NFL Playoff Scenarios - Week 17

NFL Playoff Scenarios - Week 17

It's the final push for NFL teams as the regular season ends on Sunday, January 3.

All 16 games are division contests. And with one week to go, there are still 14 teams in contention for a trip to Super Bowl 50. Entering Week 17, 11 of the 16 games have playoff implications for at least one of the teams involved.

Here's a look at the playoff picture heading into the final week of the NFL 2015 regular season

AFC Playoff Picture - Week 17

Seed	Team	Division	Record
(Source: NFL) Division Winner ^Playoff berth #First-round bye*
1	New England#	East	12-3-0
3	Denver^	West	11-4-0
2	Cincinnati*	North	11-4-0
4	Houston	South	8-7-0
5	Kansas City^	West	10-5-0
6	N.Y. Jets	East	10-5-0
Still Alive
7	Pittsburgh	North	9-6-0
10	Indianapolis	South	7-8-0
Eliminated
8	Oakland	West	7-8-0
9	Buffalo	East	7-8-0
11	Jacksonville	South	5-10-0
12	Miami	East	5-10-0
13	Baltimore	North	5-10-0
14	San Diego	West	4-11-0
15	Cleveland	North	3-12-0
16	Tennessee	South	3-12-0

NFC Playoff Picture - Week 17

Seed	Team	Division	Record
(Source: NFL) Division Winner ^Playoff berth #First-round bye*
1	Carolina#	South	14-1-0
2	Arizona#	West	13-2-0
3	Green Bay^	North	10-5-0
4	Washington*	East	8-7-0
5	Minnesota	North	10-5-0
6	Seattle^	West	9-6-0
Eliminated
7	Atlanta	South	8-7-0
8	St. Louis	West	7-8-0
9	Detroit	North	6-9-0
10	Tampa Bay	South	6-9-0
11	New Orleans	South	6-9-0
12	Chicago	North	6-9-0
13	Philadelphia	East	6-9-0
14	N.Y. Giants	East	6-9-0
15	San Francisco	West	4-11-0
16	Dallas	East	4-11-0

Here are the official Week 16 playoff clinching scenarios:

2015 NFL Playoff Scenarios For Week 17

AFC

CLINCHED

New England (AFC East and a first-round bye)

Cincinnati (AFC North)

Denver (playoff berth)

Kansas City (playoff berth)

NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS (at Miami)

New England clinches home-field advantage throughout AFC playoffs with:

NE win or tie OR
DEN loss or tie

DENVER BRONCOS (vs. San Diego)

Denver clinches AFC West division with:

DEN win or tie OR
KC loss or tie

Denver clinches a first-round bye with:

DEN win OR
DEN tie + CIN loss or tie OR
KC loss or tie + CIN loss

Denver clinches home-field advantage throughout AFC playoffs:

DEN win + NE loss

CINCINNATI BENGALS (vs. Baltimore)

Cincinnati clinches a first-round bye with:

CIN win + DEN loss or tie OR
CIN tie + DEN loss OR
DEN loss + KC win

KANSAS CITY CHIEFS (vs. Oakland)

Kansas City clinches AFC West division with:

KC win + DEN loss

NEW YORK JETS (at Buffalo)

The New York Jets clinch a playoff spot with:

NYJ win or tie OR
PIT loss or tie

PITTSBURGH STEELERS (at Cleveland)

Pittsburgh clinches a playoff spot with:

PIT win + NYJ loss

HOUSTON TEXANS (vs. Jacksonville)

Houston clinches AFC South division with:

HOU win or tie OR
IND loss or tie OR
HOU clinches strength of victory tiebreaker over IND or clinches strength of schedule tiebreaker over IND

Note: HOU clinches strength of victory tiebreaker over IND if one of the following teams wins or ties: CIN, NE, NO, NYJ, SD

HOU clinches strength of schedule tiebreaker over IND if KC wins or ties and CLE wins or ties as long as both teams don't tie

INDIANAPOLIS COLTS (vs. Tennessee)

Indianapolis clinches AFC South division with:

IND win + HOU loss + IND ties HOU in strength of victory tiebreaker and clinches strength of schedule tiebreaker over HOU

Note: IND ties HOU in strength of victory tiebreaker and clinches strength of schedule tiebreaker over HOU if BOTH of the following occurs:

all of the following teams win: ATL, BAL, BUF, DEN, MIA
OAK win or tie + PIT win or tie as long as both teams don't tie

If Houston and Indianapolis end up tied in strength of victory and tied in strength of schedule, the teams would then go to the next tiebreaker, which is best combined ranking among AFC teams in points scored and points allowed in all games.

NFC

CLINCHED

Carolina (NFC South and a first-round bye)

Arizona (NFC West and a first-round bye)

Washington (NFC East)

Green Bay (playoff berth)

Minnesota (playoff berth)

Seattle (playoff berth)

CAROLINA PANTHERS (vs. Tampa Bay)

Carolina clinches home-field advantage throughout NFC playoffs with: