In an exciting game Sunday night, the Seahawks made a goal line stand in the final seconds to take down the AFC leading Patriots in Foxboro. The loss dropped the Patriots to a 7-2 record, which means they are now in a three-way tie with the Chiefs and Raiders for the best record in the AFC.
The only team in the NFL with a better record are the Cowboys at 8-1.
Naysayers will point to the Chiefs holding the tiebreaker over the Raiders due to the Chiefs beating the Raiders a few weeks ago, suggesting it isn’t really a tie.
It’s a tie.
Tiebreakers don’t matter until the season is over and that’s a long ways off. We don’t know what will happen between now and then so it’s pointless to start using tiebreakers now.
And if you’re wondering whether I’m just saying this because the Raiders are on the losing end of the tiebreaker, you’d be wrong. I said the same thing last week when they were tied with the Broncos and others were suggesting the Raiders won the tiebreaker. That was even worse because neither team had even played each other yet (they played last week and the Raiders won).
On that same note, look at the strength of schedule with these teams facing each other twice. Three teams in the AFC West have 7 wins — the Chiefs, Raiders, and Broncos. These three teams are beating up on each other and will be the better for it. It’s possible we could be looking at three playoff teams in the AFC West. But again, that’s a long ways off.
For now, just sit back and marvel at how amazing it really is that the Raiders are really in the position they’re in.
Loading comments...