Below are five statements/questions relevant to the 2014 NFL playoff picture.  Each item carries its own level of intrigue.

1. San Diego’s incredible road journey

Let’s make the assumption that Denver wins the AFC West.  This puts San Diego in a dogfight for one of the two Wildcard spots.  Last year the Chargers swept Kansas City and made the playoffs based on tiebreakers.  To make the playoffs this year, San Diego must come out nearly spotless in three crucial road games.  Let me explain.  This Sunday they play at Miami.  The winner of this game gets a leg up on many tiebreaker scenarios.  On 11/30 San Diego travels to Baltimore.  Remember what happened two years ago?  Baltimore does not make the playoffs or go on to win the Super Bowl without converting 4th and 26 at San Diego!  Will the Chargers be able to return the favor?  Finally, San Diego visits the Chiefs on closing day.  They can’t afford to lose this game (and be 0-2 vs. KC) as that would hurt their Divisional record along with their overall record.  Bottom line: All eyes will be on San Diego as they control not only their own, but many other team destinies as it relates to the AFC Wildcard race. 

2. Manning vs. Brady: Here we go again!

As long as Denver (previously Indianapolis) and New England keep winning their Divisions the general public will continue to be treated to games featuring two of the greatest QB’s to ever play the game.  Playoff slotting will be on the line.  A Denver win probably seals up the #1 seed since they have previously defeated the Colts, the only other legit contender for a playoff bye.  New England has a bye week after this one before hosting the Colts.  A loss to Denver this Sunday gives that game vs. Indy greater meaning, as New England is a much tougher team to face when given extra time to prepare, and that #2 playoff seed carries the bye week as a reward.  Bottom Line: This is a huge game for New England.  Their schedule is far tougher as compared to Indy’s, so a loss this Sunday to Denver might mean a fight to the finish for the #2 playoff seed.

3. Could Dallas miss the playoffs?

If they lose this Sunday to Arizona, YES!  It amused me that several well-known newspapers and television stations along with plenty of “analysts” not only had Dallas as a top three NFL team, but #1 in many cases.  My mechanically driven Power Rankings had Dallas tied for 12th!   Sure, that represented a vast improvement from preseason projections but this team still has flaws.  RB Murray masked many of their flaws by carrying the ball in excess of 200 times.  Still, on second and short in overtime the Cowboys reverted back to old form, passing unsuccessfully on three consecutive downs.  I’ve said all along that games 11-16 on their schedule are not easy.  They play four NFC East opponents in that stretch, three on the road!  They also play at Chicago and host a solid Indy team.  Bottom Line: With a poor sack ratio and a nearly 67% pass defense Dallas needs to play smart.  A loss this Sunday might be crippling.

4. Could Seattle miss the playoffs?

The answer here is a resounding maybe!  From what I’ve seen the defensive regression has hurt the most.  Seattle had 44 defensive sacks in ’13 but to date has just 10.  As a result more passes are being completed vs. the Seahawk defense, leading to an unheard of 67% completion figure.  Seattle is 2-2 on the road, amazingly winning a close, low scoring game at Carolina for the third consecutive year.  Seattle will control its own destiny, as they have yet to play either San Francisco or Arizona!  The other tough game is at KC.  Until Arizona wakes up from what must be a marvelous dream, Seattle will need to do more that split their Divisional games in order to secure a playoff spot.  Bottom Line: Don’t rule the Seahawks out just yet, but they need to put more pressure on opposing QB’s or else Russell Wilson will have to bail them out a couple of more times down the stretch.

5. Could Houston sneak into the playoffs?

Probably not, but the future looks bright.  Houston entered this season with the NFL’s weakest schedule of opponents and not much has changed in that regard.  Games remaining include home games vs. Tennessee and Jacksonville and road games at Cleveland and Jacksonville.  They host Philly this week and are just a slight underdog.  They get to host both Baltimore and Cincy.  If teams such as Miami, KC and San Diego keep alternating wins and losses it is quite possible that wins vs. Baltimore and Cincy would give the Texans a huge tiebreaker advantage.  Remember, they also beat Buffalo earlier this year.  Bottom Line: This is an incomplete team in many ways, with a QB (Fitzpatrick) who is very turnover prone but the schedule does help.  Any team featuring RB Foster and the amazing JJ Watt has a chance!