NFL Week 17: Billy Kilmer tried to commit suicide but the bullet was intercepted

Games with playoff implications:

Dallas (8-7) at N.Y. Giants (8-7): Winner is NFC East champ, loser is out (Giants can also make playoffs with a tie)

Baltimore (11-4) at Cincinnati (9-6): Ravens can clinch the No. 2 seed with a win; Bengals need a win or a lot of help to make the playoffs

Kansas City (6-9) at Denver (8-7): The Kyle Orton Bowl; Broncos win division with a win or Raiders loss

San Diego (7-8) at Oakland (8-7): Raiders clinch division with a win and a Broncos loss; can still make it as a wild-card with a win and a lot of help

N.Y. Jets (8-7) at Miami (5-10): Jets need to win and for all the other contenders to lose to make the playoffs

Tennessee (8-7) at Houston (10-5): Titans need to win, plus for some goofy combinations of wins and losses by the other contenders to make the playoffs

* There's also the No. 1 seed in the AFC up for grabs. Patriots (12-3) clinch it with a win at home over Buffalo (6-9). Ravens clinch it with a win and a Patriots loss. Steelers (11-4) can clinch it with a win at Cleveland (4-11), and losses by the other two.

** The No. 2 seed in the NFC is also undecided. The 49ers (12-3) clinch it with a win at St. Louis (3-12) or a Saints (12-3) loss to Carolina (6-9). The Saints would get it with a win and a 49ers loss.

*** There are also some scenarios where playoff positioning can be decided by ties, but the next time there's a Week 17 tie in the NFL, we'll re-visit that.

Here's the complete breakdown:

http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/story/NFL-playoff-picture-scenarios-2011

 

Am I the only one pulling for Kyle Orton?

Cincy has a lot to play for (not that anyone in Cincy actually cares) and a lot in its favor (Ravens super suck on the Road and have had trouble in Cincy recently), which leads me to believe the Bengals will shit the bed like never before Sunday.

 

Can you even imagine the chaos that could result from an actual Week 17 tie? I always root for NFL ties anyway, because they're so unusual (I feel similarly about safeties).

 

I resent the dig at my boyhood hero Whiskey Face. A lot of those dying duck passes still found their way to the hands of Charley Taylor, Roy Jefferson, Jerry Smith, Larry Brown, Clifton McNeil and Charley Harraway.

 

Serious question, for someone that wants to crunch the numbers for me. Is it possible at all for the Texans to take the No. 2 seed in the AFC? Or are they stuck with 3rd or 4th only? At first glance, I am thinking they don't have a chance for 2nd, as at best, they would be tied with the Ravens.

 

No, they're locked into the No. 3 seed.

 

After last night's game, I think I'm ready to declare the Saints as the NFC favorites, although some have pointed out that they've been mediocre when they've had to play outside this season.

 

They also played an Atlanta team that has been very spotty on the road. The Falcons are 4-4 away from the Georgia dome and only have one road win against a team with a winning record (at Detroit). Their other wins were over Seattle, Indy and Carolina.

Saints obviously are a very strong team and they have a legit shot at making the Super Bowl, but a home win against that Atlanta team is not really indicative of anything, I don't think.

 

Agreed. New Orleans is a totally different team outdoors. The closest thing they've played to a cold weather game this year was at Tennessee, and they were very fortunate to win that one. That's why I was rooting so hard for Seattle to beat San Francisco the other day.

That was a running joke from his days with the Saints. It was coined by New Orleans TV/radio personality Buddy Diliberto, who also more than once uttered my screen name when discussing "Snake" Stabler.

 

I think the Packers are still the NFC (and Super Bowl) favorites, although that defense does scare you. It has not been very good. They've gotten some big turnovers when needed, but holy crap have they allowed opposing teams to move the football.

Honestly, the 49ers might have the best chance to knock off the Packers in Lambeau of anybody. Their game is perfectly suited to cold weather and they've played their asses off on the road this season (they're 5-2 with a chance to go to 6-2 at StL next week and have three or four wins in the eastern time zone).

Where I could see the Saints struggling to pass and catch the way they do so well in the dome when they get to Green Bay, the 49ers should have little trouble handing the ball off, throwing short check downs and playing well defensively.

The thing I suppose you would worry about with San Francisco is whether A) their secondary can stay with all of the Packers' receivers (will Jennings be back for the playoffs?) or B) can their front four generate enough of a pass rush to protect the secondary?

Packers-Saints or Packers-Niners will both make for a really interesting NFC Championship game.

I'd like to see the Giants get there, of course, but they still have to beat Dallas.

 

Wasn't Billy Kilmer the coach of the West Canaan Coyotes?

 

That makes me wonder if you know the difference between a sneeze and a wet fart, zag.