Yea, so the Panthers tough win over the Bucs did absolutely nothing to help their odds of getting a top 3 pick. Really how inconsiderate can they be???
As mentioned before (for those who missed it), in addition to their various unit efficiency ratings, Football Outsiders puts together odds of teams to make the playoffs. On the flipside of that, FO also provides odds on teams getting the #1 draft pick and a top 3 pick. They don't include odds any lower in the draft, but we can live with these for now.
For this week, with their win over the Bucs, Carolina's odds dipped to a 1.1% chance of getting the #1 pick and an 8.9% chance of getting a top 3 pick. Not great odds, but hey, at least they're not 0%!
I thought I'd use this weekly post to also include the NFC West's various odds according to FO. They're certainly not awe-inspiring, but they're worth looking over. What I find interesting is that the Arizona win over Seattle actually improved the 49ers odds of making the playoffs. Last week the 49ers had a 28.6% chance of making the playoffs. This week they have a 33.3% chance. Seattle had the better odds, but obviously those plummeted with the home loss. In fact, they dropped from 61.2% to 15.0%. Arizona's odds sit at 56.1% of making the playoffs.
This week could make for an interesting swing in the odds. The 49ers are heading to Houston, Arizona is heading to the Meadowlands to face the Giants, and the Panthers host Buffalo. Obviously we know what three results we want.