Who to root for - Playoff Standings

[Meat-O-Rama]

We often wonder aloud to each other who we should be rooting for on a given weekend as it relates to playoff standings... well wonder no more. 538 sports spells it out for us each week. For example, other than hating the Eagles, it makes zero difference playoffs-wise (to The Cowboys) if The Eagles or Cardinals win this weekend. On the other hand, there is a nearly 13 percent difference in playoff chances between a Cowboys win and loss this weekend...


http://fivethirtyeight.com/features...lications-if-the-seahawks-lose-the-nfc-gains/

NFL playoff Implications, our weekly guide to what games matter, and who they matter to, returns for Week 8 of the NFL season. For an explanation of the methodology, see here. The rankings behind these probabilities can be foundhere at the co-author’s blog.

 

[Tabascocat]

ARI needs to win. If we beat them, that is a tie-breaker.

 

[guag]

ARI needs to win. If we beat them, that is a tie-breaker.

You're right. I think it absolutely makes a difference to the Cowboys who wins that game. The Cards are a common opponent, so if the Cards beat the Eagles and we beat the Cards, that's a potential tiebreaker.

 

[Beast_from_East]

We often wonder aloud to each other who we should be rooting for on a given weekend as it relates to playoff standings... well wonder no more. 538 sports spells it out for us each week. For example, other than hating the Eagles, it makes zero difference playoffs-wise (to The Cowboys) if The Eagles or Cardinals win this weekend. On the other hand, there is a nearly 13 percent difference in playoff chances between a Cowboys win and loss this weekend...


http://fivethirtyeight.com/features...lications-if-the-seahawks-lose-the-nfc-gains/

NFL playoff Implications, our weekly guide to what games matter, and who they matter to, returns for Week 8 of the NFL season. For an explanation of the methodology, see here. The rankings behind these probabilities can be foundhere at the co-author’s blog.

We all need to root like hell for Arizona to beat the Eagles, getting a 1 game lead in the division trumps everything else.

 

[boysfanindc]

We all need to root like hell for Arizona to beat the Eagles, getting a 1 game lead in the division trumps everything else.

I agree with this, then hope we take care of the cards the next week.

 

[Outlaw Heroes]

You're right. I think it absolutely makes a difference to the Cowboys who wins that game. The Cards are a common opponent, so if the Cards beat the Eagles and we beat the Cards, that's a potential tiebreaker.

Ok. But it doesn't follow that the Cowboys' chances of making the playoffs improve if the Cards win. A victory by the Cards, as you suggest, gives us a better chance of taking the division since it gives us an opportunity to win a tie-breaker against the Eagles. There is, however, another route to the playoffs: one of the two wildcard berths. The Cards are a serious threat to every team in the NFC for one of those wild card berths. They become less a threat if the Eagles beat them. It may be that the Cowboys would see a net increase to their playoff chances if the Cards lose as a result of a significant increase in their chances of earning a wildcard berth, even though a loss by the Cards might cause a decrease in the Cowboy's chances of winning the division.

 

[Risen Star]

It makes zero difference if our 5-1 division rival wins this weekend?

You might not want to waste your time on that site.

 

[BotchedLobotomy]

At this point in the season, it's all about winning the division and getting separation between the Cowboys and the rest of the division. It's too early to be worrying about tie breakers

 

[Meat-O-Rama]

It makes zero difference if our 5-1 division rival wins this weekend?

You might not want to waste your time on that site.

You might want to try some simple logic some time. Two one loss teams going head to head and one loses. Now we've got a one loss team and a two loss team. Neither of those teams has fallen out of playoff contention. The Cowboys chances of going to the playoffs have not changed.

Yes, Philly losing increases the Cowboys chances of winning the division. But it doesn't make it any more or less likely that Dallas will go to the playoffs.

 

[Doomsday101]

Myself I'm pulling for Cards to take Philly down to get a game and half lead on them and then finish our home stand vs the Cards and take them down giving us any tie breaker on them.

 

[Rob Mexico]

Cards beat Eagles, we beat Cards. Best case.

 

[rcaldw]

always think division first.... Eagles need to lose

 

[Richmond Cowboy]

We often wonder aloud to each other who we should be rooting for on a given weekend as it relates to playoff standings... well wonder no more. 538 sports spells it out for us each week. For example, other than hating the Eagles, it makes zero difference playoffs-wise (to The Cowboys) if The Eagles or Cardinals win this weekend. On the other hand, there is a nearly 13 percent difference in playoff chances between a Cowboys win and loss this weekend...


http://fivethirtyeight.com/features...lications-if-the-seahawks-lose-the-nfc-gains/

NFL playoff Implications, our weekly guide to what games matter, and who they matter to, returns for Week 8 of the NFL season. For an explanation of the methodology, see here. The rankings behind these probabilities can be foundhere at the co-author’s blog.

My favorite is that if we beat Washington it takes them from 0.2% chance to 0.0%.

 

[Boyzmamacita]

You might want to try some simple logic some time. Two one loss teams going head to head and one loses. Now we've got a one loss team and a two loss team. Neither of those teams has fallen out of playoff contention. The Cowboys chances of going to the playoffs have not changed.

Yes, Philly losing increases the Cowboys chances of winning the division. But it doesn't make it any more or less likely that Dallas will go to the playoffs.

If our chance of winning the division improves, then our chance of making the playoffs improves.

 

[tecolote]

My favorite is that if we beat Washington it takes them from 0.2% chance to 0.0%.

And it would make our week 17 game @ washington a virtual home game.

 

[AbeBeta]

Ok. But it doesn't follow that the Cowboys' chances of making the playoffs improve if the Cards win. A victory by the Cards, as you suggest, gives us a better chance of taking the division since it gives us an opportunity to win a tie-breaker against the Eagles. There is, however, another route to the playoffs: one of the two wildcard berths. The Cards are a serious threat to every team in the NFC for one of those wild card berths. They become less a threat if the Eagles beat them. It may be that the Cowboys would see a net increase to their playoff chances if the Cards lose as a result of a significant increase in their chances of earning a wildcard berth, even though a loss by the Cards might cause a decrease in the Cowboy's chances of winning the division.

Umm, yeah it does follow that our chances of making the playoffs improve if the Cards win because we would increase our chances to win the NFC East and not be in the pool of wildcard teams. Duh.

 

[Outlaw Heroes]

If our chance of winning the division improves, then our chance of making the playoffs improves.

Nope. Not necessarily.

 

[jazzcat22]

#1 priority, win the division, we all know that, so the Cardinals need to beat the Eagles, that helps us more. We all know that.
We still need to play them yet, so if we can beat the Cards, give them their 2nd loss, then we are up on both teams to that point.
Then just keep moving forward, we will control our own destiny at that point. Yeah, that dreaded cliché, but it's true.

 

[Boyzmamacita]

Nope. Not necessarily.

If we win the division we are in.

 

[Outlaw Heroes]

Umm, yeah it does follow that our chances of making the playoffs improve if the Cards win because we would increase our chances to win the NFC East and not be in the pool of wildcard teams. Duh.

Worse than being wrong is being aggressive when you're wrong. Again, our chances of winning the NFC East are not the only thing to be considered in determining our chances of making the playoffs.