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Previous article FreeBack CoverPDFPDF PLUSFull Text Add to favoritesDownload CitationTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints Share onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditEmailQR Code SectionsMoreOr: The Game within the GameThe final week of the NFL’s first 17-game regular season includes a set of circumstances that could descend the sport into the absurd. The Indianapolis Colts and the Jacksonville Jaguars play on Sunday afternoon. The Las Vegas Raiders and the Los Angeles Chargers play on Sunday night. Either the Raiders or Chargers would make the playoffs by winning. But if the Jaguars beat the Colts, both the Chargers and Raiders would advance in the event of a tie. It raises the outlandish possibility that both teams could spend the game kneeling, punting or spiking the football with designs of a 0–0 tie. To football fans, it’s a ridiculous scenario in which two teams could make a behind the scenes deal to secure a tie and playoff spot. To economists, it’s a game theory problem known as a prisoner’s dilemma. “It’s really, really hard to sustain this collusion,” said Benjamin Polak, an economics professor at Yale. “There’s an incentive to defect from that agreement and try and win at the last minute.”(Suggested by Allen Sanderson) Previous article DetailsFiguresReferencesCited by Journal of Political Economy Volume 130, Number 7July 2022 Article DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1086/721277 Views: 394Total views on this site © 2022 The University of Chicago. All rights reserved.PDF download Crossref reports no articles citing this article.