Let's play a little football thinking game here on our off day. Q) It is IMPOSSIBLE for the Jets or Patriots to win the "common games" tie breaker with each other this season. If the two teams finish tied....they WILL be tied in common games....how do I already know this?
whoever looses this week will need to beat a team that the other team lost too in order to tie the division (either the packers for the pats or steelers for the jets)
Well if the Pats lose, it won't go to common games should they finish with the same record. The Jets would win the tie-breaker by beating the Pats head to head twice.
Official Tiebreak rules per nfl.com common opponents is third. TO BREAK A TIE WITHIN A DIVISION If, at the end of the regular season, two or more clubs in the same division finish with identical won-lost-tied percentages, the following steps will be taken until a champion is determined. Two Clubs Head-to-head (best won-lost-tied percentage in games between the clubs). Best won-lost-tied percentage in games played within the division. Best won-lost-tied percentage in common games. Best won-lost-tied percentage in games played within the conference. Strength of victory. Strength of schedule. Best combined ranking among conference teams in points scored and points allowed. Best combined ranking among all teams in points scored and points allowed. Best net points in common games. Best net points in all games. Best net touchdowns in all games. Coin toss
In order for common opponents to come into play the teams would have to tie and have split the season series AND have the same record in division games. In order for that to happen it means that the Jets would have to lose to the Pats and then pick up another game (with both the Pats and Jets having the same record in the two remaing division games) Right now Pats have one less loss in common opponents, so if the Jets lose to the Pats and tie them in the standings and they have the same divison record means the Pats will have picked up the loss to make it equal from the Bears/Packers. It would then go to Conference Record then Strength of Victory
As of now the Jets control thier own Destiny to win the division. Beat the Pats on MNF and theyll ahve a 2 game lead with 4 to play. its as simple as that.
That's all great....but i'm saying if we do finish tied and we DO get to the common games tie breaker....it is already set in stone that they will be tied in common games....how?
Hey quizmaster it's no mystery. If it ends in a tie that means that NE will beat us this week and loose at least one other game, and we both have all common opponents left. Game over.
Section 336, you are right....but there is even a much easier way. See, with division rivals 14 out of the 16 games are common. Meaning, there are only 2 uncommon games. All you need to look at is the uncommon games.....Jets and Patriots finished with the same record in their two uncommon games(2-0)....so in order to finish tied they would also have to have the same record in the 14 common games.
Yeah but in order to get to common opponents the other criteria need to apply first. Hence the better and more detailed explanation. So the Jets can lose to the Pats and still win the division before the CO if the records are tied, if the Pats lose to the Bills or Mia. Therefore in order for them to be tied and go to the common opponents record, what the current division records are (and could be) need also to be considered because it is possible for two teams to have the same record in common games and not have the same divison record (just not right now with the Pats/Jets)
Common Opponents: Lions Bears Packers Vikings Bengals Ravens Browns Steelers Jets current record vs. common teams: 4-2 Patriots current record vs. common teams: 5-1 Tie-breaker rules: 1. Head-to-head (best won-lost-tied percentage in games between the clubs). 2. Best won-lost-tied percentage in games played within the division. 3. Best won-lost-tied percentage in common games. If the Pats beat the Jets this weekend, in order for the tiebreaker to reach common games, the Jets and the Pats would have to have the same record overall, and within the division. The Jets and the Pats both have 2 divisional games and 2 "common opponents" games remaining on their schedule. Here's why the common games cannot decide the division: Since the Jets and the Pats must have the same divisional record to reach the common games criteria, the Jets and the Patriots must keep pace with each other in the 2 remaining divisional games. This leaves 2 games remaining on both teams' schedules, and they are both "common game" opponents. Since the Jets are a game back of the Patriots in both overall record and common opponents record, they must pick up a game on them by beating either the Bears or Steelers, or both depending on how many division games NE wins. If the Jets win this weekend, they would win the head to head matchup
The tie-breaking procedures have gone through some changes over the years. Maybe the weirdest stuff occurred in the NFC in 1977. In 1977, the Vikings and Bears both finished 9-5. The Vikings won the division based on better point-differential in head-to-head games. They split the season series and the Vikings outscored the Bears 29-26 in those games. The Bears won the Wild Card over Washington based on better net points in conference games.
Now that's interesting...with that you could find yourself...late in the season and late in a head to head game....trying to score a touchdown when you can just sit on the ball to win.
The Bears again beat out the Redskins for a wild card spot in 1979 based on an odd tie-breaker. The Bears grabbed the second wild card spot over the Redskins based on better net points in all games (57 to 53). That had to be the craziest one ever. The Bears entered the final week at 9-6 and +21 in net points. The Redskins entered final week action at 10-5 and +54 in net points. The Bears had to win their final game by a large margin and also had to hope that the Redskins would lose. The Bears won by 36 points (42-6 over the Cardinals) and the Redskins gave up two late touchdowns to lose to Dallas by a score of 35-34. In 1980, the Eagles went to Dallas with a 12-3 record. The Cowboys were 11-4. The division title was on the line, but Dallas had to win in a blowout. They only won 35-27. In the 4th quarter, the Eagles were trailing on the scoreboard but were celebrating on the sidelines. The tie-breaker that came into play was net points in division games. The Eagles finished at +84 and the Cowboys finished at +50.
