Must Win. Crunch Time. All In. Draw the Line. However you want to say it, we are at the brink of ecstacy here. Our playoff push started with all those easy early wins. But after all that early semi-surprising success, we are 5th seed and hit the road against whatever dogshit team comes out of the NFC East if the season ended today. We have the best record in the NFL and no bye week or home game. Such are the vagaries of the NFL.

Tell me this on 9/1/2019 and I’d be giddy. Now however, it’s a little different story. Yes, I’d be more than happy to hit the playoffs, but we are SO close to a first round bye and home-field advantage for the playoff run.

Funny thing is, because of the schedule, we control our destiny for the playoffs. Win out, and we get the NFC West crown, based on our win over NO, and Seattle’s loss to them. Lose to the Saints, and we likely hit the 5 hole. Unless we beat Seattle. Then it gets cloudy.

The tiebreaker is as follows:

1. Head-to-head (best won-lost-tied percentage in games between the teams).
2. Best won-lost-tied percentage in games played within the division.
3. Best won-lost-tied percentage in common games.
4. Best won-lost-tied percentage in games played within the conference.
5. Strength of victory.
6. Strength of schedule.

If Sea goes 3-1 and we go 3-1 and lose to NO, our head-to-head record would be 1-1.

Our common opponents would be the same, both of us losing to NO and Balt and beating the rest.

Our conference games would both be 11-3.

Strength of victory? Seeing as we stomped of our weaker opponents, and Seattle didn’t, we win in a landslide.

Oh, OK. That makes me feel a little better. We have some wiggle room.

The big BUT being, just beat the Saints and all is well. Unless we lose to Seattle. then they win the tiebreaker due to their 2 wins over us, I don’t really want to leave it to the last game, but it looks like we will regardless of how shit plays out.