Playoff Scenarios

  Updated 12/23 by Clayton Gray, Exclusive to Footballguys.com

Below you will find the teams involved in the playoff race. Each team is listed based on their current conference ranking (remember that the top six teams in each conference qualify for the playoffs). We also offer each team's record and run down the scenarios that could unfold based on the Week 17 action.

If you simply want to know which games mean something toward the playoffs, then skip to the bottom of this page.

AFC Playoffs

1. Tennessee Titans (13-2)
• Already clinched the AFC South and a first-round bye and the No. 1 seed with homefield throughout the AFC playoffs
2. Pittsburgh Steelers (11-4)
• Already clinched the AFC North and a first-round bye and is locked into the No. 2 seed in the AFC
3. Miami Dolphins (10-5)
• Will clinch the AFC East and the No. 3 seed with a win
• Will clinch a wild-card and the No. 6 seed with
  • A loss and a New England loss and a Baltimore loss
4. Denver Broncos (8-7)
• Will clinch the AFC West and the No. 4 seed with a win
5. Indianapolis Colts (11-4)
   • Already clinched a wildcard and is locked into the No. 5 seed
6. Baltimore Ravens (10-5)
• Will clinch a wildcard and the No. 6 seed with
  • A win OR
  • A New England loss and a NY Jet loss OR
7. New England Patriots (10-5)
• Will clinch the AFC East and the No. 3 seed with
  • A win and a Miami loss
• Will clinch a wildcard and the No. 6 seed with
• A win and a Miami win and a Baltimore loss
8. New York Jets (9-6)
• Will clinch the AFC East and the No. 3 seed with
  • A win and a New England loss
• Will clinch a wildcard and the No. 6 seed with
  • A win and a New England win and a Baltimore loss
9. San Diego Chargers (7-8)
• Will clinch the AFC West and the No. 4 seed with a win

NFC Playoffs

1. New York Giants (12-3)
• Already clinched the NFC East and a first-round bye and the No. 1 seed with homefield throughout the NFC playoffs
2. Carolina Panthers (11-4)
• Already clinched a wildcard
• Will clinch the NFC South and the No. 2 seed with
  • A win OR
  • A loss and an Atlanta loss
• Will be a wildcard and the No. 5 seed with a loss and an Atlanta win
3. Minnesota Vikings (9-6)
   • Will clinch the NFC North and the No. 3 seed with
   • A win OR
   • A Chicago loss in Week 17
4. Arizona Cardinals (8-7)
• Already clinched the NFC West
• Will be the No. 3 seed with
  • A Minnesota loss and a Chicago win
• Will be the No. 4 seed with
  • A Minnesota win OR
  • A Chicago loss in Week 17
5. Atlanta Falcons (10-5)
   • Will clinch the NFC South and the No. 2 seed with
     • A win and a Carolina loss
   • Will be a wildcard and the No. 5 seed with a loss or a Carolina win
6. Dallas Cowboys (9-6)
• Will clinch a wildcard and the No. 6 seed with
  • A win
7. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (9-6)
• Will clinch a wildcard and the No. 6 seed with
  • A win and a Dallas loss
8. Chicago Bears (9-6)
   • Will clinch the NFC North and the No. 4 seed with
     • A win and a Minnesota loss
   • Will clinch a wildcard and the No. 6 seed with
     • A win and a Minnesota win and a Dallas loss and a Tampa Bay loss
9. Philadelphia Eagles (8-6-1)
   • Will clinch a wildcard and the No. 6 seed with
     • A win and a Tampa Bay loss and a Chicago loss

Meaningful Games

The games listed below will help decide the playoff teams and seeding. Teams in italics need to win in order to at least have a chance to either clinch a playoff berth or to advance their seeding.

Sunday 12/28 - 1:00 PM Eastern

• St. Louis at Atlanta
  • An Atlanta win forces Carolina to win in order to take the NFC South
• New England at Buffalo
  • A New England win pressures the Ravens but doesn't guarantee the Patriots a spot in the postseason
• Chicago at Houston
  • A Chicago win forces Minnesota to need a win against the Giants
• NY Giants at Minnesota
  • A win gives Minnesota the NFC North crown regardless of what Chicago does
• Carolina at New Orleans
  • A loss could drop Carolina into a wildcard spot if Atlanta wins against the Rams
• Oakland at Tampa Bay
  • They would still need Dallas to lose, but a Tampa Bay win would give them playoff hopes

Sunday 4:15 PM Eastern

• Miami at NY Jets
  • One of the most meaningful games of the day as the AFC East crown could go to the victor
• Dallas at Philadelphia
  • Dallas is definitely in the playoffs with a win here, while Philadelphia advances with a win, a Chicago loss, and a Tampa Bay loss
• Jacksonville at Baltimore
  • Baltimore is a wildcard team with a win

Sunday - 8:15 PM Eastern

• Denver at San Diego
  • This is what Flex Scheduling is all about as the AFC West is on the line in a loser-leaves-town matchup that caps the NFL regular season and is actually Week 0 of the playoffs