2021 Week 15 AFC Kayfabe Rankings

We need to have a talk in a moment, Football Nation America...

First, a reminder that, with the two games tomorrow, the NFC post and the score report will come some point tomorrow evening, etc., as circumstances permit.

So, for the AFC, the kayfabe standings:

East:  New England (9-5) now one up on Buffalo (8-6), and they play next week.  A win over Buffalo does NOT clinch the AFC East, but the magic number to do so with Miami would go to one.  Miami would have to win out (including over the Pats Week 18) and New England also lose in Week 17.

North:  Have fun!!!  Cincinnati has the HTH with the Ravens, and the division lead at 8-6.  The Yinzers' false hope is stoked with Pittsburgh's win over Tennessee to 7-6-1, and Cleveland is 7-7 as well now!

No, you drunk idiot, Steelers not gonna Supah Bo.  (If you need reference to that, watch Urinating Tree...) 

South:  Tennessee's (9-5) loss and Indianapolis' win cuts the lead to one and the HTH sweep over Indianapolis.

West:  Kansas City (10-4) has a two-game lead over the Chargers and three over the Raiders and Broncos.

No one has added their names to the Squid Game for being eliminated from playoff contention.

Why?  Let's take a look before I do the tiebreakers:

10-4:  KC

9-5:  TEN and NE

8-6:  CIN (division), BAL, BUF, IND, LAC

7-6-1:  PIT

7-7:  MIA, CLE, LV, and DEN

How's THAT mathematically possible:  13 of the 16 AFC teams are 7-7 or better.

Tiebreakers:

TEN and NE for the #2:  NE 36 - TEN 13.  NE #2, TEN #3.

For ALL THREE wildcards:  BAL, BUF, IND, LAC  Four for three.

No divisionals to break.

Conference records:  BUF 5-5, BAL 5-5, IND 7-3, LAC 5-4

IND #5, LAC #6 only because they won't play the Bills.  

And Buffalo is now the #7 per common games...  

• Both lost to the Steelers (Baltimore has a second meeting in Week 18), 
• Buffalo beat Miami twice, Baltimore lost.  
• Both beat the Chiefs.  
• Baltimore beat the Colts, the Bills lost.

BAL 2-2, BUF 3-2 -- condition satisfied.

1. KC (10-4, leads AFC West)
2. NE (9-5, leads AFC East, HTH tiebreaker over TEN)
3. TEN (9-5, leads AFC South, loses HTH tiebreaker with NE)
4. CIN (8-6, leads AFC North because of first win over BAL)
5. IND (8-6, wins conference record tiebreaker over the other 8-6s)
6. LAC (8-6, 2nd in the conference record tiebreaker (and this applies because no HTH sweep or swept with the other two 8-6s) among the 8-6s)
7. BUF (8-6, loses conference record tiebreakers to IND and LAC, wins common games tiebreaker over BAL)

BUF @ NE, LAC @ TEN, IND @ CIN, KC gets the bye.

8) BAL (8-6, loses tiebreakers to all four other 8-6s (HTH CIN, Conf Record IND and LAC, common games BUF) to be out of the playoffs if the playoffs were to be set today!)

9) PIT (7-6-1, if not for the tie with Detroit, they'd be the #7)

Then another 4-way tie -- LV over DEN 1st HTH, second this week to get it to three.  

Conf:  LV 5-4, MIA 5-5, CLE 4-6 (and DEN 3-6)

10)  LV (7-7, wins conference record tiebreaker over the other non-divisional 7-7s and first win over Denver)

11) MIA (7-7, 2nd in the list on conference record)

12) And CLE (7-7) beat Denver anyway

13) DEN 7-7

That means there are 13 teams which can be separated by three games with three to play.  I don't think we can get to complete chaos, though, like some absurd 11-way 10-7 tie (since both LV and DEN cannot go 10-7).  I may just have to have some fun with it to see how close I can get.