For many NFL fans, this week’s games are meaningless, as their favorite team has been eliminated from playoff contention. But for many of the people who support those done-after-this-week teams, they’re still alive in a postseason of a different sort.
They’ve been going head-to-head with rival fans in a trivia showdown known as The Season. Enabled by Buzztime, The Season reflected the NFL 2011 schedule every week, pitting the opposing fan-bases of each competing team. And as you might guess, Buzztime’s The Season has a very different looking playoff picture.
So who’s undefeated and the king of trivia thus far?
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are the current #1 overall seed in The Season, prime contenders to win the whole show. At least their fans are. On the field, the Bucs have been pretty much playing for draft position since early November.
NFC Playoff Picture
#1 Seed: #1 Tampa Bay Bucs (15-0) Division Champion
#2 Seed: #3 Washington Redskins (15-0) Division Champion
#3 Seed: #5 San Francisco 49ers (13-2) Division Champion
#4 Seed: #6 Green Bay Packers (11-4) Division Champion
Wild Card Rankings (top two make the playoffs):
1. #12 New Orleans Saints (10-5)
2. #15 Detroit Lions (9-6)
3. #16 St. Louis Rams (9-6)
4. #11 New York Giants (8-7)
NFC: All signs still point to a Tampa Bay-Washington showdown in the conference championship game. New Orleans is all but in. #15 Detroit plays #6 Green Bay in week 16 to close the season, and since they beat them a few weeks ago, they could do it again! #16 St. Louis closes The Season against #5 San Francisco, and they don’t have much of a chance. #11 New York Giants end the season against #17 Dallas. So it is very possible that The St. Louis Rams, New York Giants and Detroit Lions fans could end the Season 9-7. If the Lions take the win over the Packers, so long Green Bay and Detroit get to say hello to the playoffs.
AFC Playoff Picture
#1 Seed: #2 Houston Texans (14-1) Division Champion
#2 Seed: #9 New England Patriots (12-3) Division Champion
#3 Seed: #7 Kansas City Chiefs (12-3)
#4 Seed: #10 Pittsburgh Steelers (11-4) Division Champion
Wild Card Rankings (top two make the playoffs):
1. #4 Oakland Raiders (12-3) Clinched Playoff Spot
2. #8 Jacksonville Jaguars (10-5)
3. #13 Denver Broncos (9-6)
Surprise, surprise! The AFC playoffs are STILL all about the Houston Texans Fans, the AFC West and the battle for the last Wildcard spot. It is going to go down to the wire. If #8 Jacksonville beats beat #26 Indianapolis to end the Season, they are in. #13 Denver plays #7 Kansas City to end the Season. If Kansas City wins, then they are the AFC West division champs, and Denver is out of the playoffs.
Paul M. Banks is CEO of The Sports Bank.net, an official Google News site generating millions of unique visitors. He’s also a regular contributor to Chicago Now, Walter Football.com, Yardbarker, and Fox Sports
A Fulbright scholar and MBA, Banks has appeared on live radio all over the world; and he’s a member of the Football Writers Association of America, U.S. Basketball Writers Association, and Society of Professional Journalists. The President of the United States follows him on Twitter (@Paul_M_BanksTSB) You should too.