Playoff Picture:
So it's about that time, one week out of the second round of divisional matchups. Everyone is probably wondering, can I make the playoffs? Who do I have to root for? Who needs to win, and who needs to lose? I'm going to do a bit of a breakdown here so you have a better idea of what is needed each week. I'll be doing it by Division.
East:
First we can see a clear lead for the division. Now there is four games left (counting this week which just started) and the furthest behind is 3 games back. That means anyone can win the division, but things aren't as simple as winning and losing out.
Nic:
I can't lose out, I can only safely lose 1 game with someone else winning every game they play. If I am unable to win the division I can still get into one of the two wildcard spots, but both wildcard teams currently (Ory and D Smith) are only 1 game back from my record, with the third wildcard being 2 games back. Something that may be important should I become a wildcard team: I lead the league in points for (something I'll touch on later too). With divisional matchups upcoming both Matt and Andrew cannot win out, so it will be important that I beat whoever wins their matchup which happens in week 10.
Best Record Possible: 10-3
Worst Record Possible: 6-7
Matt and Andrew:
You have the same record so I will lump you in together. Right now you are both 2 games behind the division lead, and 1 game behind the wildcard berth. Andrew has more points for than the two wildcard teams with a better record, but less points for than Cone who has the same record as you. This means you'll need to beat the record of D Smith or Ory, or score more points for than Cone without losing more games. Good news, Cone plays D Smith so one of them must lose. You really cannot afford to lose 2 games, especially as your next game is against Matt who is right in the thick of things with you. Next week will likely be your most important game of the season.
Worst Record Possible: 4-9
Matt you are in prime position this week to tie the record with Ory for the wildcard position. You have a head-to-head matchup with him, and he's been hit pretty hard with byes. Matt you are near the bottom of the league in points for so you need to win games to get in, you cannot rely on a tiebreaker. A win this week, and a win next week will put you in prime position for the wildcard, especially considering that D Smith and Cone play each other in the next upcoming weeks. You will want to root for D Smith to beat Cone, so that you can surpass his record with a few wins.
Worst Record Possible: 4-9
Val:
You've got a heck of an uphill battle. You're 3 games back with 4 games left. Not every team in front of you can lose all their games, they face each other so someone has to win. For the division title, you would need me to lose all 4 games. Unfortunately that means that both Andrew and Matt win at least one, and one of them would win 2. So you would be hoping for something like this: all division opponents lose this week, Matt beats Andrew, you beat me. Matt beats me, you beat Andrew. Andrew beats me, you beat Matt all the while you are outscoring Matt every single week. That's tough. Maybe it's more likely you try and get in the wildcard. Still difficult but much more likely. So for that I'll let you know, you're 1 full game behind Cone, 2 full games behind Ory and D Smith. You're also 0.5 games behind Alex. You do not hold the tie breaker over anyone. That doesn't make it impossible, but it certainly makes it hard. To hold any chance I honestly believe you need to win out, or at the very least do not lose 2 games.
Worst Record Possible: 3-10
West:
Gary (Dad):
Well you got yourself a team here huh? You're currently one of the two teams locked in for a bye, and your top 3 in points for. Only thing you need to be worried about is that in the top 3, you're number 3. That means to hold onto your bye week you need to keep winning, don't tie records with either Jake or Nic. Or score more points, whichever works better for you. You can hold onto your playoff spot fairly easily. To lose the division you need to lose at least 3 with Ory losing out. You could theoretically lose to Alex as well because he has the tie, if he wins out and you lose out then you're hoping for a wildcard.
Worst Record Possible: 7-6
Ory:
You hold a wildcard currently. Hold it tight, to get the division lead you may not lose more than 2 games. Realistically you can't lose more than 1 as you don't have the points for tie breaker over my dad and you'd need to score 25+ more than him every week just to make up the difference. To hold the wildcard it's a bit simpler. Beat Alex, that's important. Beat Matt, that's important. Root for Andrew to lose out, and lose less than 2 games and you should be in. You've got a path as long as it doesn't blow up. You've also got Mahomes back and that should make things a skosh easier.
Best Record Possible: 9-4
Worst Record Possible: 5-8
Alex:
You know, you hold the tiebreaker over every non-division leader. You just need to get the record to get into the playoffs. So if Cone is 4-5 and in the wildcard that means you need to get above him. Guess what opportunity you have this week? You can beat Cone! You can get that spot over him. Of course your brother and Matt both stand in the way of this working out perfectly, but you control your destiny. The only chance you have of getting the division lead is slim, you gotta win every game from this point forward, and my dad has to lose every game, and Ory can't win 2 more etc. Think about that wildcard, and pull out all stops to win this week. This is make or break for you.
Best Record Possible: 7-5-1
Worst Record Possible: 3-9-1
Chris P:
You're in a similar spot as Val, except it's slightly more bleak for you because my dad is 7-2. That means you need for him to lose out, Alex to beat Ory, and both Alex and Ory losing divisional matchups. You would also need my dad's team to completely fall apart and score almost nothing for 4 weeks straight as your behind him by over 200 points for. That's rough. Aim for a wildcard, you're only 1 game back from. You want all wildcard teams to lose, so you should be rooting for everyone at the top of a division to beat up on their opponents while you win out. Good luck.
Best Record Possible: 7-6
Worst Record Possible: 3-10
North:
Jake:
You've got a first round bye in your hands right now. You're only holding on to it by a tie, which seems suspiciously similar to last year. You're also second in points for by a whopping .6 points. That's right, less than 1 whole point. It's close. So you've got the division opponent that is closest to you in record. D Smith needs to win 1.5 more games than you for you to lose it. That means, you need to win at least 2.5 games, so 2 wins and a tie to completely hold on and that's only assuming that D Smith wins out. Because you have two wildcard teams in your division currently you have a difficult upcoming schedule, and you're only a 0.5 game lead on the bye. So it'll come down to the wire.
Best Record Possible: 10-2-1
Worst Record Possible: 6-6-1
D-Smith:
You don't own points for, you need to win 2 more games than Jake. That means you need Jake to lose 3, and you need to win 4. Focus on the wildcard, you currently are tied with Ory for the top wildcard positions. You however do not own the tiebreaker over Cone or Ory, or for that matter Andrew or Alex. You've got to win some games, theoretically you've got to win at least 3, and the Cone game is going to be your most important of the rest of the year (outside Jake losing a couple times). You have a clear path, but a late season collapse could easily be your downfall.
Best Record Possible: 9-4
Worst Record Possible: 5-8
Cone:
I'm going to keep this very simple for you Cone. Win 3 or more games out of the next 4. Do that and you are in. You have an AWFUL bye week this week, and Alex is gunning for your position. Lose this week and you are out and he is in. So I'll stress that importance again. You do however hold the tiebreaker over everyone but Alex and the division leaders, so again win 3 and you'll likely be in no matter what.
Best Record Possible: 8-5
Worst Record Possible: 4-9
Yuriy:
It's tough man, 3-6 ain't the place to be. 3.5 games back means you gotta win out and Jake's gotta lose out and both divsion opponents need to...... That's likely not to happen. You gotta win out though if you want a chance at that wildcard. You own the points for tiebreaker over almost no one, so you gotta bring your A-game. One loss and I think you might be able to call it, so be prudent.
Best Record Possible: 7-6
Worst Record Possible: 3-10.
Objective Power Rankings:
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