# NFL Week 16 **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [December 22, 2013, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-week-16/676960 "2013-12-22T18:01:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![born\_too\_late](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ba9def/32.png) [@born\_too\_late](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/born_too_late)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2013, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-week-16/676960/41 "2013-12-23T04:10:30Z")
> [@dalej42](#): > > My guess is the Bears step it up and beat the Eagles in a high scoring game. Good guess! ---
**Author:** ![Hamlet](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hamlet/32/2818_2.png) [@Hamlet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hamlet)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2013, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-week-16/676960/42 "2013-12-23T04:14:39Z")
> [@Gangster\_Octopus](#): > > Packers thoroughly earned that loss. Turnovers, penalties, poor execution. They played very poorly today. The only thing that makes it even tolerable is that the Lions lost to a bad Giants team, and the Bears are in the process of absolutely embarrassing themselves tonight. ---
**Author:** ![Hamlet](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hamlet/32/2818_2.png) [@Hamlet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hamlet)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2013, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-week-16/676960/43 "2013-12-23T04:16:18Z")
> [@Jules\_Andre](#): > > The refs consistently spot the ball generously for the Eagles’ opponents. It’s maddening. At least the second one was overturned. When you’re bitching about the spot of the ball when your team is winning by 30 during primetime, you might need to reassess your priorities. ---
**Author:** ![Omniscient](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omniscient/32/3290_2.png) [@Omniscient](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omniscient)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2013, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-week-16/676960/44 "2013-12-23T04:17:35Z")
> [@Hamlet](#): > > They played very poorly today. The only thing that makes it even tolerable is that the Lions lost to a bad Giants team, and the Bears are in the process of absolutely embarrassing themselves tonight. Its a good thing I’m not at a bar tonight, things could have gone totally out of perspective. Its amazing seeing a relatively good team fail in every conceivable way on a given night. No idea what Bostic is trying to do in run support. Gotta salvage this by taking care of business against the Pack next week. ---
**Author:** ![Hamlet](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hamlet/32/2818_2.png) [@Hamlet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hamlet)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2013, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-week-16/676960/45 "2013-12-23T04:21:00Z")
> [@Omniscient](#): > > Gotta salvage this by taking care of business against the Pack next week. I hope it’s a well played game, not the crimes against professional football that the Bears and Packers committed today. ---
**Author:** ![Omniscient](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omniscient/32/3290_2.png) [@Omniscient](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omniscient)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2013, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-week-16/676960/46 "2013-12-23T04:24:58Z")
> [@Hamlet](#): > > I hope it’s a well played game, not the crimes against professional football that the Bears and Packers committed today. I’ll take a win any way I can get it, but I hear ya. ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2013, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-week-16/676960/47 "2013-12-23T04:25:21Z")
Here I was thinking we were celebrating the Bengals. Wrong room! ---
**Author:** ![Jules\_Andre](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jules_andre/32/9334_2.png) [@Jules\_Andre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jules_Andre)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2013, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-week-16/676960/48 "2013-12-23T04:26:58Z")
> [@Hamlet](#): > > When you’re bitching about the spot of the ball when your team is winning by 30 during primetime, you might need to reassess your priorities. When you read a post =/= when a post was written. Pretty telling response, though. Thanks for stopping by. ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2013, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-week-16/676960/49 "2013-12-23T05:09:33Z")
The NFC North Panic here is epic. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2013, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-week-16/676960/50 "2013-12-23T05:31:28Z")
> [@Jules\_Andre](#): > > When you read a post =/= when a post was written. Pretty telling response, though. Thanks for stopping by. At least what I’m seeing on this thread, the post you made about the spotting of the ball showed up on the board at 9:23 Central Time (which would have been some time in the third quarter of the game). Unless there was a truly substantial lag between when you made your post it, and when the board software placed it in the thread, it sure does look like you posted well after the Eagles had the game in hand. ---
**Author:** ![Try2B\_Comprehensive](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/try2b_comprehensive/32/65_2.png) [@Try2B\_Comprehensive](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Try2B_Comprehensive)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2013, 5:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-week-16/676960/51 "2013-12-23T05:37:23Z")
> [@TonySinclair](#): > > I’m glad the Pats won, so next week’s game means something for the Broncos, and Manning will have a shot at the yardage record, too. Yah, I doubt they will bench Manning against Oakland now. Manning needs 291 yards. I think he can do it if they just let the boys play ball. ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2013, 5:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-week-16/676960/52 "2013-12-23T05:57:23Z")
> [@Try2B\_Comprehensive](#): > > Yah, I doubt they will bench Manning against Oakland now. Manning needs 291 yards. I think he can do it if they just let the boys play ball. Manning (The Elder) gets 291 yards in his sleep. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2013, 6:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-week-16/676960/53 "2013-12-23T06:00:38Z")
> [@FoieGrasIsEvil](#): > > Manning (The Elder) gets 291 yards in his sleep. Which is pretty darned impressive for a 64-year-old. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Gangster\_Octopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a8b319/32.png) [@Gangster\_Octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gangster_Octopus)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2013, 6:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-week-16/676960/54 "2013-12-23T06:28:18Z")
So the Packers posted something on their Facebook about the offensive linemen complaining about the refs not being very efficient spotting the ball on the last play. That’s embarrassing., seriously, we jump offside, miss a wide open Nelson, and screw up a dozen other ways, but no let us talk about the refs. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2013, 6:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-week-16/676960/55 "2013-12-23T06:34:54Z")
Something seems odd. On the NFL’s page showing the playoff picture, Miami is shown as being in the driver’s seat for the wildcard, with Baltimore in 7th place, but last week, it was (as I recall) the opposite. Yet Miami was strangled by Buffalo, a division opponent, while Baltimore lost to a mere conference opponent. It just looks odd that they should swap places under those circumstances. ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2013, 6:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-week-16/676960/56 "2013-12-23T06:51:19Z")
> [@For You](#): > > Something seems odd. On the NFL’s page showing the playoff picture, Miami is shown as being in the driver’s seat for the wildcard, with Baltimore in 7th place, but last week, it was (as I recall) the opposite. Yet Miami was strangled by Buffalo, a division opponent, while Baltimore lost to a mere conference opponent. It just looks odd that they should swap places under those circumstances. They are confused. Miami is OUT due to their loss. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2013, 7:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-week-16/676960/57 "2013-12-23T07:06:59Z")
> [@FoieGrasIsEvil](#): > > They are confused. Miami is OUT due to their loss. I think not. Baltimore lost as well, so their relative records are unchanged. Three teams are 8-7, Chargers being the third, all vying for seed six (KC has seed five locked down). The Steelers at 7-8 even still have some bizarre miracle hope. It looks like Miami’s edge is a slightly better in-conference record, so they only have to down the Jets to get in. The other three need other teams to lose or tie. ---
**Author:** ![Jules\_Andre](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jules_andre/32/9334_2.png) [@Jules\_Andre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jules_Andre)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2013, 8:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-week-16/676960/58 "2013-12-23T08:11:01Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > At least what I’m seeing on this thread, the post you made about the spotting of the ball showed up on the board at 9:23 Central Time (which would have been some time in the third quarter of the game). > > Unless there was a truly substantial lag between when you made your post it, and when the board software placed it in the thread, it sure does look like you posted well after the Eagles had the game in hand. The safety (which occurred when I posted) made the score 26-3. The Eagles have made a habit of taking big leads into the second half to watch them evaporate and turn a comfortable game into a close one (as with both Washington games and the Cardinals game, off the top of my head). Sure, the way it turned out, it was in hand. But at the time I posted, the Eagles weren’t up by 30, and they hadn’t yet put the game away (and with their history and their defense, there was still doubt). All of this ignores the fact that you don’t get a pass on garbage calls because they end up not mattering. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2013, 8:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-week-16/676960/59 "2013-12-23T08:28:31Z")
It is said that the league assesses the performance of the zebras, ushering the best ones forward through the playoffs until they get the cream of the crop for the last game. How they make this assessment is not entirely clear, but the way this season has gone, rating them looks like it will be a monumental task. ---
**Author:** ![VarlosZ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d78d45/32.png) [@VarlosZ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VarlosZ)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2013, 8:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-week-16/676960/60 "2013-12-23T08:33:23Z")
> [@Jules\_Andre](#): > > The refs consistently spot the ball generously for the Eagles’ opponents. It’s maddening. At least the second one was overturned. If there were any way for us to judge objectively, I’d bet you $1000 that this is not true in any meaningful way. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-week-16/676960.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-week-16/676960.md?page=4)