The Final March to the Big Dance.

As the NFL season heads into its second last week of regular season play, i thought id do a blog on some of the tight races for playoff spots, and some thoughts going into the playoffs. If the season were to end today, the New England Patriots would miss the playoffs, a horrible outcome of the Tom Brady injury. Matt Cassel has not done bad, actually id give him props for staying in there and playing pretty darn good. However, he is no Tom Brady. The Patriots playoff hopes aren't even in their own hands at this point, yes they have to win their last two games, but for the Pats to make the post season, other teams have to lose. The Indianapolis Colts have a record of 10-4, which right now would make them the Wild Card playoff spot, however, if the Colts were to drop both of their last two games (Jacksonville, and Tennessee), then that would open the door for the Patriots for that route. The other route would be if the New York Jets were to lose one of their last two games as both they and the Patriots are tied at 9-5 each. However this is less likely as the Jets play Seattle and Miami. The even more intriguing part to the final game is that Miami is also in on the tie with New England and New York as they also have a record of 9-5. The Dolphins last two match ups are Kansas City and New York Jets, so the Patriots would have to hope for Miami to beat New York, and then New England would win the tie, if Miami also beat KC.

The Pittsburgh Steelers are slowly becoming the beast of the AFC. Since Tennessee has dropped two games, the Steelers have improved to 11-3, and a win over Tennessee in their next game, would solidify them as the top team in the NFL. The Giants and the Cardinals are the only other teams other then Tennessee to clinch their division. The Wild Card race in the NFC is just as tight as the AFC, with Atlanta, Tampa Bay, and Dallas, all tied with records of 9-5. Right behind them, with their playoff hopes slowly dwindling is the Chicago Bears with a record of 8-6. The Carolina Panthers have not yet clinched their division title, but look to be a guarantee there. The Minnesota Vikings are leading their division, however games against New York Giants and Atlanta Falcons could pose as worthy obstacles, and considering Chicago plays Green Bay and Houston in their final two games, it looks like it could be a tight race for the NFC north division title, with the loser possibly coming out in a close race for the NFC wild card spot.

Two teams to watch in the final two weeks are the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Indianapolis Colts. The Steelers could prove their quality and become the best team in the NFL, which would be huge going into the playoffs. The Colts need to win their last two games. Peyton Manning needs to be Peyton Manning and really show how good he is. The Colts should make the playoffs as the experience of the team should pan out and they should lock down into playoff mode early. However a few mistakes and maybe some heavy pressures, as the playoffs at this point is theirs to lose, could prove to be to much. It will be an interesting final two weeks with many teams battling for playoff spots are playing each other and there could possibly be some playoff-esque games being played. Anyways, thats my NFL rant for the week.

-Sporer