ezbills

The Colts win over the Bengals was huge and gives Buffalo about a 50-50 chance of getting into the playoffs if they win their final 2 games. Not including the Bills games, there are 8 remaining games left that will impact the Bills' chances (the DEN, CIN, NYJ, JAX, and KC games). There are 256 possible combinations of results in those games, excluding ties. OVERALL PICTURE: Of the 256 possible outcomes, 104 would put the Bills in the playoffs while 152 would leave them out. However, 2 of the 8 games involve the hapless Oakland Raiders in games that the Bills want Oakland to lose (if the Jets beat Miami, the Jets MUST beat Oakland for the Bills to stay alive). Assuming that the Raiders will lose both of those games, the Bills would make the playoffs in 33 of the remaining scenarios while only 31 would leave the Bills out of the picture. IMPORTANCE OF SPECIFIC GAMES: MIA vs NYJ: This game is incredibly important for the Bills chances. If Miami wins, the Bills would make the playoffs in 92 of 128 scenarios. A Dolphins win here plus a Pats win over the Jags would put the Bills in the playoffs in 58 of 64 scenarios. If the Jets win, however, the Bills would only make the playoffs in 12 of 128 possible scenarios. We want the Bengals to beat Denver next week because that would make it more likely that the Bills could still get in even if NYJ beats MIA. Jags 2 games: As a group, the Jags games against NE and KC are quite important. If the Jags win both games, the Bills can only get into the playoffs in 4 of 64 scenarios. If the Jags lose to KC in Week 17, however, the Bills would make the playoffs in 70 of 128 scenarios and miss in only 58. DEN vs. CIN: As of now, the Bills would make the playoffs in 52 of 128 scenarios regardless of who wins this game. However, a Cincy win would improve the Bills slight chance to get in if the Jets beat Miami, while a Denver win would improve the Bills' already great chances if Miami wins. The remaining games don't have as much bearing on the overall picture as of now. The bottom line is that the playoffs are a very real possibility for the Bills if they win their final 2 games. WE NEED THE 12TH MAN IN FULL FORCE ON SUNDAY!!!

A Bengals win tonight plus a Jets win over Miami would eliminate the Bills. Cincy and NYJ would be assured of finishing ahead of Buffalo and there are only 2 spots to go around.

I can't believe the Bills lost to the Colts considering how pourous their run defense is. They are lucky McGahee was injured that game. Hopefully the Colts D can keep the Bengals out of the endzone enough to pull off the win tonight.

Thanks. I'm off to watch the game. GO COLTS!!!!!

Well, we could still get in with 2 KC wins, a Den loss to SF, a Jets win over Oak and a Jags loss. So, if you added a Raiders win over KC in Week 16, we could then be knocked out before Week 17.

Nice work Ozy. You could add a few other games as a 1 because they will have some, minor impact on the Bills-Bengals strength of victory tiebreaker as I recently detailed here: http://www.stadiumwall.com/index.php?showtopic=56563 TB vs. CLE: The Bengals beat Cleveland twice so a Bucs win would help the Bills with the tiebreaker. NYG vs. NO: The Bengals beat New Orleans so a Giants win would help the Bills with the tiebreaker. ATL vs. CAR: The Bengals beat Carolina so a Falcons win would help the Bills with the tiebreaker. HOU vs. IND: The Bills beat Houston so a Texans win would help the Bills win the tiebreaker.

If the Colts win tonight, the tiebreaker between the Bengals and Bills would be strength of victory (the combined winning percentage of all teams that they defeated). The Bills strength of victory (with upcoming wins against TEN and BAL included) is currently 62-64, with 18 total games remaining. Here is a list of who the Bills have defeated or will defeat and their remaining schedules: BAL 11-3 PIT Buf JAX 8-6 NE KC NYJ 8-6 MIA OAK TEN 7-7 BUF NE MIA(2x) 6-8 NYJ IND MIN 6-8 GB STL GB 6-8 MIN CHI HOU 4-10 IND CLE The Bengals strength of victory (with an upcoming win against DEN or PIT included) is currently 58-68, with 18 total games remaining. Here is a list of who the Bengals have defeated or will defeat and their remaining schedules: BAL 11-3 PIT Buf NO 9-5 NYG CAR DEN 8-6 CIN SF KC 7-7 OAK JAX PIT 7-7 BAL CIN CAR 6-8 ATL NO CLE(2x) 4-10 TB HOU OAK 2-12 KC NYJ The Dolphins count twice for the Bills because of the season sweep, and the Browns count twice for the Bengals because of the season sweep. When you factor in the fact that TEN will pick up a loss to Buf, Den or Pit will pick up a loss to Cin, the Ravens will have losses to both Cincy and Buf, Mia and NYJ play each other, GB and MIN play each other, KC and Oak play each other, and NO and Car play each other: the Bills' strength of victory is really 64-68 with 11 games remaining, and the Bengals' strength of victory is really 61-72 with 10 games remaining. This is obviously not a guaranteed tiebreaker for Buffalo, but the odds are in the Bills favor at this point.

That's no problem because the Steelers will lose the tiebreaker with the Bengals within their own division. Also, the Steelers will have a worse AFC record (6-6) than the Bills (7-5).

Exactly. That's another reason why the Pats/Jags game is pretty important. A Jags loss in Week 16 would give the Jags a 2-game losing streak and slim playoff chances when they head to KC, while a Jags win in Week 16 would give them confidence and a much better chance of making the playoffs heading into the final game.

Not to rain on the parade, but I don't think we can. In that scenario, DEN, CIN, and BUF would have 5 total games against 4 common opponents: NE, BAL, IND, and SD. Denver finished 2-3 against those teams, Cincy is 1-3 plus tonight's game vs. IND, and Buffalo is 0-4 with the Ravens game still to go. The only way for the Bills to beat Denver if the Broncos finish 9-7 is for the Chiefs to also finish at 9-7. That's partly why my preferred playoff scenario at the moment has Denver getting a spot after they beat the Bengals, and we wouldn't have to worry about the Chiefs.

Hmm, an Excel spreadsheet might be handy! For some fans, the ignorance is bliss approach to the Bills playoff chances is the most enjoyable. I've been posting on the playoff scenarios for those of us who want to know all the details. To each his own.

This is a good scenario, although we would not need all of this just to get a playoff spot. The playoff scenario that seems the most likely to me is: - IND beats CIN (tonight) - DEN beats CIN (Week 16) - JAX loses to NE (Week 16) (or KC in Week 17) - MIA beats NYJ (Week 16) This would actually put the Bills in the driver's seat going into the final week with the only potential problem being the Bengals/ Bills strength of victory tiebreaker.

A lot of the scenarios are discussed here: http://www.stadiumwall.com/index.php?showtopic=56563 The biggest source of confusion is over the Bills/ Bengals tiebreakers. If the Bengals win tonight against Indy, the Bengals would win the tiebreaker by having a better record vs common opponents. If Indy beats Cincy, the tiebreaker would be strength of victory since the Bills and Bengals would have identical AFC records and records vs common opponents. The Bills hold a decent edge in that tiebreaker at the moment although the final outcome will not be determined until after the final week of games. The Steelers are irrelevant to the Bills playoff chances. If the Bengals and Steelers are tied at 9-7, the Bengals would win the tiebreaker which is applied first before any inter-division ties are broken. If the Bengals dropped down to 8-8, the Steelers would still finish behind the Bills based on AFC record. I'm planning on posting the details of the Cincy/Bills tiebreaker and other helpful info after work...

Tonight's Bengals game is incredibly important, 2nd in importance only to next week's Jets game (not including the Bills' own games). While a Bengals win tonight would not lock up a playoff spot for Cincy, it would ensure that the Bengals will finish ahead of Buffalo no matter what else happens. That leaves just 1 wildcard spot in play for 4 teams (DEN, NYJ, JAX, and BUF), and the Jets could then eliminate Buffalo by beating Miami. On the other hand, a Bengals loss likely gives the Bills the tiebreaker over Cincy and leaves both wildcard spots still in play for the Bills. It would also ensure that the loser of the Bengals-Broncos game will finish with at least 7 losses. Also, a Jets win over Miami would not eliminate the Bills in this scenario.

Yes, the Bills could get in if the Jets win, although we would need the Bengals to lose tonight, win next week, and lose in Week 17. If the Bengals win tonight, a Jets win vs. Miami would eliminate the Bills.

That sounds right, although it would still go down to the strength of victory tiebreaker with the Bengals which will not be finalized until after all the Week 17 games. The Bills currently have a decent edge in that tiebreaker.

Depends on next week's Jets/Dolphins game. If Miami wins that game, the Bills will hold the tiebreaker. If the Jets win, they will hold the tiebreaker.

A Cards win vs Denver would be nice, but it's not nearly as important in the grand scheme of things as tonight's Chiefs game, tomorrow's Bengals game, or next week's Jets game.

Exactly. Here's how big the Monday night game is: If the Bengals beat the Colts on Monday, and then the Jets beat Miami, the Bills CANNOT make the playoffs. If the Bengals beat the Colts, and then the Dolphins beat the Jets, the Bills would have a decent shot at getting in. If the Colts beat the Bengals, and then the Jets beat Miami, the Bills would have a slim chance of getting in. If the Colts beat the Bengals, and then the Dolphins beat the Jets, the Bills have a pretty good chance of getting in.

Yes, that Titans win over the Jaguars was huge. I'm confident that New England will beat the Jags next week and knock them out of the picture. The biggest game left this week for the Bills playoff chances is, by far, the Monday night game. A Bengals win vs the Colts would ensure that Cincy has the tiebreaker over the Bills based on common opponents, but a Colts win would ensure that the tiebreaker is strength of victory which the Bills have a slight advantage in. That tiebreaker will not be decided until after all games are played, but it looks like the Bills have a good shot at beating the Bengals in that tiebreaker. A Chargers win tonight vs the Chiefs is also big because it would ensure that the Chiefs cannot harm the Bills playoff chances. Of course, a Cards win vs Denver would help, but the Broncos are far more likely to lose next week vs the Bengals and/or their final game against the 49ers. As I said last week, the biggest game determining the Bills playoff fate (other than the Bills' own games) will be the Christmas game between the Jets and Dolphins. A Jets win would give the Jets the tiebreaker over Buffalo and probably a wildcard spot for NY since they finish against Oakland. However, a Miami win would drop the Jets into a tie with Buffalo and also ensure that the Bills would have the tiebreaker. The bottom line is that, if Miami wins next week, the Bills will be competing with whoever loses the Denver-Cincy game for the final wildcard spot. If the Jets win, however, the Bills will have to beat both Denver and Cincy for one spot which will be very tough to do.

My thoughts exactly. A Bills win this week gets them to 7-7 and people will finally begin to realize that this team has a real shot at the playoffs. The Jags and Bengals have tough road games this week, so there's a good chance that the Bills will be sitting 1 game out of a wildcard spot with 2 games to play. There is also a very good chance that the Bills would beat the Bengals in a tiebreaker if the Colts beat the Bengals this Monday night.

My memory could be failing me, but I believe the Bills D stuffed Pittsburgh on the opening drive, the crowd was all fired up, and then Clements fumbled away the ensuing punt which deflated the team and the crowd and gave the Steelers the momentum back. Bledsoe (turnover for a score, surprise!) and Lindell are also to blame though, as was the Bills run D which let Pittsburgh backups maul them all day.

You're joking, right? Jauron has done a lot of positive things this year, but his game-day management with timeouts and challenges is awful. I think the Bills were the 1st team in NFL history to burn 2 timeouts on the same play last week when DJ called timeout, challenged a play, and then lost another timeout after losing the challenge. Overall, I am happy with the direction of the team including the coaching, but Coach of the Year consideration is kind of crazy!

Actually, the Fins winning helped the Bills playoff chances by making it more likely that the Bills will win the tiebreaker over the Jets and Bengals. It does feel dirty having to pull for the Fish though...

Well, I don't post that often but I try to make it worth reading when I do. If I see one more "Here's my 2007 Mock Draft 1st Round" thread while there are still games to play...