2nd Half Reset

[HPF Bob]

The Browns dismantled the Steelers in the most Steeler-esque way possible with multiple helmet-to-helmet KO's punctuated by a game-ending brawl after Myles Garrett ripped off Mason Rudolph's helmet and then swung it at Rudolph's head! This was the same Rudolph that was KO'd by Earl Thomas earlier in the year.

Thursday Night Footbrawl. The real winner was the Raiders who took over the #6 seed, at least temporarily. Another winner was the Texans who now inch that playoff clinching percentage up a few more points.

Commissioner Goody Two Shoes is going to have his hands full with this one. It's not hard to imagine multiple suspensions coming down after this. I always wondered what would happen if a head coach said "F--- it, just put as many of their players in the hospital as you can. I'll pay your fines." That's what this looked like. Sorta like Rollerball on cleats. This was payback for every thug-ass cheapshot handed out by Mean Joe, Jack Lambert and James Harrison rolled into one night.

[barrett]

Originally Posted by HPF Bob

The Browns dismantled the Steelers in the most Steeler-esque way possible with multiple helmet-to-helmet KO's punctuated by a game-ending brawl after Myles Garrett ripped off Mason Rudolph's helmet and then swung it at Rudolph's head! This was the same Rudolph that was KO'd by Earl Thomas earlier in the year.

Thursday Night Footbrawl. The real winner was the Raiders who took over the #6 seed, at least temporarily. Another winner was the Texans who now inch that playoff clinching percentage up a few more points.

Commissioner Goody Two Shoes is going to have his hands full with this one. It's not hard to imagine multiple suspensions coming down after this. I always wondered what would happen if a head coach said "F--- it, just put as many of their players in the hospital as you can. I'll pay your fines." That's what this looked like. Sorta like Rollerball on cleats. This was payback for every thug-ass cheapshot handed out by Mean Joe, Jack Lambert and James Harrison rolled into one night.

I guess when you lose 10 straight to a team you need to push the envelope a bit.

[HPF Bob]

I'm going to spot the Ravens a win over the Rams Monday night (if they lose, it changes nothing) so here are the Week 12 playoff standings (conference record in parentheses):

New England 10-1 (6-1)
Baltimore 9-2 (6-2)
Houston 7-4 (6-2)
Kansas City 7-4 (5-3)
Buffalo 8-3 (6-2)
Pittsburgh 6-5 (5-3)
----------------------------
Oakland 6-5 (4-3)
Indianapolis 6-5 (5-5)
Tennessee 6-5 (4-4)
Cleveland 5-6 (5-3)

Houston has the tiebreaker over KC (head-to-head but also conference record). Pittsburgh wins the four-way tie for the sixth seed (Indy owns tiebreak with the Titans but are eliminated with losses to both Pittsburgh and Oakland head-to-head, then Pittsburgh prevails on conference record)

ESPN now has that wonderful "what if", the NFL Playoff Machine

http://www.espn.com/nfl/playoffs/machine

where you can tweak your favorite scenarios. In my first run-through, the Texans take the AFC South but fall behind KC into the 4th seed. Buffalo slides entirely out of the playoffs with defeats against Dallas, Baltimore, Pittsburgh and New England leaving the Steelers and Oakland as the Wild Cards. Houston hosts Pittsburgh in the first round and loses because the refs love the Steelers even with a third-string free agent at quarterback.

[Arky]

Fivethirtyeight.com now has the Texans with an 80% chance to make the playoffs and 64% chance to win the division. Just an 8% chance to get a 1st round bye. Pats and Ravens would seem to have those two 1st round byes locked up although, the Texans could mess things up with a win over the Pats on SNF.....

Colts have fallen to 34% chance to make the playoffs and and a 19% chance to win the division...

Texans now power-ranked 10th in their calculations.....

[HPF Bob]

Updated week 13 AFC playoff standings...

Baltimore 10-2 (6-2)
New England 10-2 (6-2)
Houston 8-4 (7-2)
Kansas City 8-4 (6-3)
Buffalo 9-3 (6-2)
Pittsburgh 7-5 (6-3)
----------------------------
Tennessee 7-5 (5-4)
Oakland 6-6 (4-4)
Indianapolis 6-6 (5-6)
Cleveland 5-7 (5-4)

Baltimore has head-to-head tiebreak with New England, Houston has head-to-head tiebreak with Kansas City, Pittsburgh has conference record tiebreaker with Tennessee. Pittsburgh would be the visitor for wild card week in Houston if the standings stayed this way until the end of the season.

[HPF Bob]

Final four week schedule for each contending team:

Baltimore
---------------
@ BUF
vs NYJ
@ CLE
vs PIT

New England
---------------
vs KC
@ CIN
vs BUF
vs MIA

Houston
--------------
vs DEN
@ TEN
@ TAM
vs TEN

Kansas City
--------------
@ NE
vs DEN
@ CHI
vs LAC

Buffalo
--------------
vs BAL
@ PIT
@ NE
vs NYJ

Pittsburgh
--------------
@ ARI
vs BUF
@ NYJ
@ BAL

Tennessee
--------------
@ OAK
vs HOU
vs NO
@ HOU

Oakland
--------------
vs TEN
vs JAX
@ LAC
@ DEN

Indianapolis
---------------
@ TAM
@ NO
vs CAR
@ JAX

[HPF Bob]

From CBS Sports:

That was a statement win by the Texans that keeps them in the lead for the division and throws the AFC into chaos. The Texans have a tiebreaker over the Chiefs and Patriots, the Chiefs have a tiebreaker over the Ravens, the Ravens have a tiebreaker over the Patriots and the Chiefs and Patriots are playing next week.

Oh, and let's not forget the Bills are lingering with a chance to snipe the division. In fact, the Bills can actually steal the No. 1 overall AFC seed -- if they win out (they play the Ravens next week and have the Patriots again) and the Chiefs beat the Pats next week, Buffalo would be the top seed in the AFC. This race is going to be wild down the stretch.

BTW, the Patriots have had a home field playoff game every year since 2008 (the year Brady got knee-capped and they had to play Matt Cassel at QB). It would be really sweet to watch the Patriots have to try to reach the Super Bowl via three road games without their sloppy weather for a change.

[painekiller]

Originally Posted by HPF Bob

Final four week schedule for each contending team:

Houston
--------------
vs DEN
@ TEN
@ TAM
vs TEN

I can see the Texans going 3-1 in those games. Beating Denver and Tampa, and splitting with Tennessee.

It would be nice to win out, but this is a Houston team and nothing ever goes the easy way.