Two games left. Looking at the schedule, the teams sitting in the top-five may very well not win another game. That won’t matter. What does matter is our friend the Strength of Schedule. It’s in full force right now.
The San Francisco 49ers sit with the third fourth pick if things end right now (h/t user surfer2099). They moved ahead of the New York Jets last night thanks to Tennessee beating Washington and the Chargers losing to the Ravens. The 49ers SOS sits at .502, the Jets SOS sits at .504, and the Jaguars SOS sits at .553.
So what does this mean? It means the Jaguars and the Jets need to win. Asking for the Oakland Raiders or the Arizona Cardinals to win is asking an awful lot, but since they are both playing divisional games, if they are going to win another game it’s this week’s. Since wins are now at a premium, we need other teams to win/lose just so no last-minute theatrics or coin flips occur on the 49ers way into a draft pick and a demon pass rusher.
That said, there are some concerns this week. Below are the games you should care about:
Packers (5-8-1) at Jets (4-10): Jets. I’ll just copy what Fooch said: J! E! T! S! JETS! JETS! JETS!
Jaguars (4-10) at Dolphins (7-7): Jaguars. Get them off this W/L tie breaker.
Rams (11-3) at Cardinals (3-11): Cardinals — No way this happens. No way. But maybe Jared Goff’s recent struggles allow a surprise win.
Broncos (6-8) at Raiders (3-11): Raiders — The Raiders could pull this off. Divisional games are always crazy and I wouldn’t be surprised. They have a long road if they hope to do so. If the Broncos win, it makes the Jets SoS that much better, either outcome is favorable.
Bengals (6-8) at Browns (6-7-1): Browns — Strengthens the Jets SoS
Buccaneers (5-9) at Cowboys (8-6): Cowboys — A Cowboys win helps the 49ers SoS. and weakens the Jaguars SoS.
Giants (5-9) at Colts (8-6): Colts — Colts win helps the 49ers SoS and hurts Jets/Jaguars
Texans (10-4) at Eagles (7-7): Texans — Another chance at strengthening Jets/Jaguars SoS
Steelers (8-5-1) at Saints (12-2): Steelers — Strengthens Jaguars SoS
Chiefs (11-3) at Seahawks (8-6): Chiefs — This weakens the 49ers SoS and strengthens the Jets