MIAMI – Here's a new thing we're starting on Local10.com: Every week until the Fins either clinch or are eliminated from the playoffs, we will break down who you should be rooting for in every NFL game.
While many seem obvious, there are some crazy NFL tiebreakers that make certain games a little more complicated (like this week's Pats-Packers game).
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Onto the games!
Dolphins (6-5) at Jets (2-9): Root for the DOLPHINS. Always.
Browns (7-4) at Bills (6-5): Should be easy, right? Pull against the division, right? Not so fast.
Right now the Browns are a game ahead of the Fins. The Bills, meanwhile, are tied with Miami but have a worse conference record (the first tiebreaker). I say pull for the BILLS since the Dolphins are likely focused on a wild card berth right now.
Redskins (3-8) at Colts (7-4): Root for the REDSKINS. Almost always root for the NFC over the AFC. Almost.
Titans (2-9) at Texans (5-6): TITANS are out of it, so root for them.
Chargers (7-4) at Ravens (7-4): These are two teams the Fins are chasing in the WC race. They already beat the Chargers and will get their shot at the Ravens, too (for the sake of this guide, we will assume that's a must-win). It's close, but the CHARGERS have a brutal schedule down the stretch and are likely to lose more games. Root for them.
Jaguars (3-8) at Giants (1-10): Rare irrelevant game. Root for the GIANTS since the Jags play more AFC games and there's a very slim chance that could have a tiebreaker effect later.
Bengals (7-3-1) at Buccaneers (2-9): Bengals have the inside track for the AFC North title right now, but could always fall to the wild card pack. Root for the BUCS
Saints (4-7) at Steelers (7-4): Clear choice: root for the SAINTS.
Raiders (1-10) at Rams (4-7): See Jags-Giants. Root for the RAMS.
Panthers (3-7-1) at Vikings (4-7): Fins play Minnesota, so the better their record is, the better the Fins' strength of victory/schedule would be. Root for the VIKINGS
Cardinals (9-2) at Falcons (4-7): Irrelevant game for now (could come into play with very obscure tiebreakers). I say root for the CARDINALS just to make the NFC south more hilarious.
Patriots (9-2) at Packers (8-3): AFC east vs. NFC. No-brainer, right? Not exactly. We are going for the most realistic path to the playoffs for the Fins. Unless Brady gets hurt, that's the wild card. Assuming they don't catch the Pats in the division, playing New England twice (and beating them at least once) trumps that one loss to the Packers when it comes to the strength of victory/schedule tiebreakers. I say root for the PATRIOTS no matter how much it hurts.
Broncos (8-3) at Chiefs (7-4): Here's hoping the Fins tough losses to both teams won't come back and bite them at the end of the year. Root for the BRONCOS and hope the Chiefs drop a couple more down the stretch.