The Cleveland Browns can secure a post-season spot for the first time in almost 20 years in Week 16. For that to happen, the Browns need to run their own business against the New York Jets and get a little help from the league.
Here are the results to be observed in the NFL in Week 16.
Miami Dolphins at Las Vegas Raiders
Raiders are 7-7, Dolphins are 9-5. This is quite simple. Cheer for the Raiders on Saturday night, when these two teams meet. The defeat of the Dolphins means that the Browns guarantee a place in the playoffs with a victory on Sunday.
Las Vegas is irrelevant to the Browns, who are already 10-4. Raiders need to win and make the Dolphins and Ravens lose to make it into the postseason.
Miami travels from Las Vegas to Buffalo on Week 17 to play against AFC East champion Bills. Buffalo may be playing for the tiebreaker in week 17 if they beat the Patriots on Sunday. This is a better result for the Browns than having the Bills potentially resting some players in the final against Miami, especially if the Dolphins beat the Raiders.
Indianapolis Colts at Pittsburgh Steelers
This is the big problem. Keep an eye on this huge confrontation while watching the Browns and Jets. The Colts are 10-4 like Cleveland, the Steelers are 11-3. The Browns face a head-to-head tie with the Colts, which is why Cleveland holds first place on the Wild Card over the weekend and the Colts are in sixth place.
Your interest in cheering depends on how you feel about the Browns. If you simply want the Browns to enter the postseason and not stress, hope for (sip) the Steelers. A Colts loss guarantees a spot for the Browns if Cleveland wins the Jets.
If you want the Browns to have a chance to beat AFC North and Seed # 3, therefore, hosting a playoff game, you need the Colts to give the Steelers their fourth straight loss. If the Browns beat the Jets and the Colts win here, Week 17’s FirstEnergy clash between the Browns and Steelers is for the division title.
There are scenarios in which the Browns can lose to the Jets and the Steelers and still win, but that would require the Steelers to win this game and then (among other results) the Colts also lose to Jacksonville in Week 17.
New York Giants at the Baltimore Ravens
Always cheer against the Ravens. If the 9-5 Ravens lose to the 5-9 Giants, it will be a big advantage for the Browns. Cleveland would achieve this with a victory over the Jets.
The Giants still have life in the NFC and have a decent running defense, so anything is possible here. Baltimore seems more apt to miss this one than Cincinnati in Week 17, although making assumptions about the Bengals can be dangerous at this time of year. Ask Pittsburgh …
Tennessee Titans in Green Bay Packers
The Titans are 10-4, but they have the result of the divisional tiebreaker with the Colts in the south. It is technically so little more advantageous for the Titans to beat AFC South than the Colts from a tiebreaker point of view of several Cleveland teams, but the standard rule still applies here: always cheer for an NFC team against a post candidate – AFC season.