I don't think it was pure coincidence that Leeds, Reading & Wed all dropped points the day after the Albion tore Derby a new one.
I think, on a level, they all automatically looked down the league instead of up and that, however minimally, effected their game.
I don't even want to think of the obvious narrative that would hang in the air like the stench of a rotten season, if the Albion played Fulham in the play-offs.