# NFL Week 16 **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [December 21, 2016, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-week-16/775289 "2016-12-21T13:02:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Rysto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ecccb3/32.png) [@Rysto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rysto)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2016, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-week-16/775289/41 "2016-12-28T20:55:45Z")
> [@TonySinclair](#): > > Right, losing your QB but still having a chance to be the #1 seed is much worse than losing your QB and being eliminated from the playoffs. That was my mistake. I only skimmed the post and missed the fact that the Titans also lost their QB. ---
**Author:** ![Enginerd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/bcef8e/32.png) [@Enginerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enginerd)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2016, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-week-16/775289/42 "2016-12-28T21:26:29Z")
> [@dalej42](#): > > Doug Martin ‘stepping away’ from the Bucs to focus on ‘personal issues’ > > I wonder if it is drug/alcohol rehab or something worse? > > [Doug Martin suspended four games, entering rehab](http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000765376/article/doug-martin-stepping-away-from-team-for-personal-reasons) [Drug treatment](http://deadspin.com/doug-martin-will-enter-drug-treatment-facility-1790566531). From the linked article: > [@Doug Martin](#): > > I was notified last week of a four-game suspension for violating the league’s drug policy. My initial instinct was to appeal the suspension and finish the season with my teammates. However, after numerous discussions with people close to me - including Coach Koetter - I am starting the suspension immediately so I can enter a treatment facility and receive the help I truly need. ---
**Author:** ![Seydell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e4f/32.png) [@Seydell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Seydell)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2016, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-week-16/775289/43 "2016-12-28T22:10:16Z")
> [@notfrommensa](#): > > Going into this weekend, NFL dot com had Green Bay ahead of the Bucs for the last wildcard spot in the NFC. > > After GB won and TB lost, I would have thought TB would have been eliminated from any playoff spot, as the best they can do is tie GB with a 9-7 record. (Assuming TB beats Carolina and GB loses to Detroit in Week 17) > > But apparently TB is not completely eliminated as they have chance (if TB wins, and GB and Redskins lose). TB chances are even worse than that, though not 0. From [The Week 17 Games That Actually Matter | FiveThirtyEight](http://fivethirtyeight.com/features/the-week-17-games-that-actually-matter/) “So what’s Tampa Bay’s deal? The Buccaneers can make the playoffs in a tiebreaker against Washington and Green Bay, which means they need to beat Carolina, have Green Bay lose to Detroit, and have Washington tie the Giants. This isn’t quite enough, though; in order to actually win the tiebreaker they also need San Francisco to beat Seattle, Dallas to beat Philadelphia, Tennessee to beat Houston, and Indianapolis to beat Jacksonville to gain a narrow strength of victory edge over Green Bay.” ---
**Author:** ![TonySinclair](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/49beb7/32.png) [@TonySinclair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TonySinclair)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2016, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-week-16/775289/44 "2016-12-28T23:30:08Z")
> [@mhendo](#): > > But that’s precisely, i would argue, why yesterday was worse for Oakland. They have been a good team all year, with a legitimate shot at going deep into the playoffs, at least with Carr at QB. Now, they’re probably fucked. > > The Titans, by contrast, are an 8-7 team that, even with one of the easiest schedules of any NFL team in 2016, still has negative scoring differential. They were being blown out by the Jags before their QB went down yesterday. I like Marcus Mariota a lot, but they are, quite frankly, a mediocre team. While anything can happen once you reach the playoffs, i don’t think Tennessee was ever very likely to make a strong playoff run, even with a healthy Mariota. You should read some of the Titan game threads on reddit. Trust me, nobody knows better than Titans fans how bad the team is, particularly the secondary. And nobody expected them to get very far in the playoffs. But getting to the playoffs at all would have been spectacular. When the season began, most Titan fans would have considered 6-10 a decent year, given the five total wins of the last two seasons. I don’t know who your favorite team is, but there are lots of teams who are perennial playoff contenders, so it may seem to you that getting to the playoffs with very poor prospects isn’t much better than not getting to the playoffs at all. But if you haven’t been to the playoffs for nearly ten years, it’s a huge difference. ---
**Author:** ![JSexton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/96bed5/32.png) [@JSexton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JSexton)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2016, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-week-16/775289/45 "2016-12-29T19:56:16Z")
> [@mhendo](#): > > But that’s precisely, i would argue, why yesterday was worse for Oakland. They have been a good team all year, with a legitimate shot at going deep into the playoffs, at least with Carr at QB. Now, they’re probably fucked. > > The Titans, by contrast, are an 8-7 team that, even with one of the easiest schedules of any NFL team in 2016, still has negative scoring differential. They were being blown out by the Jags before their QB went down yesterday. I like Marcus Mariota a lot, but they are, quite frankly, a mediocre team. While anything can happen once you reach the playoffs, i don’t think Tennessee was ever very likely to make a strong playoff run, even with a healthy Mariota. On the flip side, Carr’s injury is a clean break that wil heal in a matter of weeks, and shouldn’t present any long term problems. Mariota, however, seems to have ligament and joint damage with a multi-month recovery time, and it’s got the potential to affect his mobility after he’s recovered. This could be a career-threatening thing if he loses the ability to scramble. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-week-16/775289.md?page=2)