Here is the mythical 20-team tournament comprised of the NFL's non-playoff teams.

With 20 teams, there are four opening round or play-in games to establish a 16-team bracket.

The seeds and tiebreakers are based on how they're listed on NFL.com under the final standings.

The better seeded team would host the game.

Play-in games

20. St. Louis (1-15)
19. Detroit (2-14)

18. Tampa Bay (3-13)
17. Washington (4-12)

16. Kansas City (4-12)
15. Seattle (5-11)

14. Oakland (5-11)
13. Cleveland (5-11)


16-team bracket


1. Atlanta (9-7)
St. Louis/Detroit winner

8. Tennessee (8-8)
9. Chicago (7-9)

4. Carolina (8-8)
Oakland/Cleveland winner

5. Denver (8-8)
12. Buffalo (6-10)

6. N.Y. Giants (8-8)
11. Miami (7-9)

3. Pittsburgh (9-7)
Kansas City/Seattle

7. San Francisco (8-8)
10. Jacksonville (7-9)

2. Houston (9-7)
Tampa Bay/Washington


and here are the results....

Play-in games

St. Louis at Detroit - Rams win 20-17
...Rams only won one game and it was at Detroit with Steven Jackson being the difference. He is once again.

Tampa Bay at Washington - Bucs win 19-14
...Bucs definitely showed more fight towards the end of the season, picking up the big win over the Saints.

Kansas City at Seattle - Chiefs win 31-27
...Not sure I like KC making the trip to the northwest but they won at Denver and Jamaal Charles had it going.

Oakland at Cleveland - Browns win 26-16
...They just played and the Browns proved their superiority. Raiders will compete hard but won't finish drives for touchdowns.


16-team bracket

St. Louis at Atlanta - Falcons win 27-13
...I don't know if Atlanta is really the best team not in the playoffs but they did win their last three once Matt Ryan returned to the lineup.

Chicago at Tennessee - Titans win 40-29
...A lot of fireworks in this game but ultimately too much Chris Johnson.

Cleveland at Carolina - Panthers win 24-23
...Tough call. Cleveland finished the season hot but so did the Panthers. A bit unfortunate these teams would meet here.

Buffalo at Denver - Broncos win 20-16
...Broncos couldn't beat too many right now, but probably Buffalo.

Miami at N.Y. Giants - Dolphins win 31-30
...Giants stunk at the end besides the freebie against Washington. They really couldn't stop anyone decent.

Kansas City at Pittsburgh - Steelers win 27-17
...Not this time. Steelers move on.

San Francisco at Jacksonville - Jaguars win 23-22
...Niners were only 1-7 on the road.

Tampa Bay at Houston - Texans win 34-16
...Bucs won't be able to keep up.


Elite 8

Tennesee at Atlanta - Titans win 27-24 (OT)
...Atlanta won its last three but those wins came against the Jets when the Jets killed themselves and then Buffalo and Tampa Bay, not real impressive. The Titans were on a good roll, only losing to the AFC's elite in Indianapolis and San Diego. Titans prevail in a close one.

Denver at Carolina - Panthers win 27-19
...Panthers looked like a smashmouth team towards the end. They'll handle the fading Broncos.

Miami at Pittsburgh - Steelers win 24-20
...Steelers would probably hope Tyler Thigpen doesn't start, but they still emerge in a close game.

Jacksonville at Houston - Texans win 23-20
...Jags won both meetings in the regular season but the Texans looked stronger at the finish.


Final Four

Tennessee at Carolina - Panthers win 16-13
...Panthers with a little more balance.

Pittsburgh at Houston - Texans win 34-30
...Steelers lead 30-20 midway through the fourth then Schaub goes to work and leads a comeback. They get the matchup they want with Andre Johnson on any of the Steelers cornerbacks.


NIT Championship

Carolina at Houston - Texans win 28-23
...Texans are still a little shaky protecting the edge which could spell trouble against Peppers but I'm also not sure how many Matt Moore can win in a row.

Brownies would run wild.

Why would 20 play 19, instead of 20 playing 13? Seems funny to give horrible teams home field or an easier opponent than more deserving teams.

Sykotyk

I did it that way to ensure that No. 1, 2, 3, 4 would play the lowest seeded team in the following round.

If 20 plays 13 and 13 wins then 13 would play 1.

And then 19 beats 14 and then 19 plays 2.

2 would have an easier second round opponent than 1.

20 teams???? I'd just got with the top 6 teams from each conference that didn't make it.

I guess you could just re-seed after the play-in round

13. Cleveland beats 20. St. Louis
14. Oakland beats 19. Detroit
18. Tampa Bay beats 15. Seattle
16. Kansas City beats 17. Washington

then

Atlanta beats Tampa
Tennessee beats Chicago
Carolina beats Cleveland
Denver beats Buffalo

Miami beats N.Y. Giants
Pittsburgh beats Oakland
Jacksonville beats San Francisco
Houston beats Kansas City

that would put me on the same path as before

Non wrote: I did it that way to ensure that No. 1, 2, 3, 4 would play the lowest seeded team in the following round.

If 20 plays 13 and 13 wins then 13 would play 1.

And then 19 beats 14 and then 19 plays 2.

2 would have an easier second round opponent than 1.

Then you play 20vs13, 19vs14, etc and then the lowest seed gets the 1 seed and so forth.

Cleveland wouldn't be able to stop Stewart from Carolina, so that's a good call, IMO, and Carolina's defense is top 10 in the league.

Very nice job. I like this.

I agree with you that the Texans would win this I don't care about the rest .

I was bored and did the total number of points in every loss and added for the total and the results were very dissappointing.

To me Pittsburgh and Houston are the best non-makers.