Playoffs?!? PLAYOFFS??!!?

[Keith]

Well here's something...

Ravens DL Haloti Ngata has been suspended for four games - including the upcoming game with the Texans - for PED usage (Adderall). Ngata of course is a beast in the middle of that defense and would be a huge loss for the Ravens.

[HPF Bob]

More importantly, he's the key to their run defense. Since Foster/Blue is the heart of our offense, having that big boy out of the way is a major plus.

[Arky]

Texans move up to 8th place from 12th place. Jump ahead of Miami, KC, Cleveland and Buffalo. Only Pittsburgh and Baltimore, both @ 8-5 are ahead of them for the last playoff spot. Lose at Indy, though, and it all goes down the tubes.....

[Keith]

Originally Posted by Arky

Lose at Indy, though, and it all goes down the tubes.....

Nah, there's still a few scenarios in which the Texans could sneak in at 9-7. Most involve the Chargers losing a couple games down the stretch, including a Week 17 game at KC.

[Arky]

Originally Posted by Keith

Nah, there's still a few scenarios in which the Texans could sneak in at 9-7. Most involve the Chargers losing a couple games down the stretch, including a Week 17 game at KC.

True, but yeah, they'll need help with a 9-7. OTOH, if they can't beat the Colts or Ravens, then they shouldn't be in the playoffs anyway, dontcha think? They might not be at the point where they can give everyone a good fight.....

[HPF Bob]

If they can't beat the Colts or the Ravens, they'll be 8-8 and we won't have to worry about it unless they are transferred to the NFC South.

Realistically, they *have* to beat Baltimore to have any chance.

BTW, with SD's loss there are three teams at 8-5 (SD, Pitt and Balt). We will need two of them to lose twice in order to have a 9-7 team get into the playoffs. Also, we lose a head-to-head tiebreaker with Pittsburgh but we could probably survive a three-way tie.

[Keith]

The Chargers' loss last night to the Pats helped the Texans quite a bit. Also helping is that the Chargers have a tough remaining schedule: vs. DEN, @ SF, @ KC. Seems plausible there might be two losses in there.

The Texans have the Ravens in two weeks, and I think winning that one is more critical than even beating the Colts. Ravens remaining schedule: vs. JAX, @ HOU, vs. CLE. Would be awesome if the Browns or Jags could win in Baltimore, but those could be tall orders.

The Steelers remaining schedule: @ ATL, vs. KC, vs. CIN. I could see Pittsburgh winning out with this lineup.

The Bengals remaining schedule: @ CLE, vs. DEN, @ PIT. If the Browns can beat them next Sunday (Johnny Football fever?), then the Bengals could free-fall out of the playoffs.

Need to keep KC in this picture. They are in if they win out. Remaining schedule: vs. OAK, @ PIT, vs. SD.

So maybe the Bengals get bounced here along with the Chargers. The Steelers win their division, and the Ravens get the other wild card along with the Texans.

That would set up a road trip for the Texans to Pittsburgh with a shot at redeeming themselves for the loss earlier this season. As the 6th seed, should they win, they'd play the team with home field next, likely the Patriots at this point... an interesting master/apprentice match between Belichick and O'Brien. I think the Texans stand a better chance of beating the Patriots than the Broncos on the road.