Another Losing Team In The Playoffs?
If the playoffs began today, the AFC’s second wildcard would go to a 5-5 team. Miami and the New York Jets are 5-5, with a host of other teams with four wins: Oakland, San Diego, Tennessee, Baltimore, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, and Buffalo. The Dolphins schedule is tough, and we do not see them staying at .500. The Jets’ offensive woes leaves an 8-8 season in serious doubt. Of the seven teams with four wins, none have performed well enough to believe they will win four more games. 7-9 could very well place some team in the playoffs against Cincinnati or New England.
Could Both Defending Super Bowl Teams Miss The Playoffs?
This is a strong possibility. The Ravens look like a 7-9 or 6-10 team, as they close the season with games against what could be three division winners. The 49ers are now struggling at 6-4 with two tough road games as well as games at home with the Rams and Seahawks still to be played. The 49ers could go 9-7 and miss the playoffs.
Super Mess In The Making
When the Super Bowl was announced for East Rutherford, NJ, the immediate response from many football journalist was, “The weather will ruin this Super Bowl.” This may be true, even if the game time conditions are 45 degrees, no wind, and clear skies. Bad weather as well as other factors has delayed the construction of a key highway bridge less than six miles from the stadium. It is the key approach from the west, and people not familiar with Metro New Jersey may get caught in quite a traffic jam.
It is always advantageous to take public transportation to Met Life Stadium, but if there is somebody reading this today that will be attending an event at Met Life Stadium in the next several months and will be travelling from west of the stadium, do not take Route 3. Bridge construction over the Passaic River has reduced lanes and shortened the lane widths. If you know your way around the Clifton-Passaic area, take Paterson Plank Road (Route 120) east. Follow the signs to exit right to stay on Route 120 which will merge with Route 3. The wording on the exit near the stadium is Clifton & Lincoln Tunnel. Once on this road, there will be a quick exit right for the entire complex—stadium, arena, and race track. Keep this a little secret, and it will save you a lot of time as you take the road only the locals will know about.
This Week’s PiRate Ratings
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Current NFL PiRate Ratings |
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N F C |
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| East |
PiRate |
Mean |
Biased |
| Dallas Cowboys |
100.4 |
101.8 |
100.2 |
| Philadelphia Eagles |
98.9 |
100.1 |
99.2 |
| New York Giants |
96.5 |
96.2 |
95.7 |
| Washington Redskins |
96.4 |
96.5 |
96.1 |
| North |
PiRate |
Mean |
Biased |
| Chicago Bears |
102.2 |
101.9 |
101.5 |
| Detroit Lions |
101.2 |
102.0 |
101.2 |
| Green Bay Packers |
98.6 |
97.6 |
97.6 |
| Minnesota Vikings |
94.2 |
93.4 |
93.3 |
| South |
PiRate |
Mean |
Biased |
| New Orleans Saints |
108.1 |
109.8 |
109.2 |
| Carolina Panthers |
106.0 |
106.3 |
106.6 |
| Tampa Bay Buccaneers |
96.0 |
95.4 |
96.0 |
| Atlanta Falcons |
94.5 |
93.4 |
93.3 |
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| West |
PiRate |
Mean |
Biased |
| San Francisco 49ers |
108.7 |
109.3 |
109.2 |
| Seattle Seahawks |
107.6 |
107.6 |
107.8 |
| St. Louis Rams |
99.1 |
99.9 |
99.7 |
| Arizona Cardinals |
98.5 |
99.9 |
99.2 |
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A F C |
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| East |
PiRate |
Mean |
Biased |
| New England Patriots |
106.5 |
104.5 |
106.7 |
| Miami Dolphins |
98.7 |
98.4 |
99.0 |
| Buffalo Bills |
97.5 |
96.6 |
97.5 |
| New York Jets |
93.4 |
91.8 |
93.3 |
| North |
PiRate |
Mean |
Biased |
| Cincinnati Bengals |
106.3 |
106.2 |
106.4 |
| Baltimore Ravens |
102.4 |
101.9 |
102.3 |
| Pittsburgh Steelers |
98.4 |
97.9 |
98.5 |
| Cleveland Browns |
97.0 |
97.2 |
96.9 |
| South |
PiRate |
Mean |
Biased |
| Indianapolis Colts |
103.0 |
103.0 |
103.0 |
| Tennessee Titans |
97.8 |
97.8 |
97.8 |
| Houston Texans |
97.0 |
96.7 |
97.1 |
| Jacksonville Jaguars |
87.0 |
86.3 |
86.5 |
| West |
PiRate |
Mean |
Biased |
| Denver Broncos |
110.7 |
111.3 |
111.2 |
| Kansas City Chiefs |
103.3 |
105.0 |
103.8 |
| San Diego Chargers |
100.3 |
100.6 |
100.1 |
| Oakland Raiders |
93.8 |
93.7 |
94.1 |
This Week’s PiRate Spreads
| Home | Visitor |
PiRate |
Mean |
Bias |
| Atlanta | New Orleans |
-11.1 |
-13.9 |
-13.4 |
| Cleveland | Pittsburgh |
1.1 |
1.8 |
0.9 |
| Detroit | Tampa Bay |
8.2 |
9.6 |
8.2 |
| Green Bay | Minnesota |
6.9 |
6.7 |
6.8 |
| Kansas City | San Diego |
6.0 |
7.4 |
6.7 |
| St. Louis | Chicago |
-0.6 |
0.5 |
0.7 |
| Miami | Carolina |
-4.3 |
-4.9 |
-4.6 |
| Baltimore | N Y Jets |
11.5 |
12.6 |
11.5 |
| Houston | Jacksonville |
13.0 |
13.4 |
13.6 |
| Arizona | Indianapolis |
-1.5 |
-0.1 |
-0.8 |
| Oakland | Tennessee |
-0.5 |
-0.6 |
-0.2 |
| N Y Giants | Dallas |
-0.9 |
-2.6 |
-1.5 |
| New England | Denver |
-0.7 |
-3.3 |
-1.0 |
| Washington | San Francisco |
-8.3 |
-8.8 |
-9.1 |
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| Byes: Buffalo, Cincinnati, Philadelphia, Seattle |
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This Week’s Playoff Projections
AFC
1. Denver
2. Indianapolis
3. New England
4. Cincinnati
5. Kansas City
6. Cleveland
NFC
1. Seattle
2. New Orleans
3. Detroit
4. Philadelphia
5. Carolina
6. San Francisco
Wildcard Round
New England over Cleveland
Cincinnati over Kansas City
Detroit over San Francisco
Carolina over Philadelphia
Divisional Round
Denver over Cincinnati
Indianapolis over New England
Seattle over Carolina
New Orleans over Detroit
Conference Championships
Denver over Indianapolis
New Orleans over Seattle
Super Bowl
New Orleans over Denver
The Pi-Rate Ratings 