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Dec. 6, 2006 As Week 14 of the NFL season looms on the horizon, one team has already punched its ticket to the playoffs. The Chicago Bears are the champions of the NFC North, despite a dreadful performance by quarterback Rex Grossman at home against Minnesota. Although folks are calling for Grossman to be replaced by veteran Brian Griese, after Grossman went 6-for-19 for 34 yards and three interceptions, Lovie Smith still has confidence in his starting signal caller. Defense and special teams saved the day for Chicago, but quarterback play will have to get markedly better if the Bears hope to get to South Florida in February. The Baltimore Ravens, meanwhile, are kicking themselves for blowing their chance to win the AFC North last Thursday night. Because they’ve split the season series with the Cincinnati Bengals AND because Cincinnati holds the second tiebreaker over Baltimore (divisional record), it means that the AFC North is still up for grabs and won’t be clinched this week. The Ravens can, however, claim a playoff spot. More on that in a moment. And thanks to Tennessee kicker Rob Bironas, the Indianapolis Colts didn’t clinch the AFC South. Not to fear, though, because they’re still in the driver seat, even with the Jacksonville Jaguars winning at Miami late on Sunday. Oddly enough, no team has been officially eliminated from playoff contention just yet. That means fans of the Arizona Cardinals and Oakland Raiders still have at least one more week of hope before telling the rest of us, “Just wait until next year”. Here’s what’s happening this week: The New England Patriots clinch the AFC East if they win on the road at Miami AND the New York Jets drop their home match-up against Buffalo. The Patriots beat the Dolphins in Week 5 at Foxboro, while the Jets beat the Bills up in Orchard Park in Week 3. The Baltimore Ravens can get into the playoffs with a win at Kansas City, a Cincinnati loss at home to Oakland, a Denver loss at San Diego AND by clinching the obscure Strength-of-Victory tiebreaker against the New York Jets. They cannot win the AFC North outright. The Indianapolis Colts clinch the AFC South if they beat or tie Jacksonville on the road. The Jaguars will not be an easy out, though—they lost at Indianapolis 21-14 in Week 3—so the Colts have their work cut out for them. The Colts can clinch a playoff berth if four different teams—the Jets, the Bengals, the Broncos and the Chiefs—all lose. The San Diego Chargers clinch the AFC West if they beat Denver at home AND Kansas City loses or ties at home against Baltimore, OR if tie the Broncos and Kansas City loses. The Chargers can clinch a playoff berth if they win OR if they tie AND EITHER Kansas City loses or ties against Baltimore OR if Cincinnati loses to Oakland. The Chicago Bears, who have already won the NFC North, can clinch a first-round bye in the playoffs if the Seattle Seahawks lose at Arizona on Sunday afternoon, Dallas Cowboys lose at home against New Orleans on Sunday night, AND the Bears beat the Rams in St. Louis next Monday night. The Seattle Seahawks clinch the NFC West with a win at Arizona AND a San Francisco loss or tie at Green Bay, OR if they tie Arizona, San Francisco loses at Green Bay AND St. Louis loses or ties Chicago. For the latest news and updates, visit NFL.com. ------------ About the author: Claxton Graham has written over 100 articles for Useless Knowledge. He has also written the unpublished novels The Writer's Nightmare and Santa's Sleigh Is Missing. He works as a business analyst. Email: scifiwriter8502@email.com Comment on this article here! ------------ All articles are EXCLUSIVE to Useless-Knowledge.com and are not allowed to be posted on other websites. ARTICLE THIEVES WILL BE PROSECUTED! |
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