Chapter 330 The final sprint
In the 2017 season, the NFL regular season has officially entered its final stage, and the competition for playoff seats has reached the edge of life and death.
NFL playoff berth, the rules are very simple——
The American League and National League are still separate.
The four division champions of their respective leagues advance to the playoffs and are ranked No. 1 to No. 4 seeds based on their win-loss record; in addition, the two teams with the best records in the league advance to the playoffs and are ranked No. 5 respectively. Seed, No. 6 seed.
This is almost all.
However, there are only sixteen regular season games in the NFL, which is far less than the more than 80 games in basketball and ice hockey; it is a far cry from the more than 160 games in baseball, so it is common for the regular season wins and losses to be the same. .
To this end, the league has developed a series of detailed rules to determine rankings and compare the season performance between two or more teams with the same record.
First, the winning-losing relationship between each other.
Second, regarding the relationship between victory and defeat within the league, American League teams look at the internal record of the American League, and National League teams look at the internal record of the National League.
Third, the record against common opponents.
Fourth, the gold content of victory is the winning rate of the opponents defeated by the team. The average value is calculated. The higher the opponent's winning rate, the higher the gold content.
Fifth, the gold content of the schedule is the winning rate of the team's final opponent throughout the season. The average is calculated. The higher the opponent's winning rate, the higher the gold content.
If you still can't distinguish the rankings here, there will be a series of rules later, including the net rating ranking within the league, the net rating ranking of the entire NFL, the total points in the same league games, the total points in all games, and the total number of touchdowns in all games, etc. Wait, wait.
All in all, after analyzing the data all the way to the end, we can finally rank them.
The Kansas City Chiefs have experienced ups and downs this season, wandering back and forth between heaven and hell. Before the last week of the regular season, their record was only nine wins and six losses, which may not be enough among the outstanding teams in the American League.
However, other competitors in the American League West were not strong enough. The team performed well in the head-to-head confrontation in the division civil war to establish an advantage, locking the division championship one week in advance and ensuring a playoff spot.
The playoffs are divided into four rounds.
First round, wild card round.
According to the rules, the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds in their respective leagues can enjoy a bye in the first round of the playoffs and have the advantage of playing at home. Last season, the Kansas Chiefs ranked as the No. 2 seed in the American League and had a bye in the first round; but this season, they There is no such treatment.
In the first round, the No. 3 seed will play against the No. 6 seed, and the No. 4 seed will play against the No. 5 seed. In a single elimination system, the winner will advance to the next round.
Second round, divisional round.
The No. 1 seed plays the lower-ranked team from the two wild-card round winners.
The second seed faces the higher-ranked team that wins the wild-card round.
The third round, the federation competition.
The two teams that won the previous round faced off to compete for the American League/National League championship.
Fourth round, Super Bowl.
"American League Champions vs. National League Champions."
In other words, including the playoffs, the NFL only has a maximum of twenty games in a season.
Because of this, the team not only needs to strive for a playoff spot, but also needs to strive for a better seeding ranking as much as possible, because high-ranking seeds can have home court advantage.
For the Kansas Chiefs, their record can ensure the division championship, but they cannot compete with other teams in the American League for higher seedings. The outcome of the last game cannot change the pattern. The seedings have been determined, so Reid Only then did they choose to fight with the second team. However, outside of the Kansas City Chiefs, other games are still very fierce.
There are many competitions competing for playoff spots and higher seed rankings. This is also generally regarded as the most chaotic and closest season in the past decade, so much so that the league had to make arrangements——
In order to ensure fairness, all games that are not related to playoff seats or rankings will start in the morning; while those games that are directly related to the playoffs will all start at 4:25 pm Eastern Time.
No night games.
This arrangement is a last resort, and it can be seen from the side that the competition in the season is extremely fierce. This is the first time since 2009 that there is no Sunday night game; it is also the first time since 1977 that no night game is scheduled to end the regular season, which may even affect the league. Broadcast agreement with the TV station——
However, in order to avoid controversy about a playoff spot, Goodell made a decision.
"Cincinnati Bengals VS Baltimore Ravens", "Buffalo Bills VS Miami Dolphins", "New Orleans Saints VS Tampa Bay Buccaneers", "Carolina Panthers VS Atlanta Falcons", "Jacksonville Jaguars VS Tennessee Titans" "A series of games are all scheduled to start at the same time in the afternoon, because all these events may affect the playoff pattern.
Even affecting Super Bowl ownership.
A melee!
There is no doubt that this is indeed the most chaotic, intense and closest season in the NFL in ten years. No one can accurately predict the next step. There is no absolute strong or absolute weak. As long as we can enter the playoffs, The single-elimination competition format makes everything possible.
Naturally, the preciousness of playoff seats has also skyrocketed——
Who knows, maybe the 2012 Baltimore Ravens saga will be repeated again?
That year, the Baltimore Ravens, who had only ten wins and six losses in the regular season, barely entered the playoffs. No one was optimistic about this team going further. A generation of legendary linebacker "Thor" Ray Lewis decided to retire after the season. The team showed signs of fatigue.
However!
Quarterback Joe Flacco, who had a mediocre regular season performance and showed no sign of an upward curve, broke out without warning and continuously performed incredible god-level performances, defeating the Indianapolis Colts led by Luck. The Denver Broncos led by Manning and the New England Patriots led by Brady made it all the way to the Super Bowl.
In the end, the Baltimore Ravens defeated the San Francisco 49ers to reach the top, and Flacco won the Super Bowl MVP.
That season remains a magical unsolved mystery to this day——
Because after that, Flacco returned to mediocrity, which wasn't bad, but just slightly above the league average.
I can't understand it, I can't understand it at all.
But this is competitive sports, anything is possible, and no one can be sure whether the 2017 season will become the second 2012 season.
Under the spotlight, the final week of the regular season has slowly begun.
Fortunately, this time the Kansas City Chiefs left the spotlight and went to Denver in a low-key manner.
With no one paying attention, Mahomes made his first start in his career. In fact, Mahomes was still a little nervous and showed some restraint when facing the Denver Broncos, who are in poor form this season.
22 of 35 passes, 284 yards, no touchdowns, and one interception.
Such data are unsatisfactory.
However, Hunter, who also served as a starter for the first time, showed high morale and released incredible energy. He ran the ball for 156 yards, received 77 yards, and scored two touchdowns, proving that the Kansas Chiefs' running back group has more than just Lee. Just one dimension, the team still hides another gem.
Without Levi's suppression, Hunter finally won his own attention.
"27:24".
The Kansas City Chiefs narrowly beat the Denver Broncos on the road with a free kick.
The season ended with four consecutive wins, and the 2017 regular season record ended at... ten wins and six losses.
(End of chapter)