The Paydirt Report: Week 15The playoffs are set with no week 16 drama to be had this season. All divisions titles have been handed out. Congrats to Kansas City, Miami, Cleveland and Houston in the AFC and Dallas, Seattle, Green Bay and Tampa Bay in the NFC. Home field advantage has also been set with Kansas City(AFC) and Seattle(NFC). Who's excited to travel to Seattle for a playoff game raise your hand.....Now lets get to the rest of the Paydirt Football League.
AFCWest
Kansas City(14-1) will be resting a lot of their players as will most all of the playoff teams in week 16. Denver(11-4) is going into the playoffs red hot with 8 consecutive wins. San Diego(6-7-2) is already preparing for the off-season as they released DT Joshua Rodriguez and LB Mark Benavidez. Oakland(4-11) will be looking to rebound from their worst season in franchise history.
East
Miami(10-5) clinched their 7th AFC East title and look to gather things up to make a run deep into the playoffs. They have a blackflys trophy sitting in their office so they know how to get that done. Buffalo(10-5) is another team that is red hot going into the playoffs with 8 straight wins themselves. NY Jets(8-7) battled tough til late in the season and fell short of expectations. They will be looking for answers in the off-season to up their game in the East. New England(4-10-1) has some work to do to get ready for the 1981 season.
North
Cleveland(10-5) wons the AFC North championship banner but they are limping into the playoffs sitting on a 3 game losing streak. Baltimore(7-8) and Cincinnati(7-8) are battling it out for the bridesmaid position. Pittsburgh(3-12) has a lot of issues to address.
South
Houston(9-5-1) has the bragging rights in the South once again in 1980. They start this decade where they left off in the 70's. This is the Texans 3rd consecutive division title. Indianapolis(7-8) gave them a short run for it but still have a few answers to find. Jacksonville(3-12) has many directions they can go to start to improve the Jags in 81'. Tennessee(2-13) also has a ways to go to be competitive in the South.
NFCEast
Dallas(10-5) won the faceoff with the NY Giants(8-7) on Monday Night Football securing their 3rd NFC East title in the last 4 years. Philadelphia(3-12) gets a new GM Lucky to try and turn that franchise around. The Paydirt Football League will put the new GM on stage right away with a Monday Night appearance this week against the red hot Broncos. Washington(2-13) will be in rebound mode in the off-season to continue their rebuild efforts.
West
The train is a rollin in Seattle(15-0). With a win this week against Buffalo and if they run the table in the playoffs, they will become only the 2nd undefeated team in Paydirt history. Then and only then, the debate will go on about which team was the all time greatest in history. the 1980 Seattle Seahawks or the 1971 Cleveland Browns. San Francisco(4-11), Arizona(4-11) and Los Angeles(2-13) can always look back and tell their grand kids that they were in the same division.
North
Green Bay(12-3) will most likely be resting much of their first team as they cannot improve their playoff spot any further. Detroit(8-7) battled the Packers tough and hung in there early in the season, but lost 3 out of their last 4 games to bow out of contention. Chicago(6-9) and Minnesota(5-10) have been hanging out in the cellar together getting drunk and pondering what could have been.
South
Tampa Bay's(14-1) only blemish on the season was a 28-24 loss to Seattle. The Bucs have a 1st round bye and will they have anything for the Seahawks should they meet? Carolina(12-3) is finishing the season quietly strong. New Orleans(10-5) is also in the playoffs as a wild cards like the Panthers. But they seem to be missing one or two parts to get them over the hump. Atlanta(6-9) almost took down the powerhouse Bucs last week as they show they will be a team to be reckoned with in 81'
Games to Watch: Week 16Denver @ Philadelphia -
Monday Night Football
