.9	93.4	93.4	2-7-0	177	247
South	PiRate	Mean	Bias	Average	W-L-T	Pts	Opp
Indianapolis	100.7	101.1	100.8	100.9	4-5-0	200	227
Houston	95.2	96.6	94.9	95.6	3-5-0	174	205
Tennessee	93.0	92.8	93.2	93.0	2-6-0	159	187
Jacksonville	90.8	94.0	90.5	91.8	2-6-0	170	235
West	PiRate	Mean	Bias	Average	W-L-T	Pts	Opp
Denver	107.1	106.3	106.6	106.7	7-1-0	192	139
Kansas City	100.5	101.4	100.9	100.9	3-5-0	195	182
Oakland	96.6	99.9	96.8	97.8	4-4-0	213	211
San Diego	97.5	97.2	97.2	97.3	2-7-0	210	249

 

This Week’s Games
Week Number:	10
Date of Games:	November 12-16
Home	Visitor	PiRate	Mean	Bias
NY Jets	Buffalo	1.7	1.6	2.4
Green Bay	Detroit	11.7	12.7	12.6
Tampa Bay	Dallas	-8.5	-6.2	-8.3
Tennessee	Carolina	-8.9	-9.3	-9.6
St. Louis	Chicago	5.2	6.1	5.2
Washington	New Orleans	0.4	2.5	0.4
Philadelphia	Miami	9.2	7.8	10.5
Pittsburgh	Cleveland	11.6	12.7	11.7
Baltimore	Jacksonville	14.2	9.9	14.2
Oakland	Minnesota	-2.6	2.2	-3.3
NY Giants	New England	-9.4	-9.9	-9.4
Denver	Kansas City	9.6	7.9	8.7
Seattle	Arizona	2.3	1.9	1.0
Cincinnati	Houston	14.4	14.1	15.8

 

If Season Ended Today
AFC
1	New England
2	Cincinnati
3	Denver
4	Indianapolis
5	N. Y. Jets
6	Pittsburgh
NFC
1	Carolina
2	Minnesota
3	Arizona
4	N. Y. Giants
5	Green Bay
6	Atlanta

 

NFL Playoff Projections
AFC SEED	TEAM
1	New England
2	Cincinnati
3	Denver
4	Indianapolis
5	N. Y. Jets
6	Pittsburgh
NFC SEED	TEAM
1	Carolina
2	Arizona
3	Green Bay
4	Philadelphia
5	Minnesota
6	Seattle
Wildcard Playoff Round
Denver over Pittsburgh
N. Y. Jets over Indianapolis
Green Bay over Seattle
Minnesota over Philadelphia
Divisional Playoff Round
New England over N. Y. Jets
Cincinnati over Denver
Carolina over Minnesota
Arizona over Green Bay
Conference Championship Round
New England over Cincinnati
Arizona over Carolina
Super Bowl 50
New England over Arizona

NFL Preview For Week 9: November 5-9, 2015

Current NFL PiRate Ratings
N F C
East	PiRate	Mean	Bias	Average	W-L-T	Pts	Opp
Philadelphia	103.9	103.2	104.3	103.8	3-4-0	160	137
Dallas	102.8	101.3	102.4	102.2	2-5-0	133	171
N.Y. Giants	99.8	99.4	99.9	99.7	4-4-0	215	208
Washington	94.8	94.6	94.6	94.7	3-4-0	148	168
North	PiRate	Mean	Bias	Average	W-L-T	Pts	Opp
Green Bay	107.1	106.3	106.6	106.7	6-1-0	174	130
Minnesota	102.5	100.9	103.6	102.3	5-2-0	147	122
Detroit	96.2	94.4	94.7	95.1	1-7-0	149	245
Chicago	94.7	94.4	95.1	94.7	2-5-0	140	202
South	PiRate	Mean	Bias	Average	W-L-T	Pts	Opp
Carolina	103.6	103.8	104.4	103.9	7-0-0	191	136
Atlanta	98.9	99.0	99.1	99.0	6-2-0	213	173
New Orleans	98.1	95.8	98.4	97.4	4-4-0	213	234
Tampa Bay	92.5	93.6	92.6	92.9	3-4-0	163	199
West	PiRate	Mean	Bias	Average	W-L-T	Pts	Opp
Arizona	107.2	106.8	108.1	107.4	6-2-0	263	153
Seattle	106.5	105.7	106.1	106.1	4-4-0	167	140
St. Louis	98.4	99.5	98.8	98.9	4-3-0	135	125
San Francisco	95.1	93.4	94.7	94.4	2-6-0	109	207
A F C
East	PiRate	Mean	Bias	Average	W-L-T	Pts	Opp
New England	112.4	112.9	112.9	112.7	7-0-0	249	133
N. Y. Jets	100.9	101.7	101.7	101.4	4-3-0	172	139
Buffalo	99.5	99.8	98.8	99.4	3-4-0	176	173
Miami	98.9	100.0	98.3	99.1	3-4-0	154	173
North	PiRate	Mean	Bias	Average	W-L-T	Pts	Opp
Cincinnati	106.2	107.3	107.2	106.9	7-0-0	198	132
Pittsburgh	103.8	103.9	103.8	103.8	4-4-0	168	147
Baltimore	102.0	100.9	101.7	101.5	2-6-0	190	214
Cleveland	94.2	93.3	93.9	93.8	2-6-0	167	216
South	PiRate	Mean	Bias	Average	W-L-T	Pts	Opp
Indianapolis	100.1	100.4	100.0	100.2	3-5-0	173	203
Houston	95.2	96.6	94.9	95.6	3-5-0	174	205
Tennessee	92.2	92.0	91.9	92.0	1-6-0	125	159
Jacksonville	90.2	93.1	89.3	90.9	2-5-0	147	207
West	PiRate	Mean	Bias	Average	W-L-T	Pts	Opp
Denver	107.7	107.0	107.4	107.4	7-0-0	168	112
Kansas City	100.5	101.4	100.9	100.9	3-5-0	195	182
San Diego	98.3	98.4	98.2	98.3	2-6-0	191	227
Oakland	95.7	99.1	95.6	96.8	4-3-0	178	173

This Week’s Games
Week Number:	9
Date of Games:	November 5-9
Home	Visitor	PiRate	Mean	Bias
Cincinnati	Cleveland	14.0	16.0	15.3
Carolina	Green Bay	-1.0	0.0	0.3
New England	Washington	20.6	21.3	21.3
New Orleans	Tennessee	8.9	6.8	9.5
Buffalo	Miami	3.6	2.8	3.5
Minnesota	St. Louis	7.1	4.4	7.8
NY Jets	Jacksonville	13.7	14.6	15.4
Pittsburgh	Oakland	11.6	8.3	11.7
Tampa Bay	NY Giants	-4.3	-2.8	-4.3
San Francisco	Atlanta	-0.8	-2.6	-1.4
Indianapolis	Denver	-5.1	-5.1	-4.9
Dallas	Philadelphia	1.9	1.1	1.1
San Diego	Chicago	6.6	7.0	6.1

If the Playoffs Began Today

A F C

1. Denver
2. New England
3. Cincinnati
4. Indianapolis
5. Oakland
6. New York Jets

N F C

1. Carolina
2. Green Bay
3. Arizona
4. New York Giants
5. Atlanta
6. Minnesota

Wildcard Round (according to standings and tiebreakers)

Oakland at Indianapolis

New York Jets at Cincinnati

Atlanta at New York Giants

Minnesota at Arizona

NFL Preview For Week 8: October 29 – November 2, 2015

34% Is Not Good For The Game
34% may be a great figure for the percentage of at bats that result in a base hit for a batter. It can be a great percentage for number of times you win the Daily Double at Keeneland on the race card. But, 34% is an awful number when it applies to the number of NFL teams with winning records through seven weeks.

Only 11 out of the 32 NFL have a winning record at this point in the season. Because 12 teams make the playoffs, if the playoffs began today, there would be one lousy team with a losing record in the playoffs. To make matters worse, that team would be the 3-4 Indianapolis Colts which could easily make the playoffs at 6-10. Worse, they would host a playoff game. It just as easily could be Houston or even Jacksonville, where 6-10 might win the AFC South.

The NFC East is not much better off. The New York Giants might win the division at 8-8. Never have two teams at .500 or below made the playoffs in the same year. If a 9-7 team fails to qualify for the playoffs, while a 6-10 team not only makes the playoffs but hosts a first round game, something is seriously wrong.

Improving The Playoffs

The NFL would be better served by switching to four, eight-team divisions, with two divisions in both conferences. Let the champions of the four divisions earn byes in the first round, with the four best remaining teams in both conferences earning the wildcard spots. Then, the 3rd and 4th seeded teams in both conferences would host the 5th and 6th seeded teams.

For easy argument’s sake, let’s just combine the East and North Divisions and the South and West Divisions. We’ll call the four divisions the AFC Northeast, the AFC Southwest, the NFC Northeast, and the NFC Southwest.

That would change things a lot and make the playoffs much better than it will be. If the season ended today, New England would edge Cincinnati for one bye; Denver would get the Southwest bye; and the two NFC byes would go to Green Bay and Carolina. Not much would change in this regard, although Cincinnati would replace Denver under the old format.

The big change would come in the other playoff spots. Now, the 3-4 Colts would not be in line to host or even make the playoffs. The remaining four AFC playoff bids would go like this:

3rd Seed–Cincinnati
4th Seed–New York Jets
5th Seed–Pittsburgh
6th Seed–Oakland

There would be different home teams in the other conference too. The NFC would go like this:
3rd Seed–Atlanta
4th Seed–Arizona
5th Seed–Minnesota
6th Seed–New York Giants

There still might be an 8-8 or even a 7-9 team in the playoffs, but now they would be the #6 seed playing on the road against a much better team.

Which do you think is a better option?

A. 6-10 Indianapolis hosting 11-5 New York Jets, while the Oakland Raiders stay home at 8-8
B. 13-3 Cincinnati Bengals hosting 8-8 Oakland Raiders, while the Indianapolis Colts stay home at 6-10

Which one of these looks like the better way to choose an NFC champion?

A. 8-8 New York Giants hosting 12-4 Atlanta Falcons
B. 12-4 Atlanta Falcons hosting 8-8 New York Giants

Now for this week’s NFL PiRate Ratings

Current NFL PiRate Ratings
N F C
East	PiRate	Mean	Bias	Average	W-L-T	Pts	Opp
Philadelphia	103.9	103.2	104.3	103.8	3-4-0	160	137
Dallas	102.8	101.3	102.4	102.2	2-4-0	121	158
N.Y. Giants	99.9	99.8	100.1	99.9	4-3-0	166	156
Washington	94.8	94.6	94.6	94.7	3-4-0	148	168
North	PiRate	Mean	Bias	Average	W-L-T	Pts	Opp
Green Bay	108.6	107.9	108.3	108.3	6-0-0	164	101
Minnesota	102.5	100.7	103.8	102.3	4-2-0	124	102
Detroit	98.0	96.2	96.8	97.0	1-6-0	139	200
Chicago	94.4	94.3	94.6	94.4	2-4-0	120	179
South	PiRate	Mean	Bias	Average	W-L-T	Pts	Opp
Carolina	103.8	104.1	104.9	104.3	6-0-0	162	110
Atlanta	99.7	99.8	100.2	99.9	6-1-0	193	150
New Orleans	98.0	95.4	98.2	97.2	3-4-0	161	185
Tampa Bay	91.7	92.8	91.5	92.0	2-4-0	140	179
West	PiRate	Mean	Bias	Average	W-L-T	Pts	Opp
Arizona	107.0	106.4	107.6	107.0	5-2-0	229	133
Seattle	106.5	105.7	106.1	106.1	3-4-0	154	128
St. Louis	97.5	98.8	97.6	98.0	3-3-0	108	119
San Francisco	96.3	94.4	96.2	95.6	2-5-0	103	180
A F C
East	PiRate	Mean	Bias	Average	W-L-T	Pts	Opp
New England	111.4	111.6	111.8	111.6	6-0-0	213	126
N. Y. Jets	102.3	103.0	103.4	102.9	4-2-0	152	105
Miami	99.4	100.8	98.9	99.7	3-3-0	147	137
Buffalo	99.5	99.8	98.8	99.4	3-4-0	176	173
North	PiRate	Mean	Bias	Average	W-L-T	Pts	Opp
Cincinnati	105.9	107.0	106.7	106.5	6-0-0	182	122
Pittsburgh	104.1	104.2	104.3	104.2	4-3-0	158	131
Baltimore	102.2	101.1	102.1	101.8	1-6-0	161	188
Cleveland	94.4	93.7	94.4	94.2	2-5-0	147	182
South	PiRate	Mean	Bias	Average	W-L-T	Pts	Opp
Indianapolis	99.9	100.1	99.5	99.8	3-4-0	147	174
Houston	94.7	96.1	94.1	95.0	2-5-0	154	199
Tennessee	92.7	92.5	92.7	92.6	1-5-0	119	139
Jacksonville	90.2	93.1	89.3	90.9	2-5-0	147	207
West	PiRate	Mean	Bias	Average	W-L-T	Pts	Opp
Denver	106.2	105.4	105.7	105.8	6-0-0	139	102
Kansas City	99.2	100.1	99.3	99.5	2-5-0	150	172
San Diego	98.1	98.2	97.8	98.0	2-5-0	165	198
Oakland	94.3	97.8	93.9	95.3	3-3-0	144	153

This Week’s Games
Week Number:	8
Date of Games:	October 29-November 2
Home	Visitor	PiRate	Mean	Bias
New England	Miami	15.0	13.8	15.9
Kansas City (London)	Detroit	1.2	3.9	2.5
Atlanta	Tampa Bay	10.5	9.5	11.2
Cleveland	Arizona	-9.1	-9.2	-9.7
St. Louis	San Francisco	4.2	7.4	4.4
New Orleans	NY Giants	1.1	-1.4	1.1
Chicago	Minnesota	-5.6	-3.9	-6.7
Baltimore	San Diego	7.1	5.9	7.3
Pittsburgh	Cincinnati	0.7	-0.3	0.1
Houston	Tennessee	5.0	6.6	4.4
Oakland	NY Jets	-5.0	-2.2	-6.5
Dallas	Seattle	-0.7	-1.4	-0.7
Denver	Green Bay	0.6	0.5	0.4
Carolina	Indianapolis	6.9	7.0	8.4

NFL Preview For Week 7: October 22-26, 2015

Current NFL PiRate Ratings
N F C
East	PiRate	Mean	Bias	Average	W-L-T	Pts	Opp
Philadelphia	105.4	104.6	105.9	105.3	3-3-0	144	110
Dallas	103.4	101.9	103.2	102.8	2-3-0	101	131
N.Y. Giants	99.3	99.2	99.3	99.3	3-3-0	139	136
Washington	95.0	94.8	95.0	94.9	2-4-0	117	138
North	PiRate	Mean	Bias	Average	W-L-T	Pts	Opp
Green Bay	108.6	107.9	108.3	108.3	6-0-0	164	101
Minnesota	101.5	99.4	102.7	101.2	3-2-0	96	83
Detroit	98.5	97.0	97.4	97.6	1-5-0	120	172
Chicago	94.4	94.3	94.6	94.4	2-4-0	120	179
South	PiRate	Mean	Bias	Average	W-L-T	Pts	Opp
Carolina	102.3	102.7	103.3	102.8	5-0-0	135	94
Atlanta	99.7	99.7	100.0	99.8	5-1-0	183	143
New Orleans	97.1	94.1	97.2	96.1	2-4-0	134	164
Tampa Bay	91.4	92.5	91.0	91.6	2-3-0	110	148
West	PiRate	Mean	Bias	Average	W-L-T	Pts	Opp
Arizona	106.9	106.3	107.5	106.9	4-2-0	203	115
Seattle	106.0	105.1	105.3	105.5	2-4-0	134	125
St. Louis	96.8	98.1	96.4	97.1	2-3-0	84	113
San Francisco	97.1	95.3	97.3	96.6	2-4-0	100	160
A F C
East	PiRate	Mean	Bias	Average	W-L-T	Pts	Opp
New England	111.8	112.1	112.4	112.1	5-0-0	183	103
N. Y. Jets	101.9	102.5	102.8	102.4	4-1-0	129	75
Buffalo	100.8	101.2	100.6	100.9	3-3-0	145	139
Miami	98.0	99.2	97.2	98.1	2-3-0	103	111
North	PiRate	Mean	Bias	Average	W-L-T	Pts	Opp
Cincinnati	105.9	107.0	106.7	106.5	6-0-0	182	122
Pittsburgh	105.3	105.5	105.8	105.5	4-2-0	145	108
Baltimore	102.3	101.2	102.2	101.9	1-5-0	143	162
Cleveland	95.4	94.7	95.9	95.3	2-4-0	141	158
South	PiRate	Mean	Bias	Average	W-L-T	Pts	Opp
Indianapolis	101.1	101.7	100.8	101.2	3-3-0	126	147
Houston	95.6	97.2	95.3	96.0	2-4-0	128	155
Tennessee	92.9	92.8	93.1	92.9	1-4-0	112	129
Jacksonville	88.9	91.7	87.5	89.4	1-5-0	113	176
West	PiRate	Mean	Bias	Average	W-L-T	Pts	Opp
Denver	106.2	105.4	105.7	105.8	6-0-0	139	102
San Diego	99.6	99.6	99.5	99.6	2-4-0	136	161
Kansas City	98.0	98.8	97.8	98.2	1-5-0	127	159
Oakland	92.8	96.4	92.2	93.8	2-3-0	107	124

 

This Week’s Games
Week Number:	7
Date of Games:	October 22-26
Home	Visitor	PiRate	Mean	Bias
San Francisco	Seattle	-5.9	-6.8	-5.0
Jacksonville (N)	Buffalo	-11.9	-9.5	-13.1
Washington	Tampa Bay	6.1	4.8	6.5
Tennessee	Atlanta	-4.3	-4.4	-4.4
Indianapolis	New Orleans	7.0	10.6	6.6
Detroit	Minnesota	-0.5	0.1	-2.8
Kansas City	Pittsburgh	-4.3	-3.7	-5.0
St. Louis	Cleveland	4.4	6.4	3.5
Miami	Houston	5.4	5.0	4.9
New England	NY Jets	12.9	12.6	12.6
San Diego	Oakland	9.3	5.7	9.8
NY Giants	Dallas	-1.1	0.3	-0.9
Carolina	Philadelphia	-0.1	1.1	0.4
Arizona	Baltimore	7.6	8.1	8.3

Jacksonville – Buffalo game to be played in London

NFL Playoff Projections
AFC SEED	TEAM
1	New England
2	Cincinnati
3	Denver
4	Indianapolis
5	N. Y. Jets
6	Pittsburgh
NFC SEED	TEAM
1	Carolina
2	Green Bay
3	Arizona
4	Philadelphia
5	Atlanta
6	Minnesota
Wildcard Playoff Round
Pittsburgh over Denver
N. Y. Jets over Indianapolis
Arizona over Minnesota
Atlanta over Philadelphia
Divisional Playoff Round
New England over Pittsburgh
N. Y. Jets over Cincinnati
Carolina over Atlanta
Green Bay over Arizona
Conference Championship Round
New England over N. Y. Jets
Carolina over Green Bay
Super Bowl 50
New England over Carolina