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Here is your rooting guide for Week 16.
The Indianapolis Colts (8-6) find themselves leading the AFC wild-card race as they enter a prime-time matchup on Saturday night against the Arizona Cardinals (10-4) at State Farm Stadium.
After the San Francisco 49ers failed to close Thursday night’s game against the Tennessee Titans, the latter now has the chance to clinch the division with a Colts’ loss on Saturday night.
With three games remaining, here is your rooting guide for Week 16:
Here’s the rooting guide for the Colts in Week 15.
The Indianapolis Colts (8-6) got their big win over the New England Patriots (9-5) on Saturday night, which continued their adventure toward a wild-card spot in the AFC playoff race.
With that big win out of the way for the week, the Colts can sit back and see how the rest of the conference plays out in Week 15. Entering Sunday’s games, the Colts hold the No. 5 seed in the playoff race.
They got some help from the Chiefs on Thursday night with that overtime win over the Los Angeles Chargers and now they’ll be looking to get a bit more help this week.
Here’s a quick look at who Colts fans should be rooting for in Week 15:
Here’s how the Cowboys can clinch a playoff spot by 10pm Central Tuesday and what other games can help their rise up the NFC ladder. | From @KDDrummondNFL
The Dallas Cowboys are on the precipice of going to the playoffs for the first time since 2018. The club is winning at a clip better than two out of every three games and it’s put them in the position to be one of the first teams to punch their ticket to the 14-team January Invitational. They’ll need some help to do so, but it’s pretty much a foregone conclusion they will win the NFC East if they emerge from this weekend’s trip to New York victorious and the Philadelphia Eagles defend their home turf against the team coming up I-95, the Football Team from Washington.
That scenario will eliminate Washington from the race, and leave the Eagles with only the slightest chance of winning a strength-of-victory tiebreaker over Dallas. Right now the teams the Cowboys have defeated have won a total of 56 games. The teams the Eagles have defeated have won 28 games. Dallas’ best wins have come over the Los Angeles Chargers and the New England Patriots, winners of eight and nine games respectively going into the weekend.
The Eagles’ best win has been over the 7-6 Denver Broncos.
Because of this, the Eagles would need to win their final three games, Dallas lose their final three games and for the Detroit Lions, New York Jets, Denver Broncos and the opponents of both the Minnesota Vikings and New England Patriots to combine for 12 wins in their final 16 games.
That’s not happening, so while Dallas will need five results (plus a win and Eagles’ loss) to officially clinch this weekend, for all intents and purposes the East will be in the bag just if the division results work as outlined.
But Dallas’ goal isn’t just making the playoffs, they have a realistic shot at the No. 1 seed or at least moving up from the No. 4 seed. Here’s how things can work out in their favor.
Colts fans! Here is your rooting guide for Week 14.
The Indianapolis Colts (7-6) are enjoying their bye in Week 14 but there are still some heavy playoff implications with five weeks remaining in the regular season.
Currently holding the spot just outside the wild-card race, the Colts could get some help and move up in the race by just resting at home. The Colts already got some help from the Minnesota Vikings this week after they beat the Pittsburgh Steelers on Thursday night.
With the Tennessee Titans leading the division while holding the tiebreaker over the Colts due to their season sweep, it’s more likely that the view should be on obtaining one of the three wild-card spots.
Here is the rooting guide for Colts fans during the Week 14 bye:
A look at NFL tiebreaker rules, common opponent + conference records and how Dallas will want Week 12 action to go. The Cowboys care about 8 Sun/Mon games. | From @KDDrummondNFL
Slow your roll. The Dallas Cowboys aren’t out on the No. 1 seed in the NFC. It certainly feels like it, as the team has lost three out of their last four and two in a row. The latest defeat, Thursday evening at home to the Las Vegas Raiders for their third straight Thanksgiving Day game L, stung a bit, pun intended.
Old nemesis DeSean Jackson opened the scoring Thursday with a deep pass touchdown and it felt like deja vu all over again. Dallas’ back seven was an absolute mess and they may have been the healthiest and most complete unit on the team, only missing Donovan Wilson.
Still all hope is not lost, but they have made things more difficult on themselves. They are now two games in the loss column behind the NFC pace setter, and a game behind three other teams, one of which they’ve lost to already. They certainly can make up ground. The Kansas City Chiefs and the New England Patriots are the hottest teams in the league after miserable starts (and Dallas has split road games against) and are on the precipice of the No. 1seed in the AFC.
Dallas’ road to redemption will be hard, but not impossible, with all NFC games remaining in their final six weeks. Dallas has just one NFC loss so far, setting themselves up to win many tiebreaker scenarios should they win out and finish as the hottest team in the NFC.
That journey is taken one game at a time however, and they will sit back on Sunday and watch many of their competitors take the field in an effort to make the Cowboys’ journey more difficult. The Cowboys no longer control their own destiny as they did earlier in the week, so it’s legit time to start rooting for some teams to lose. Here’s a look at the slate on Week 12 action that impacts Dallas’ playoff seeding.
A Week 13 college football rooting guide for Wisconsin Badger fans
Wisconsin fans know what’s at stake in Minneapolis tomorrow when the Badgers take the field against the Minnesota Golden Gophers.
With a win, the Badgers would finish the season with an 8-game win streak and a Big Ten West title after starting the season 1-3. With a loss, either Minnesota or Iowa will likely capture the division and the Badgers will fall a game short.
Related: Five keys to a Wisconsin victory over Minnesota this weekend
Well, there are other relevant games this weekend to the rest of Wisconsin’s season. Some have to do with the Big Ten picture, and some are more on the national stage.
Here is the complete Week 13 college football rooting guide for Wisconsin Badger fans:
A look at the club’s odds to earn the No. 1 seed and also reach the Super Bowl, as well as who fans should root for in other Week 9 games. | From @KDDrummondNFL
Thanks to their scintillating backup-QB-led victory in Week 8, the Dallas Cowboys are riding high on a six-game winning streak. Their 6-1 start is the team’s best since 2016, when they ran off 11 wins in a row following an opening season loss. That was in Dak Prescott and Ezekiel Elliott’s rookie season, and it was an unbelievable run of magic that endured during the famed “should Tony Romo get his job back” debate. Next Monday is the five-year anniversary of Romo’s concession speech.
Back then, the offense was centered around the running style of Elliott, but now not only is Prescott in firm control of the position, but the offense. The Cowboys are once again in the thick of the race for the NFC’s No. 1 seed and there is once again real hope the drought will soon end. That pursuit is marred by perhaps the best field the conference has seen in a while, with six teams having two losses or fewer, four of them with just one defeat, including Dallas.
The weekly watch is one.
Thanks to Week 8 losses by Arizona (7-1) and Tampa Bay (6-2) the Cowboys now control their own destiny in regards to these two competitors. Dallas has a Week 17 matchup with the Cardinals, so if they remain tied in the loss column otherwise, the winner of that game has an advantage. Dallas’ only loss came in Week 1 against the Bucs, but now the Cowboys are ahead of them in the loss column, crucial as head-to-head record is the first tiebreaker.
What are the current important playoff odds for the Cowboys? Which games on this week’s schedule can help Dallas now?
The goal is always to win the next game, but other factors are in play when it comes to pursuing ultimate goals. Here’s a look at important games on the Wk 6 slate that don’t involve Dallas. | From @KDDrummondNFL
It can’t be that time of the year already, can it? In seasons past, the rooting guide has served as a second-half of the schedule assistant as the Dallas Cowboys search for a spot in the playoffs. While that’s certainly part of the plan for the 2021 season, a 4-1 record allows fans and members of the team to start expanding on their visions of future success.
Even wide receiver Amari Cooper admitted to it earlier in the week, the chemistry of this team should have them starting to center the idea that they are contenders for the biggest accolade of all, Super Bowl champions. It will take a lot of work to get there and each week that starts and finishes with one edict, win the game next on the calendar.
But outside of that, there’s always room for help. Dallas will more than likely stub their toe along the way, play down to the wrong opponent on the wrong day or simply face off against a team just as talented as they are. Going 16-1 is not something likely to happen for this club and in that vein, they’ll need other teams to lose a game here or there as well in order to earn the No. 1 seed in the NFC.
With the addition of a seventh seed in each conference, there’s only one bye week now and everyone should know the data behind how that week of rest and the full home-field advantage that goes with it normally translates into a championship game appearance.
Dallas should want that, regardless of the franchise’s performances with the honor in the more recent past. Those teams have nothing to do with this team.
So each week, we’ll give a glimpse into the rest of the NFL schedule, to clear up any doubt about which teams need to lose to best help Dallas in their goal to achieve the top spot. Here’s a look at the Week 6 slate of action.
Dallas is mere days away from their opener and it’s been a long time since a game mattered. Here’s how fans should process Week 1 results, no matter how it falls. Rafael Vela (@DailyGoonerRaf) returns to the Cowboys’ beat.
The following is offered as a piece of self-care advice.
It’s not easy being a Cowboys fan. Sure, our numbers are legion and our team is popular. But we’re 25 seasons removed from a Super Bowl run and relying on Triplets anecdotes and Landry-Era highlights gets old. We want, desperately want, some title chops of our own.
That hunger, and the quirky nature of this season’s opener, call for an exercise in healthy fandom. We need to prepare our nervous systems for the campaign at hand as much as Dak Prescott needs to tend to his shoulder and the trainers need to mind the Covid protocols.
With that in mind, let us go through some mental stretches, and root in a way that will leave us ready for 17 games, rather than gutted and bitter if the result doesn’t go our way Thursday night in Tampa.
Who should Colts fans root for?
While the Indianapolis Colts battle for positioning in the AFC playoffs, there are some meaningful games taking place that the Colts fans should keep their eye on.
With three games remaining, the Colts likely have to win two of those games to get into the playoffs. They don’t hold a tiebreaker over any team battling for a wild-card spot so they will need some help in Week 15.
Here is the rooting guide for Colts fans in Week 15:
