FanPost

Your viewing guide to non-Bengals non-Jets football games

Your viewing guide to non-Bengals non-Jets football games We all want the Bengals to win out, obviously, but even if they do a wildcard spot isn't a sure thing. The most likely result is that the Jets claim that spot. What happens, though, if the Jets lose to Miami, bringing their conference and overall records even with the Bengals? The tiebreaker that would determine who goes to the playoffs and who goes home in this scenario is called Strength of Victory. It doesn't matter how many points you won by, all that matters is who you beat. Strength of Victory is the combined W-L-T percentage of all the teams you beat this year. Currently the Jets hold an advantage over the Bengals in this regard, largely thanks to the 0-13 Colts being on our win list. In order for the Bengals to gain the edge on this tiebreaker, many games in these last three weeks will have to fall just the right way. Below is a guide for each remaining game that matters for the Strength of Victory tiebreaker and who we want to win. Note that we don't need every single game to fall this way, but each one helps. We do have some ground to make up. Week 15: TB over DAL BUF over MIA GB over KC SEA over CHI BAL over SD (I know it's hard to root for the Thugs) Week 16: IND over HOU NE over MIA OAK over KC (root for Carson?!?) STL over PIT MIN over WAS DET over SD SEA over SF TEN over JAX (we beat them both, but the Jets only beat JAX) Week 17: STL over SF IND over JAX CLE over PIT DEN over KC OAK over SD (Carson again?!?) If every single one of those games goes the way we want, the Bengals win Strength of Victory tiebreaker. We have a little wiggle room, but not a lot. We don't actually need the Colts and Rams to each win 2 games, thankfully, but without them the margin gets dangerously thin. The one thing that surprised me as I tallied that data is that the Jets aren't our most dangerous opponent for that last wild card spot, the Titans are. Their remaining games are against the Colts, Jaguars, and then the Texans. The Texans have already locked up a playoff spot so will almost certainly be resting lots of starters, while the Colts and Jaguars are the Colts and Jaguars. That means it's very likely that the Titans go 10-6. With their superior conference record, they get the wild card spot if it comes down to a three-way tie with us and the Jets. All of that taken into consideration, I'm hoping for the Jets to lose 2. It doesn't seem all that unlikely. All of their remaining opponents have shown the ability to play with just about anyone. The dream team Eagles, the Patriot-destroying Giants, and the 'played really hard for a stretch' Dolphins. If the Jets lose 2, and the Bengals & Titans win out, it's a tiebreaker between Bengals & Titans. Since it's only 2 teams, head to head rules. We won straight up, so we're going to the playoffs.

This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of Cincy Jungle's writers or editors. It does reflect the views of this particular fan, which is as important as the views of Cincy Jungle's writers or editors.