Playoff thread

[fyo]

The problem is that the games are usually trash, with one team being blown out. Seems to be the team dealing with injuries and or having to travel the most.

It may feel that way, but the difference in scoring, winning margin etc are not different to a statistically significant degree for TNF compared to other game days. And the quality of teams is at least as good as average.

http://harvardsportsanalysis.org/2021/05/thursday-night-football-better-than-you-think/

I think the problem with TNF is that there's only one game and unless your team is playing, it's just an *average* game.

[pondwater]

It may feel that way, but the difference in scoring, winning margin etc are not different to a statistically significant degree for TNF compared to other game days. And the quality of teams is at least as good as average.

http://harvardsportsanalysis.org/2021/05/thursday-night-football-better-than-you-think/

I think the problem with TNF is that there's only one game and unless your team is playing, it's just an *average* game.

I'm not going to single out TNF. But from what I've seen can remember this year, the night games are seem to come down to the last few minutes of the game. In fact I've caught myself thinking that it was orchestrated by the league for ratings for the night games. I'm not saying that's actually happening, but it wouldn't surprise me.

I watch all the night games, to me they seem to be more entertaining for some reason.

[Pappy13]

It's time for the division leaders to pull away and beat up on the 6-6 and 7-5 teams.

Yep. There's a good chance that there's at least 1 if not 2 10-7 teams that make the AFC playoffs, so if the Dolphins have any kind of chance it's to win out and hope that a few other teams above them currently in the wild card race lose a couple games they probably shouldn't like the Bengals, Chargers and Colts.

[ArtieChokePhin]

I disagree, I love having football to watch on Thursday.

Then watch college football.   Thursday night is usually college night.

[Spider-Dan]

I think the problem with TNF is that there's only one game and unless your team is playing, it's just an *average* game.

I think that's close, but not quite it.

The analysis you cited compares TNF to all other games, but that's a bad comparison; on the 2-3 Sunday day games each market receives, viewers see either their home team or the best available game that network has in that timeslot, while SNF will - almost by definition - have no worse than the third-best game that week.  So unless you live in the Jacksonville or Houston media markets, you will not see JAX @ HOU on a Sunday... but you WILL see it on a Thursday.

The more meaningful comparison would be TNF to MNF... but that comparison isn't offered.  Furthermore, MNF was famously moved off of broadcast TV and over to cable because people were sick of how bad the offerings ended up being in the post-parity NFL era.

[dolphins4life]

Miami has a semi-decent shot at 3-1 in the next four games.  They have a very long shot at 4-0.

Is 9-8 going to be enough?  That's the question we should be discussing

[dolphins4life]

We got a Chiefs win.  Huge chance missed with Robbie Gould

[dolphins4life]

What a clusterfuck

8 teams are between 7-6 and 6-7 for the final two wildcard spots

[EDGECRUSHER]

What a clusterfuck

8 teams are between 7-6 and 6-7 for the final two wildcard spots

This is what we were talking about earlier in this thread, you don't even know who to root for this week and probably not next week either. With 2 games left it will become clearer.

[EDGECRUSHER]

The Falcons are picking 9th right now. They are one win away from being in the playoffs. What the hell is going on this year?

[Dave Gray]

The Falcons are picking 9th right now. They are one win away from being in the playoffs. What the hell is going on this year?

Don't worry about stuff like this.  By the end of the year, once a few more games have been played, all these weird situations will work themselves out.

[MyGodWearsAHoodie]

The Falcons are picking 9th right now. They are one win away from being in the playoffs. What the hell is going on this year?

This is great for the NFL. The more fan bases still watching, the better.

[EDGECRUSHER]

Don't worry about stuff like this.  By the end of the year, once a few more games have been played, all these weird situations will work themselves out.

I'm not worried at the games from week to week because none of this matters to us unless we win out. However, I do feel we will be going into some very deep tiebreakers when it's all said and done because I see 5 teams with identical records for the last 2 spots.

[masterfins]

There is no way Miami makes the playoffs.  Far too many teams in front of them to pass all of them.  Sure they could move closer to be on the edge, but I predict after two more games they will be eliminated even if they win their next two games.

[dolphins4life]

I don't know if that is mathematically possible.  They cannot be eliminated this weekend even if they lose, so if they win, they should still not be able to be eliminated next weekend.