Week 16 of the NFL season is upon us and the races are incredibly close.
Photo Courtesy of AP
Historically close.
The San Diego Chargers blew out the Tennessee Titans on Friday night to clinch the number two spot in the AFC behind the Indianapolis Colts who continue their pursuit for perfection Sunday against the New York Jets. Besides the Chargers and Colts, the rest of the AFC is effectively up for grabs.
Here is the current playoff situation:
Division Leaders
1. Indianapolis Colts (14-0)
2. San Diego Chargers (12-3)
3. New England Patriots (9-5)
4. Cincinnati Bengals (9-5)
Wild Card Leaders
5. Baltimore Ravens (8-6)
6. Denver Broncos (8-6)
In the Hunt
Miami Dolphins (7-7)
New York Jets (7-7)
Houston Texans (7-7)
Pittsburgh Steelers (7-7)
Jacksonville Jaguars (7-7)
The Patriots and Bengals are in the best place as if either wins, they clinch their division. The Ravens and Broncos control their own destiny as well, but any slip up by them opens the doors for any of the Dolphins, Jets, Texans, Steelers, or Jaguars. So many things can happen, but let’s look at some of the games this week
Jaguars at Patriots – The Jags travel up North into the Cold to face Bill Belichick’s Patriot team. After a couple of turbulent weeks, New England enjoyed its first real home win of the season last weekend and have put the Randy Moss saga behind them. Meanwhile, Jacksonville fought valiantly against the Colts last week, but came up four points short of the upset. This should be a great game, but I’m giving the Pats the edge mostly because New England excels in cold weather and Florida teams don’t. New England
Kansas City Chiefs at Bengals – The Chiefs lost an ugly game to the Cleveland Browns last weekend and don’t expect anything to change against a motivated Cincinnati squad. The Bengals suffered a tough defeat to the Chargers last weekend in a game that they almost had won. Even with the loss, the Bengals are playing high-quality football while the Chiefs are not. Cincinnati
Texans at Dolphins – Here we go. A matchup of 7-7 teams with their season riding on the line. Houston barely survived a terrible St. Louis Rams side last weekend while the Dolphins lost a heartbreaker to the Tennessee Titans in overtime. Miami also has home field advantage and a shot at the division. Miami
Photo Courtesy of AP
Ravens at Steelers – Possibly the game of the week, the Ravens are a game up on the Steelers, but playing in Pittsburgh won’t be easy. Baltimore is on a roll, winning its last two games (over the weak Detroit Lions and Chicago Bears mind you) a combined 79-10. The Steelers pulled the improbable upset over the Green Bay Packers by a point last week on a beautiful last-play touchdown pass by Ben Roethlisberger. When these teams met earlier in the season in Baltimore, the Ravens escaped with a three-point overtime victory. I expect an equally close game, but playing in Pittsburgh will prove to be slightly too much for the Ravens. Pittsburgh
Jets at Colts – Here is an intriguing matchup. The Colts continue their pursuit of perfection while possibly resting starters for the playoff run. The Jets are fighting for their lives. The Jets suffered a tough defeat to the Falcons last week while the Colts survived a scare from Jacksonville. I really think the Jets are going to put up a big fight, but the Colts aren’t going to sit back and let someone walk into their house and take away their undefeated record. Indianapolis
Broncos at Philadelphia Eagles – Denver may have the toughest game on any on this list as they go to Philly to face a soaring Eagles team. The Eagles have won five in a row and are hitting on all cylinders. The Broncos didn’t help their playoff chances with a loss to the Oakland Raiders last week, but still control their own destiny. That ends this week as the Eagles are just playing too well. Philadelphia
Alright so there are my picks. Here is what the standings will look like if these games go as I predicted:
Division Leaders
1. Indianapolis Colts (15-0)
2. San Diego Chargers (12-3)
3. New England Patriots (10-5)
4. Cincinnati Bengals (10-5)
In the Hunt for Wild Card
Baltimore Ravens (8-7)
Denver Broncos (8-7)
Pittsburgh Steelers (8-7)
Miami Dolphins (8-7)
New York Jets (7-8)
Houston Texans (7-8)
Jacksonville Jaguars (7-8)
The four divisions would be locked up, but the Wild Card would get even crazier. If you think that this Sunday has a lot of big games, just wait for next week. Things are only going to get better (even if this doesn’t happen).
Danny Vinik 
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