Woot! Woot I say!
With the Jets losing today, it's all but mathematically certain that the Patriots will take the division.
Tonights San Diego - Denver game should be interesting; and the entire country is looking towards Dallas right now to see if they can knock the Colts off the undefeated mark (doubtful, but with Dallas you never know).
Either way, It is also all but mathematically certain that either Denver or San Diego will take their division; and the other will get one of the wild card slots. The race for the second slot though is getting more complicated, with Kansas City going past the Radiers, the Jets going down to 5-5, and Jacksonville going up against the Giants tomorrow night at home. The Giants are, by a bit, the better team; but I wouldn't count the Jags out, so we may see a three or even four way race for the second wildcard slot as the season runs down.
Whoever wins in Denver tonight will also be tied with New England for third in the AFC, behind Indy and Baltimore; which funny enough puts pretty much the entire top half of the AFC ahead of the NFC, with only Chicago having more than six wins (that should change tonight or tomorrow though, with Seattle at San Francisco; or the Giants - Jags game). In fact, it's entirely possible both Seattle and New York will be at 7 - 3 tomorrow night - of course if by some miracle SF wins, and the Jags pull it out past the Giants, then yeah that would be bad for the NFC as a whole.
Oh, and in case anyone was paying attention; the AZ Cardinals continue to be the worst team in the NFL, though Oakland, Tennessee, and Detroit are all making a valiant effort to claim that coveted title.
The Cardinals are in fact the oldest organized football franchise; and are now, as they always have been, one of the worst. Thus far, the Cardinals have played 1151 games in their 86 year NFL history (they were founded in 1898, 22 years before joining the NFL); winning only 451 of them; for the worst winning percentage (.392) of any team other than the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (at .390).
Up until this year the worst team historically was generally considered the New Orleans Saints, but the recent reversal of the saints fortunes has put them at least part way over the top of the Cardinals with a 244-366 record for a .400 win/loss percentage.
There is some debate as to which team really is worse, because the Cardinals HAVE won their divison four times; and during the pre-superbowl era the Cardinals did win two NFL championships; neither of which the Saints can claim (2 division championships, no conference championships, no superbowls).
Also, the Cardinals have had more over .500 seasons, and a greater percentage of over .500 seasons than the Saints. Unfortunately, their last season over .500 was in 1998 (9-7 with a first round playoff loss); and the last before that was 1984.
In the superbowl era, the Saints have had six playoff appearances, the Cardinals only five; and both teams only have one playoff victory. The next worst team, the Buccs, has had 14 playoff appearances including six wins, in 30 years; and has actually won a superbowl.
Yes, they really are that bad.
UPDATE: Well, the Cowboys (and the Chargers too) brought their game today, and there are no longer any undefeated teams in the NFL.
