#2 seed is all in the hands of San Diego and Cincinnati.

Need ravens to loose tonite. For starters

 

Let's just try to win another game first and see what happens.

 

Well after tonight here's the catch 22. We want the first round bye but if we don't we don't wanna play Ravens in the second round. So what would be best for us is Pitt loses tomo and beats Browns and Rams. (very doable) But is the risk worth it imo it is Cincy could very well be in the hunt still with Jets losing today and being in the race having to win vs Balt week 17.

We can't play like today anymore!!! We got our letdown game outta the way this was a good wake up call for us we win the last two and go into the playoffs rolling. Lets go 49ers

 

Texans (as in players, coaches, team staff) prefer a 1st rd bye more than wild card team match-up. As a fan, I'd rather have the bye also, which means hosting a divisional game at reliant.

This means Texans need to win out, pull for SanFran to beat Pitt, and for Cincy to beat Baltimore. That's the most realistic scenario for catching a #2 seed, which would mean hosting divisional playoff against Pitt, Bal, or Denver (tiny chance for Oak and SD too).

 

Well the birds got killed in san diego....

 

A Steelers loss to SF tonight and a Ravens loss to Cincy in week 17 is our dream scenario.

Otherwise we are looking at a wild card game and a trip to Baltimore or Pittsburgh if we win.

 

AND somehow, someway, the Pats drop a home game to BUF or MIA.

 

I'm on the fence on whether I want the Steelers to lose tonight. Obviously, the ideal scenario is for Pittsburgh to lose tonight and Baltimore in Week 17, securing the Texans a bye.

But I still have a hard time seeing Cincy beat Baltimore as long as the Ravens have something to play for. As such, if the Steelers lose tonight and Baltimore wins in Cincinnati... the Ravens are the No. 2 seed, we're the No. 3, and we're off to play at Baltimore in round two. That, to me, is the worst-case scenario.

On the other hand, if the Steelers win tonight and win out... they're the No. 1, New England is the No. 2, and we're the No. 3. I'm much less intimidated by the Patriots than the Ravens.

I do want a bye... but I don't know how realistic it is. And if it doesn't happen, I'd much rather New England as the No. 2 than Baltimore. Decisions, decisions...

 

It is my dream scenario. The #2 seed plays on Sunday the 15th. The #1 seed will play the winner of the #3 seed/#6 seed on Saturday the 14th at 7pm. Why do I care so much about this?

Spoiler

I get married on the 14th at 6:30pm

 

The Ravens had something to play for last night and were blown out. Don't underestimate their ability to fail on the road. The Bengals nearly beat them in Baltimore.

I'm really curious to see how the 49ers respond tonight after last week.

 

Actually, the second round match ups are not set in stone.

3 plays 6 and 4 plays 5 in the opening round.

If 6 upsets 3, they play the top seed instead of the winner of the 4/5 game.

The 1 seed can play either 4, 5, or 6 in the second round, and the 2 seed can play either 3, 4, or 5 in the second round.

It's always fun when the 4-5 game is first because the second round pairings won't be determined until the games are played on Wild Card Sunday.

 

Why is there all this hand-wringing over Baltimore? Tebow and Sanchez aside, its the only team that doesn't have a ginormous QBing advantage over Yates. Flacco has been pretty average-to-below average all year. Even against us, he was 0/1 TD/INT.

I think people are silly for wanting the Patriots. Yeah, sure, their defense is terrible; but don't for one second assume Yates can take advantage of that. And their offense is prolific and has been almost universally unstoppable. They had a three game stretch where they didn't score 30+; other than that, they've hit 30+ every. Single. Week. Eleven of 14 weeks. You want TJ Yates to play in a shootout with Tom Brady in the snow?

In terms of preferred opponents, none of the 6-seed candidates worry me; and we'd beat Denver. Beyond that, I think Baltimore represents our best chance of pulling an upset.

 

^Same here.

We're toast when and if we meet the Steelers or the Patriots. Unless, AJ is fully healthy finally.

 

I just don't see how the Texans can put the points up to beat the Ravens in Baltimore. Ngata is a nightmare matchup against the run for a zone-blocking front. Even with Schaub, we ran for under 100 yards and 3.7 yards per rush against them (Foster 15 for 49, 3.3 average) - and I honestly thought we blocked fairly well in that game. I think the Texans are going to need to score 17 points at a minimum to win any playoff game, and I don't like our chances against a team that can stuff our greatest strength.

As far as Flacco and the offense, they're a very different team at home. Point totals in Baltimore: 35, 34, 29, 30, 31, 16, 24. Other than the 16-point outing against an absurdly talented 49ers front seven, they've been at 24 or more in every game, with most 30 or above. In the game against the Texans, Flacco dropped in a pair of 50-plus yard bombs that couldn't have been thrown any better if launched from a machine. The Ravens are inconsistent and have weaknesses, specifically with Flacco away from home. But in Baltimore, I don't like our chances, at all.

On New England, they've allowed 20 or more points to teams led by Chad Henne, Ryan Fitzpatrick (34), Mark Sanchez, Vince Young, Dan Orlovsky, Rex Grossman and now Tim Tebow. They're in the bottom 7 of the league in both yards-per-carry defense and yards-per-pass defense. They've lost at home the past two Januarys to Mark Sanchez and that Joe Flacco guy you were just railing on. Neither game was particularly close.

I'd much rather take my chances in New England than in Baltimore.

 

So the Texans, Ravens and Steelers both lost while the Patriots won. Which leaves the Ravens and Texans fighting for the #2 seed. It'll be interesting to see how both team's strength of schedule numbers played out after this week.

 

Or a Patriots loss has us all back at a three-way tie and we now will hold the conference record advantage over Baltimore in that situation.

 

Edit: Incorrect info from PFT. Ignore previous post.