to Auger In - verb; to crash (e.g., an aircraft) into the ground. Named for the large crater an aircraft makes in the ground when it crashes at high speed.
Examples: "The Baltimore Ravens augered in two years in a row, first due to the Steelers 'Immaculate Extension', and then, inexplicably, at the hands of a desperate Red Rocket."
How far did the Ravens fall in the blink of an eye? According to ESPN, they entered the day with a 97% chance of making the playoffs. In the space of a few seconds, they plunged over the cliff like Thelma and Louise:
That’s two years in a row where the Ravens controlled their destiny to have it snatched away at the final seconds by a defensive collapse, with multiple defenders flailing on the ground. What do you say, John?
Not that it matters at this point, but NFL.com has the Steelers currently at 8th seed. I’m pretty sure it should be 5th.
Aside from the first place Colts, there are five teams tied at 7-4: Steelers, Ravens, Browns, Chiefs, Chargers. These five teams are vying for two wild card berths. When there are three or more tied teams from two or more divisions, the following tiebreakers apply:
- Apply division tie breaker to eliminate all but the highest ranked club in each division prior to proceeding to step 2. The original seeding within a division upon application of the division tie breaker remains the same for all subsequent applications of the procedure that are necessary to identify the two Wild-Card participants.In the division tiebreaker, the Steelers and Browns are both 2-2, ahead of the Ravens who are 2-3. The next tiebreaker is common opponents. Against common opponents, the Steelers are 5-3 while the Browns are 3-4, so Steelers should be the top wildcard contender in the North division.
- Head-to-head sweep. (Applicable only if one club has defeated each of the others or if one club has lost to each of the others.)n/a
- Best won-lost-tied percentage in games played within the conference.The Steelers conference record is 6-3. The Chiefs and Chargers are both 5-3. The Steelers are 5th seed on this basis. The sixth seed would go to the Chiefs who are 1-0 against the Chargers in head to head meetings, although the Chargers have the better division record, and both have better conference records than the Ravens or Browns.
The rest of the tiebreakers are listed below but shouldn’t matter at the current point in time.
- Best won-lost-tied percentage in common games, minimum of four.
- Strength of victory.
- Strength of schedule.
- Best combined ranking among conference teams in points scored and points allowed.
- Best combined ranking among all teams in points scored and points allowed.
- Best net points in conference games.
- Best net points in all games.
- Best net touchdowns in all games.
- Coin toss
In head to head competition, the Browns and Ravens are split. In division records, the Browns are 2-2 vs Ravens 2-3. As such, I get the seedings this way:
1. Patriots
2. Broncos
3. Bengals
4. Colts
5. Steelers
6. Chiefs
7. Chargers
8. Browns
9. Ravens
No doubt I’m missing some subtle point of the arcane tiebreaking rules, but until someone corrects me I’m sticking to this analysis for what it’s worth, which is, as previously stated, absolutely nothing.
I think I have this right, but don’t hold me to it.
Just to be sure we’re all on the same page, here is the breakdown of tomorrow’s sixth seed possibilities. In short, the Steelers need the end result of the day to be a five-way tie at 8-8. That sounds bad (and it is), but none of the four contenders control their own destiny. (While the Jets could match the records of the four contenders, they have no tiebreaker path to the playoffs, thus they will be playing the role of spoiler and playing for the life of their coach.)
Source: BleacherReport
