That’s interesting, I haven’t really looked at the tiebreakers too closely before. What if the Steelers were 11-5 instead of 10-6? That makes it a two-way tie - would the Giants get in then? That would be interesting, because it’s then an advantage for NYG to have a worse division standing of 3 instead of T2.
That’s an excellent question/point. Yes, it would end up being advantageous for the Giants to be alone in third instead of tied for second. If I recall correctly, the tiebreakers are as follows: (not exhaustive)
3-way (or more) Ties:
- If two or more teams are in the same division, take only the best from each division.
- Conference games
- Other nitpicky stuff, like net touchdowns, down to a coin flip
The moment a 3+ way tie is winnowed down to a two-way tie, the two-way tiebreakers go into effect:
- Head to Head record
- Conference games
But your point made me do a double-take. In effect, if the final game of the season is a Monday nighter between the Steelers and, say, the Colts, and the Steelers already have 10 wins, then the Giants would be rooting for the Steelers to get that 11th win and beat them outright in order to avoid the three way tie situation. That certainly would be interesting.
Just to be helpful, the exhaustive list of tiebreakers.
Well, with the Monday Nighter being a division game, (J-E-T-S JETS JETS JETS), the standings can be posted early this week. I have added decimal points where applicable to break ties, which means that there were no changes in the rankings from week 7.
NFL Division Rankings through Week 8
#1 NFC East 13-7 (65%) 3-1 this week
The league’s best division reasserts its strangle-hold on first place. Still more NFC and AFC North games coming up next week, so we’ll see where the rollercoaster takes them.
#2 AFC North 9-7 (56.3%) 1-2 this week
We’re beyond calling Big Ben and the Steelers the real deal. The Steelers can start thinking about homefield throughout, while Big Ben can start to be legitimately compared to some of the great ones. Beating two undefeated teams is asking a lot, but nevertheless Baltimore still let the division down, albeit not as much as the Bengals did. The North fell six percentage points this week, but hold on to their #2 spot.
#3 AFC South 10-8 (55.6%) 1-1 this week
Oh Payton, why don’t you step up and blame the defense? You know 35 points should win the game, how can you say it was a team loss with a straight face? At least the Titans won. The Titans? The AFC divisions (except the North) sure had a strange week, with the powers losing and the cellar-dwellers winning.
#4 AFC East 8-7 (53%) 1-1 this week
Even stranger than in the North, the Patriots lost while the Billies won. Go Billies! I’d love to see you guys get on a roll, but you’ll have to wait until ater next week when you host the Jets. Speaking of which, how many friggin’ divisional games can a single division play in the early part of the season, anyway?
#5 NFC North 11-10 (52%) 2-2 this week
The North lost some ground to the superior East, but still posted a respectable showing. Next week could mark the beginning of the end, when the apparently hapless Vikings face the Colts on MNF and the Bears travel to East Rutherford to take on Big Blue. In other news, Red McComb was just found chained to a locker with his mouth taped shut. Don’t let it be said that Mike Tice can’t adjust to an offense.
#6 AFC West 11-12 (48%) 1-1 this week
Inching closer to .500 still isn’t helping this struggling division. The rebounding Chiefs get on a roll against the defense-impaired Colts, but the Broncos got beat by a struggling Falcons team. Struggling? Weren’t they 5-2 coming into the game? Sure, but the reason for that is because they play in the NFC South.
#7 NFC South 10-15 (40%) 1-1 this week
Posting .500 is actually a victory for this division, made sweeter by the fact that the division leader beat another division’s leader. Carolina is looking remarkably similar to the 1999 Falcons and last year’s Bucs. What is it about the NFC South that makes their superbowl representatives go into the toilet the following year?
#8 NFC West 5-11 (31%) 1-2 this week
How do you know you’re really, really bad? When you go 1-2 and it improves your percentage. Yes, the NFC West inched closer to .333 this week on the strength of the Seahawks, while the 49ers and Cards lost to the last-place teams from stronger divisions. Way to maintain the status quo, West.
Conference Ranking through Week 8
#1 AFC 15-11 (58%) 1-2 this week
#2 NFC 11-15 (42%) 2-1 this week
The NFC is starting to gain momentum, but was the early season hole dug too deep to climb out of?
I was surprised by Atlanta dispatching Denver, so just checked in to see how that affected things. I liked the Bucs chances against the Chiefs before the last two weeks, now I’m not so sure. In fact, I’m frightened, but I’ve learned that with the NFL over the last 5-10 years you never know. Watch Pittsburgh lose to someone easy soon…
Watch the strangeness continue tonight when the Fins shock the Jets. If there’s one weather condition that screws Pennington’s world, it’s strong wind. We’re going to have a gusty one in East Rutherford tonight, leading to…mmmm…let’s call it two Pennington picks, one of which will be returned for a TD.
Dolphins 24, Jets 13
And no, I’m not on crack.
I misspelled South. Doing this thread has certainly opened my eyes to how difficult it is to proof your own copy.
Oh yeah, and:
[Nelson] HA ha! [/Nelson]
Let’s hear it for New York Football, second only to Pennsylvania for the greatest football state in 04.
You remember that, Hal? I just watched it again this weekend on my tape from last season. Still gives me goosebumps.
I’m in mourning for my New York teams, but will post this anyway assuming this Monday Nighter ever ends. The AFC North has finally taken their rightful hold on the #1 spot, and I doubt they will look back all season.
NFL Division Rankings through Week 9
#1 AFC North 11-7 (61%) 2-0 this week
The only question remaining for the Steelers is whether they will win more Superbowls in fewer years than their '70s counterparts. Beating up on the former #1 NFC East twice over has vaulted this division to the top of the charts, up from #2 last week.
#2 NFC East 14-10 (58%) 1-3 this week
Punks step up to get a beat down. The Redskins were the sole bright spot this weekend, while the Giants, Eagles, and Cowboys all got humiliated by the two Northern divisions, dropping the season-long front-runners down to the #2 spot.
#3 AFC South 11-9 (55%) 1-1 this week
Didn’t watch the Monday Nighter, and didn’t see highlights from the Texans game. I guess I was in shock from the injury reports coming out of New York today. The South hangs tough at #3.
#4 AFC East 9-8 (53%) 1-1 this week
The Patriots toyed with the Rams in a most cruel fashion, while the Dolphins lost a heartbreaker to the upstart Cardinals. Splitting two games is enough, barely, to hold off the improving AFC West.
#5 AFC West 14-13 (52%) 3-1 this week
A strong performance, led by the San-Di-e-go Super Chargers, was marred only by the Chiefs’ defense. It must be nice to play against the NFC South. Sunday’s action moved this division up one spot, from #6 to #5, and in position to make a run at the AFC East.
#6 NFC North 12-12 (50%) 1-2 this week
The North reverted to early-season form, dropping from #5 to #6. At least the Bears (?!) have something to crow about. The bastards.
#7 NFC South 11-17 (39%) 1-2 this week
The South got beaten up by the AFC West, except for the high powered offense of the Bucs. Huh?! Clearly, the Chiefs are not a playoff team.
#8 NFC West 6-12 (33%) 1-1 this week
Splitting its two games with the AFC East is cause for celebration, even if the win was over the lowly Dolphins. But a win is a win, and the .500 showing this week vaulted the league’s worst division to a perfect .333. They’re moving on up!
Conference Ranking through Week 9
#1 AFC 21-13 (62%) 6-2 this week
#2 NFC 13-21 (38%) 2-6 this week
Just when the NFC started to get going, the AFC poured it on with a 6-2 showing, with four of the wins coming in embarassing blowouts.
That was a fun game. Now we see what we’ve been missing all these years.
Not too long ago, the Jets were 5-0 and the G-Men were 4-1. Since that week, both New York teams have gone 1-3, and have suffered some pretty major injuries to boot. Oh well, that’s the price you pay for being an NFL fan, even if you hedge your bets by following two different teams.
NFL Division Rankings through Week 10
#1 AFC North 13-7 (65%) 2-0 this week
The North is gearing up for the late season playoff run, and distance themselves from the rest of the pack with a perfect posting this week. Nobody else is even close.
#2 AFC South 12-10 (55%) 1-1 this week
Both games were as close as it gets, but the South split its overtimes with one win and one loss. This was enough to back into the #2 spot, up from #3 last week.
#3 NFC East 14-12 (54%) 0-2 this week
The East continues its freefall, so virtually the entire division will likely change quarterbacks next week. (You hear me, Tuna?) Once the shining beacon of excellence, this division has imploded. Perhaps the new blood will provide that much needed spark. In the meantime, the East drops even further back, down from #2 last week to #3 this week.
#4 AFC East 9-9 (50%) 0-1 this week
The Jets once again demonstrated their exceptional playcalling and clock management skills, unmatched in the NFL. Wait, what? Herm Edwards, who is impossible to dislike, has cost his squad yet another embarassing late game clock disaster, which singlehandedly dropped this division down from being alone at #4 to being stuck in a three-way log-jam at #4.
#4 AFC West 14-14 (50%) 0-1 this week
Everyone had a bye except the Chiefs, who must certainly be pissing off the good people in the greater Kansas City area. Dropping down to .500 has actually moved this division up a notch, from alone at #5 to a three-way tie for the #4 seed.
#4 NFC North 13-13 (50%) 1-1 this week
The North split two overtime games with the AFC South, maintaining their middling .500 record. We seem to be having a bottleneck here in midseason. Still, it’s all good for the North, who actually moved up two notches from #6 into a tie for #4.
#7 NFC South 13-17 (43%) 2-0 this week
The South posted an undefeated week. Does this mean they can climb up from the cellar to reach the .500 bottleneck? Not anytime soon. Still, this week had to give the southeastern seaboard something to smile about. Everyone except Shibb, that is.
#8 NFC West 7-13 (35%) 1-1 this week
On the plus side, the West got a win over the Giants. On the minus side, the West gave up a loss to the lowly Panthers. What is the deal with this division? Stranglehold on dead last; that’s the deal.
Conference Ranking through Week 10
#1 AFC 23-15 (61%) 2-2 this week
#2 NFC 15-23 (39%) 2-6 this week
The NFC held tough this week, but there are only 26 interconference games remaining on the schedule. Will that be enough? Judging by the performance of the NFC’s best division, all signs point to “no”.
[QUOTE=Ellis Dee]
#7 NFC South 13-17 (43%) 2-0 this week
The South posted an undefeated week. Does this mean they can climb up from the cellar to reach the .500 bottleneck? Not anytime soon. Still, this week had to give the southeastern seaboard something to smile about. Everyone except Shibb, that is./QUOTE]
Harsh. Where’s that Bronx-cheer smilie when you need one?
That game truly sucked, from a Bucs fan perspective. What’s probably the worst part is that we sacked Vick five times and held him to 8 passes, yet still found a way to lose. I blame Gruden.
I didn’t watch the game, so I can’t really comment on any particulars, but it seems to me that Vick would be perfectly happy only thowing eight times. 
Of course, as a Giants fan, there’s every chance I’ll be making similar complaints a week from now. C’mon, Eli! Start your career off on the right foot!
Well, the big issues seem to be:
-
We suddenly made the Falcons look like world beaters on defense. Except for two drives they shutdown our offense, and sacked Griese seven times.
-
The defense gave up three big plays. That was it, which was just enough. One long run by Vick, another by Duckett, and a long TD catch by Alge Crumpler. This points to some problems with our safeties, for the most part. And we took some more key injuries on both sides of the ball (Griese, Jermaine Phillips).
-
Penalties are killing us. At least one, if not two, of the Atlanta TD drives were kept alived by stupid penalties on third and long.
The defense is actually pretty good, when healthy along the front four. It just so happened that Rod Coleman was back to torment the Bucs after 3 really bad defensive weeks. When he’s around the defense is much better so it’s not really something to hang your head about.
Well, I sure wish that a) he wouldn’t have come back until this week and b) that we hadn’t lost our starting center the week before. I mean, c’mon, don’t you want to have some competition for the division title. If you win it too easy you’ll just get rusty before the playoffs!
Come on now, we need a little something to be excited about!
Mullinator, do the Dirty Bird!
He’s said there’s no way he’d throw Hansen into this mess and I believe him and Vinny, while nowhere near perfect, is Unitas-like compared to the secondary. Boys will continue to freefall and next year’s two firstrounders can’t get here soon enough. This season is out with the dirty socks.
Based on the pathetic rate of good Falcons seasons, I would be happy if our team made the playoffs because a giant rock fell from the sky and landed on the team headquarters of the Panthers, Bucs, and Saints. Well, not the Saints. They’ll fold on their own anyway.
Wow, it’s only Tuesday, and yet next week starts in less than 48 hours. Sucks to be the Cowboys and Lions. I didn’t catch any highlights at all, so don’t expect too many insights.
NFL Division Rankings through Week 11
#1 AFC North 14-8 (64%) 1-1 this week
Next week may go 1-1 as well, but the lead is big enough that it won’t matter. Then again, with only 22 games played, perhaps some trouble may still lie ahead.
#2 AFC East 12-10 (55%) 3-1 this week
Finally the East is making its move, leapfrogging past the South as it jumps out of the logjam at #4 into the #2 spot.
#3 AFC South 13-11 (54%) 1-1 this week
It annoys me that an emphasis change in the rules is facilitating Peyton’s ability to beat Marino’s record. Poor Dan never got the ring, let him keep his records. Splitting two games wasn’t enough to hold on to the #2 spot, dropping the South down one notch to #3.
#4 NFC East 14-14 (50%) 0-2 this week
Yet another winless week plunges the East squarely into mediocrity. At least Eli and Drew looked promising. Didn’t Patrick get the memo? After squandering a huge lead in the rankings, the East finds itself down from #3 to the three-way tie for #4.
#4 AFC West 15-15 (50%) 1-1 this week
Nothing like maintaining the status quo, eh? The fact that they’re still .500 after 30 games may be a positive.
#4 NFC North 14-14 (50%) 1-1 this week
I’m noticing a pattern here. How many divisions can go 1-1 in the same week?
#7 NFC South 16-18 (47%) 3-1 this week
The South is stringing together a nice little run here, led by the resurgent Bucs and scrappy Panthers. Two more weeks like this could dramatically improve their ranking, but for the time being, they hold fast at the #7 spot.
#8 NFC West 8-16 (33%) 1-3 this week
Hey, the Seahawks beat the worst team in football. Go West!
Conference Ranking through Week 11
#1 AFC 27-17 (61%) 4-2 this week
#2 NFC 17-27 (39%) 2-4 this week
The AFC just likes to give the NFC a little hope every now and then so that the pain of getting trounced yet again stays fresh. I see an AFC team hoisting the Lombardi trophy in Jacksonville.
Hey, Ellis, just checking in to say I look forward to this thread every Tuesday! Keep up the good work!