In other sports we’re used to seeing days, weeks or occasionally months of meaningless games. And who could blame the teams for using them as a competitive advantage before the playoffs? (Though John Harbaugh says they haven’t decided yet.) With extra games added to the end of the schedule, this would only happen more. Mike Garofolo reported that the Ravens would likely bench soon-to-be MVP Lamar Jackson for Week 17 if they have the AFC’s top seed locked up, no matter the game’s playoff ramifications for the Steelers. You know, the time we should be getting more excited about the big games.Ī surge in earlier clinching scenarios could also have a major impact on the teams whose games do matter. Mathematically, expanding the schedule is likely to weaken the end of the season. Today, on the eve of so many inconsequential games, I just want to focus on a rebuttal to expansion that’s most relevant and timely as we cross into late December. I’ll keep this short, and won’t get into all of them here. I have long been against expanding the schedule, for many reasons. The problem will repeat itself next week too, when even more teams will have meaningless games after either getting locked into certain seeds or knocked out of the race entirely. (Technically the Browns and Raiders hold onto <1% chances of making it in, but remember what I said about being honest with ourselves.) There are six games between two teams that have already been eliminated: Falcons-Jaguars, Colts-Panthers, Dolphins-Bengals, Redskins-Giants, Broncos-Lions and Chargers-Raiders. But we have to be honest with ourselves and recognize how many insignificant games dot the schedule too. Patriots-Bills! Vikings-Packers! Eagles-Cowboys! This is a fun time of year, with great games featuring the highest stakes. (Drink every time you hear the word penultimate!) The playoff race is heating up. This weekend we embark on Week 16 of the NFL season. The longer teams have to separate themselves in the win column, the harder it is to stay bunched. Or, simply been eliminated with 5-10 games left and then played out the string. Countless basketball teams over the years have given the playoff hunt an honest shot into February or March and then quickly pivoted to a “different” strategy. And this isn’t just about teams tanking like the Orioles or the Sixers. We see it in the NBA too, with its 82-game slate. The longer the season, the more teams get eliminated from playoff contention with more games still on the calendar. So, about those Orioles, who were officially eliminated in late August, but-I promise you-were playing meaningless games well before that.
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March 2023
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