# NFL Week 4

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-week-4/767251>\
**Category:** The Game Room\
**Created:** [September 29, 2016, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-week-4/767251 "2016-09-29T23:01:29Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 6

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**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\
**Post date:** [October 5, 2016, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-week-4/767251/101 "2016-10-05T14:34:40Z")

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> [@magnusblitz](#):
>
> Depends on if you’re talking about division race or wild card race. While the non-conference games would be more important for the division due to common games trumping conference games, the tiebreakers for the wild card look at conference games before common games (assuming the teams aren’t in the same division).

For teams in other divisions, sure, but the primary way of getting to the playoffs is to win your division. If you’re a no-hope team in an already-decided division – the Jets, Bills or Dolphins, for example – then yeah, definitely focus on the wildcard. But neither the Chiefs nor the Steelers are in that position. Quite the opposite, actually, especially for the Steelers. Both of them should be laser focused on winning their divisions, with wildcard considerations a distant second.

However, even given that stipulation, remember that wildcard rases between teams in the same division _still_ weigh common games more heavily than conference games, because the first tie-breaker between teams in the same division is to use divisional tie-breakers. So if, like, the Jets and the Bills ended up both 10-6 and fighting for the wildcard, their NFC matchups would be way more important than the two strength of schedule conference games.

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**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\
**Post date:** [October 5, 2016, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-week-4/767251/102 "2016-10-05T15:54:47Z")

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Even if they happen early in the season!

😃

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**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\
**Post date:** [October 5, 2016, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-week-4/767251/103 "2016-10-05T18:49:27Z")

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> [@AncientHumanoid](#):
>
> Even if they happen early in the season!

Early season losses are less meaningful than later season losses because you have more time to make up for them.

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**Author:** ![magnusblitz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b4bc9f/32.png) [@magnusblitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/magnusblitz)\
**Post date:** [October 7, 2016, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-week-4/767251/104 "2016-10-07T03:49:56Z")

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[Another angle](http://giphy.com/gifs/l0HlRPZjA9hK2iqgE) on the Duke Johnson fumble. Pretty obvious he got it back, now.

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