Think about you’re collaborating in an annual contest at your office to find out the finalists for a coveted prize. All people desires this prize. Folks have cheated, backstabbed, and performed soiled up to now as a way to win this prize. It’s that nice. Because the time interval for figuring out who the finalists will probably be closes in, you discover a loophole within the competitors’s rulebook that might enable you in addition to one other coworker to each be finalists.
Would you pull the soiled trick as a way to get a shot on the prize? It’s an ethical dilemma that even Aristotle could be pressured to ponder over. Properly, guess what? If the Colts lose to the Jaguars this Sunday, the Raiders and Chargers will discover themselves on this precise situation.
Mainly, if the Colts lose, the winner of Chargers-Raiders is within the playoffs. Nonetheless, if each groups tie…then each the Chargers and Raiders get into the playoffs. Moreover, the Colts play at 1 pm ET. The Raiders and Chargers play at 8:20 pm ET. Primarily, each groups would know whether or not or not this example would come up hours earlier than they play. That’d give each groups loads of time to debate the main points, forge out a plan, and pinky swear that they’ll every kneel the ball on each single play for 70 minutes.
Now, I do know what you’re considering. “There’s no approach the NFL would enable this to occur, proper?”
I imply, positive, they might positive each groups for damaging the integrity of the game, however what are they going to do in the midst of the sport? Name up Buffalo Wild Wings and get a sprinkler to nudge the ball slowly down the sphere into the endzone? Zero probability. That’s not taking place.
“OK, however absolutely the gamers concerned wouldn’t need to be concerned with one thing as ‘bush league’ as this.”
Actually? The NFL has a system in place that offers gamers $19,000 for dropping a playoff recreation. In the event that they win, their bonuses go approach up. There are incentives in place for gamers to need to attain the playoffs, and it additionally comes with the chance to play for a Tremendous Bowl. Would you actually be keen to offer that bonus cash and championship alternative up for the integrity of a single common season recreation?
Even when the NFL fines each participant, the present positive for unsportsmanlike conduct is simply $12,875 for first-time offenders and $18,025 for second-time offenders — each decrease than the bonuses the gamers would obtain for making the playoffs.
“Alright. Properly, the Chargers and Raiders are division rivals. They most likely don’t need to see the opposite make the playoffs in any respect.”
Are they although? I’d argue that the connection between the Raiders and Chargers is certainly one of mutual respect, somewhat than disdain. Should you Google “Raiders’ greatest rivals” proper now. It’s just about agreed that the workforce’s greatest rival is both Denver or Kansas Metropolis, adopted in a distant third by the Chargers. There are even some who consider the Steelers, Patriots, and 49ers to be greater rivals to the Raiders than the Chargers are.
Now, the Chargers are a distinct story. The Raiders are clearly their greatest rival, nevertheless it’s not some large rivalry that shapes the NFL panorama. If something, the Chargers ought to see a little bit of themselves within the Raiders — a workforce that has struggled to remain related lately and was pressured to go away their hometown for an even bigger market, and hasn’t actually lived as much as the hype. They’ve some frequent floor to come back collectively on, and reaching the playoffs must be a aim that each groups can agree upon, even when it means the Raiders need to play the Chiefs within the Wild Card Spherical.
“OK, however there’s no approach the Colts lose to the Jaguars, so that is all only a pipe dream.”
Properly, I’d hate to interrupt it to you, however the Colts haven’t received a recreation in Jacksonville since 2014. The Jags have the Colts’ quantity once they play in Florida. Sure, the circumstances are totally different this time round. The Colts are in a “win-and-in” scenario. They could drop a 50-bomb on the Jaguars simply to ensure they stroll away with the dub. Nonetheless, Jacksonville gave Indy a run for his or her cash of their first assembly of the 12 months and the Jaguars have the historical past. There’s cause for the Jaguars to really feel assured of their capability to win, however perhaps they don’t need to win as a way to safe the primary general decide. That’s an choice too.
What makes this example even crazier is that the Chargers and Raiders play in primetime, on Sunday Evening Soccer. They play the ultimate common season recreation of the season. It’s probably that hundreds of thousands of individuals will probably be watching. So, simply think about how superior it might be to see each groups give an enormous center finger to the whole world as they waltz into the playoffs hand-in-hand. It most certainly received’t occur. The gamers have an excessive amount of “self-respect” and “dignity” to be concerned in one thing as infantile as this, however man, it might be fairly the speaking level because the NFL playoffs rolled alongside.
