School is about to let out for the holiday, so let’s take a quick look at what we learned this week and see how it affects the NFL draft and playoffs.
The Browns win (among others) shook up April’s draft order.
And it cost the Browns the No. 1 draft pick. None to worry Clevelanders. There are still three weeks to go to get it back, but with the Tennessee Titans (who currently hold the top draft pick) and San Diego Chargers (who pick third) as your main competition, you’ll still get your pick of quarterbacks come April.
The rest of the Top 10 shakes out this way; Baltimore Ravens (4), San Francisco 49ers (5), Dallas Cowboys (6), Detroit Lions (7), Miami Dolphins (8), Jacksonville Jaguars (9) and the St. Louis/Los Angeles Rams (10). In fact, if the Chargers and Rams both move to L.A. next season, which is where the smart money is, they’ll both have Top 10 picks.
The Rams’ win knocks them down two spots, which might cost them the only player in the Top 10 they legitimately need to target; Ole Miss wide receiver Laquon Treadwell. Just like Jeff Fisher to screw this team one last time before he’s shoved into the ocean for good.
Starting to wrap this thing up
The New England Patriots officially clinched a playoff spot and the AFC East Sunday. The Carolina Panthers have clinched the NFC South and a first round bye. The Arizona Cardinals have, at worst, already locked up a playoff spot for the second year in a row.
The Pats will clinch a first round bye this week with a win or Broncos loss. There are some scenarios about ties in there, but no reason to get into them until they happen. The Bengals will clinch the AFC North with a win or a Pittsburgh Steelers loss. The Denver Broncos can also clinch with a win or a Kansas City Chiefs loss.
If the Panthers win this week (or the Cardinals lose) they’ll clinch home field. A Cards win or Seahawks loss clinches the NFC West. If the Packers lose, the Cards will clinch a first round bye.
As for the Packers, they clinch a playoff spot with a win or if the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Washington Redskins both lose or if the Bucs and New York Giants both lose.
The Seattle Seahawks clinch a playoff spot with a win and Bucs and Giants losses, or the Bucs and Redksins lose or if the Bucs, Falcons, Minnesota Vikings and Packers all lose. The Vikings pretty much are in the same boat. It looks more complicated than it is. This week will clear off a lot of those teams.
If the playoffs started today…
The AFC shuffled after some key losses so once again the New England Patriots are the No. 1 seed. The Denver Broncos have slipped to the No. 2 seed and the Cincinnati Bengals are the No 3. For now. The Indianapolis Colts sit at the No. 4 seed by virtue of tie breakers, but the Houston Texans and Jacksonville Jaguars are both still in the mix for that spot and the AFC North title.
The AFC wild cards are the Kansas City Chiefs and the New York Jets with the Pittsburgh Steelers hovering on the outside. The Buffalo Bills, Texans and Oakland Raiders are all still mathematically alive for one of those spots, but realistically it’s a three-team race between the Chiefs, Jets and Steelers.
The Carolina Panthers remain the No. 1 seed in the NFC with the Arizona Cardinals as the No. 2. The Green Bay Packers are No. 3 and the Washington Redskins remain the No. 4 for the fourth week in a row.
The wild card race is realistically over with the Seattle Seahawks and Minnesota Vikings both locking those slots down. Through the magic of math the Philadelphia Eagles, New York Giants, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Atlanta Falcons all yet live but none of those teams will make the wild card. The Eagles and Giants are both still in the NFC East race.
