[December 02, 2008] The playoff picture Tweet Dec 02, 2008 (Boston Herald - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- First, the good news. The Patriots have the easiest schedule left of any playoff contender outside the Dolphins, so their chances of finishing 11-5 are as good as anyone's. Now the bad news. They're looking up at any number of wild card tiebreakers and likely will need to finish ahead of the teams they're battling to reach the postseason. Their best chance looks to be winning the division outright. Here are how things stand right now, first in the AFC East, and then in the wild card race. AFC EAST Team *Rec. *Div. *Conf. *Remaining games Jets *8-4 *3-1 *6-4 *at 49ers, Bills, at Seahawks, Dolphins Patriots *7-5 *3-2 *5-5 *at Seahawks, at Raiders, Cardinals, at Bills Dolphins *7-5 *2-2 *5-4 *at Bills, 49ers, at Chiefs, at Jets Playoff scenario: The division tiebreakers (in order) are head-to-head record, division record, common opponents, and then conference record. The Jets and Pats split their regular-season meetings. The Patriots own a one-game lead in common opponents (6-2 vs. 5-3). If the Jets lose to an NFC team and the Patriots win out, the Jets will win the division based on a better record in the AFC East. If the Jets lose to an AFC East team and the Pats win out, the Pats will win the division based on a better record against common opponents. The conference tiebreaker cannot mathematically come into play because each team only has games remaining against common opponents. In the event of a three-way tie, things get even more confusing. If the Pats and Dolphins win out, the Jets would be eliminated by their record against common opponents among the three teams. The Dolphins then would win the East because of a better conference record than the Patriots. WILD CARD Team *Rec. *Conf. *Remaining games Colts *8-4 *7-2 *Cincinnati, Detroit, at Jaguars, Titans Ravens *8-4 *7-3 *Redskins, Steelers, at Cowboys, Jaguars Patriots *7-5 *5-5 *at Seahawks, at Raiders, Cardinals, at Bills Dolphins *7-5 *5-4 *at Bills, 49ers, at Chiefs, at Jets Playoff scenario: The wild card standings depend on whether the Pats finish in a two- or three-way tie. They lose a tiebreaker with the Colts because of a head-to-head loss to Indy. If it's a three-way tie involving the Dolphins, they first must run the division tiebreaker with the Dolphins. The two squads currently have 6-2 records against common opponents with four to play. As of now, the Dolphins have a half-game lead in the conference. If the Pats finished tied with the Colts and Ravens, the Colts would get the first wild card by virtue of head-to-head victories over the Pats and Ravens. With one more Pats loss within the conference, or Ravens victory, Baltimore then would claim the second wild card. To see more of the Boston Herald or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.bostonherald.com. Copyright (c) 2008, Boston Herald Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email [email protected], call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA. [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]