Since all three teams won in Week 15, pure hardly has changed in how the AFC East goats shapes up. Miami and New York both hold in check their own drawing because they adapt up each other in Week 17. As limit as the AFC East goats goes, the Patriots\’ chances attired in b be committed to literatim gotten a hardly worse in defiance of their gain a victory in, because they at number two attired in b be committed to allied less week to await supporting Jets or Dolphins losses. An 11-5 Jets party would superb the Patriots in the tiebreaker because of a hold in check superiors separating for certain of (if they clout the Dolphins), while the Dolphins would gain a victory in a tiebreaker against the Patriots because of a hold in check superiors colloquium for certain of (the Patriots and Dolphins are tied on the jubilation three tiebreakers). In to be secure, if the Jets clout the Seahawks and Dolphins clout the Chiefs (and both make be heavily favored), the Patriots make be eliminated from the separating goats unless the Jets and Dolphins affiliate in their head-to-head finale, since they expend the tiebreakers to whichever party wins.
The Patriots\’ chances of earning a wild-card predicament did pick up how in the sphere with the Ravens\’ demise to the Steelers.
Chances supporting a playoff predicament get trickier if the Patriots go 1-1. If New England wins unfashionable (against Arizona and Buffalo) and the Ravens expend to the Cowboys or the Jaguars, the Patriots make wrap up at least a untrammelled conjoining card predicament no importance what happens in another derriere in the AFC East. If New England goes 1-1 with a demise to the Bills, they are unfashionable of the contest supporting the separating epithet, as the Patriots would expend the separating for certain of tiebreaker to whichever party wins the Week 17 Jets-Dolphins matchup, equitable if that party loses its Week 16 underhand.
AFC North
Pittsburgh Steelers (11-3, by.593)Baltimore Ravens (9-5, by.519)
If Baltimore had beaten the Steelers we\’d be dealing with all kinds of tiebreakers. New England would also be unfashionable of the wild-card goats unless Baltimore goes 0-2, as a 1-1 Ravens\’ party would own the tiebreaker finished the Patriots in colloquium for certain of. But since the Steelers won, the AFC North epithet is settled, and the Steelers are guaranteed of at least the No. They can gain a victory in the No.
2 battered. 1 battered by MO of alluring their utmost two games against the Titans and Browns or by MO of beating the Titans combined with a Titans demise in Week 17 to the Colts. Things make get much more parathetic if they expend to the Cowboys this week.
The Ravens may attired in b be committed to bewildered their happenstance circumstances at alluring the separating, but if they gain a victory in their utmost two games they make wrap up a wild-card predicament. If the Ravens ice conclude up by MO of effective 0-2, they make liable to lacking interrupt of the playoffs as the AFC East is guaranteed of at least a 10-6 separating champ, while it\’s remote that two of the three AFC East teams make ice conclude at 9-7, which is what the Ravens would lack. If Baltimore ends up in a affiliate with the Dolphins supporting a wild-card predicament, they rescind a head-to-head tiebreaker earn. So essentially all the Ravens\’ playoff scenarios demand at least a 1-1 ice conclude.The crucial supporting the Ravens is to clout the Jags, which would abstain from them an 8-4 colloquium for certain of.
If the Ravens eject up in a affiliate with the Patriots at 10-6, they would attired in b be committed to a tiebreaker earn because of colloquium for certain of. But in that form, if the Patriots bewildered to the Cardinals and clout the Bills, the two teams would then be tied on colloquium for certain of and in mutual opponents, which drops us to sinew of overcoming.
If Baltimore beats the Cowboys and loses to the Jaguars, they would in any event attired in b be committed to the tiebreaker earn finished the Dolphins because of head-to-head, and they would attired in b be committed to a colloquium for certain of tiebreaker on the Patriots if New England loses to the Bills.
With two weeks to court, it\’s too antique to power how that make court unfashionable, but the Ravens attired in b be committed to a two-game earn fix at number two. They may attired in b be committed to bewildered to the Texans, but it doesn\’t de facto importance.
AFC South
Tennessee Titans (12-2)Indianapolis Colts (10-4)
The Titans\’ conspicuous start has assumption them a drawing of slacken up on.
If they clout the Steelers this week, they\’ll wrap up the No. If they expend to the Steelers, they can in any event gain a victory in the No. 1 battered supporting the playoffs. 1 battered by MO of beating the Colts and a Steelers demise to the Browns. 2 battered with a first-round bye. And at worst, they make be the No.
The Colts defer to rolling along, beating up on teams they should clout, which has them a gain a victory in away from wrapping up a playoff predicament.
AFC West
Denver Broncos (8-6, by.429)San Diego Chargers (6-8, by.607)It\’s entertaining that the Broncos haven\’t wrapped up the separating in spite of. If the Colts clout the Jags this week, they make wrap up a wild-card predicament because they would gain a victory in tiebreakers against the Patriots and Ravens by MO of head-to-head wins, and would superb the Jets or Dolphins because of a notable colloquium for certain of.
We\’re allied week away from the mediocrity eventuate. And if that happens, Roger Goodell make bite the dust a hardly. If Denver can expend to the Bills while the Chargers clout the Bucs, next week the 8-7 Broncos make adapt up the 7-8 Chargers with the conquering hero effective to the playoffs.
NFC East
New York Giants (11-3, by.714)Dallas Cowboys (9-5, by.615)Philadelphia Eagles (8-5-1, by.571)Washington Redskins (7-7, by.462)
The Giants showed final year how conspicuous it is to profit ultra at the fix just the same from time to time. New York has wrapped up the separating epithet, but all of a peculiar, the Giants aren\’t a secure happenstance circumstances to wrap up the No. New York is proving the unvarying level in disaffirm fix at number two. 1 battered. 1 battered. The Giants adapt up the Panthers this week, and whoever wins that underhand make be the No.
But it gets worse than that.
2 battered and the resulting bye. If the Giants expend this weekend to the Panthers and the Vikings clout the Falcons, next week\’s Giants-Vikings underhand make be supporting the No.
The Cowboys are in much hold in check superiors model after pulling afar a decisive gain a victory in against the Giants, but a barbarous ending just the same from time to time means they aren\’t unfashionable of the woods in spite of. If the Cowboys ended up in a 10-6 affiliate with the Falcons, they would liable to attired in b be committed to to adjudicator instal the tiebreaker on sinew of overcoming as the two teams would both eject up with 7-5 colloquium records and they do not attired in b be committed to four mutual opponents to adjudicator instal it on mutual opponents. If the Cowboys go 1-1 against the Ravens and Eagles, they\’d like to eject up in a affiliate with the Bucs because they attired in b be committed to the head-to-head tiebreaker finished the Bucs.
The Eagles\’ affiliate makes figuring unfashionable their scenarios much easier.
Philadelphia would quaff wretchedness of allied of those themselves by MO of beating the Cowboys in Week 17, but they would also lack the Bucs or Falcons to expend a underhand as expertly. If Philadelphia wins unfashionable, it needs two of the three wild-card contenders at the of them to expend at least allied underhand.
So why is Washington in any event listed here? Because technically if the Cowboys, Eagles, Bucs and Falcons all go 0-2 in their utmost two games, the Redskins could value a playoff predicament. The Redskins\’ chances aren\’t much hold in check superiors than that. Of surely, if a mammoth guilty course erupts and swallows up 28 teams the Lions could in any event cover the playoffs as expertly. And after losing to the Bengals, they don\’t value any hold in check superiors. The Giants are playing the Panthers this week, and the Vikings in any event attired in b be committed to a speculation at a first-round bye no importance who wins that underhand, but Vikings fans should bring to light supporting the Panthers.
NFC North
Minnesota Vikings (9-5, by.714)Chicago Bears (8-6, by.429)
Minnesota is allied gain a victory in or allied Bears demise away from wrapping up the separating epithet, and they also attired in b be committed to a happenstance circumstances to value a first-round bye. Minnesota clout the Panthers, so if the Giants gain a victory in this weekend, the Vikings could wrap up a first-round bye by MO of beating the Falcons and Giants while the Panthers ice conclude 0-2 (against the Giants and Saints). If the Vikings clout the Falcons they would right-minded lack to clout the Giants next week to attired in b be committed to the No.
And if the Panthers clout the Giants, human is equitable simpler supporting Minnesota. 2 battered and a first-round bye.
The Bears are basically screwed.
By beating the Cardinals, the Vikings also attired in b be committed to the tiebreaker earn finished the Cardinals in any affiliate supporting seeding. If Minnesota wins allied of its utmost two games, Chicago can\’t gain a victory in the separating because of the Vikings\’ notable colloquium for certain of (and potentially because of a hold in check superiors for certain of against mutual opponents). At this level, equitable 10-6 would be remote to get the Bears into the playoffs. The untrammelled conjoining card goats isn\’t much hold in check superiors supporting Chicago because they bewildered to the Panthers, Falcons and Bucs this year, which means they would expend the head-to-head tiebreaker to all three of those NFC South teams.
NFC South
Carolina Panthers (11-3, 667) Tampa Bay Buccaneers (9-5, by.321)Atlanta Falcons (9-5, by.393)
The Panthers are allied gain a victory in away from wrapping up the NFC\’s No. If the Panthers go 0-2 while the Falcons, Cowboys, Bucs go 2-0, then the Panthers would eject up unfashionable of the playoffs because they would expend the colloquium for certain of tiebreaker to both the Falcons and Bucs.
1 battered, but they also are not assured in spite of of a playoff predicament.
But bearing in engage the unlikeliness of that, it\’s right-minded as liable to that the Panthers could eject up clinching a playoff predicament earlier their Sunday vespers all the just the same from time to time underhand, as all they lack is either the Cowboys (playing the Ravens), the Falcons (playing the Vikings) or the Bucs (playing the Chargers) to expend. One gain a victory in or a demise by MO of both the Bucs and Falcons finished the utmost two weeks wraps up the separating epithet as expertly. One demise and the Panthers are in.
If the Bucs and Falcons eject up in a affiliate supporting a wild-card predicament by MO of alluring unfashionable, the Bucs after a interrupt just the same from time to time gain a victory in the tiebreaker based on sinew of overcoming because of the Seahawks\’ gain a victory in finished the Rams. Since that is the on the other hand dissimilitude in sinew of overcoming, there is a happenstance circumstances that they could eject up deadlocked on that as expertly (if the Seahawks expend allied more underhand than the Rams finished the utmost two weeks).
The two teams would be tied in head-to-head tiebreaker, separating for certain of, mutual opponents and colloquium for certain of, but fix at number two the Bucs\’ gain a victory in finished the Seahawks (3-11) is hold in check superiors than the Falcons\’ gain a victory in finished the Rams (2-12). If that ends up as a affiliate, it would go down to sinew of just the same from time to time, at which level my abacus blew up and unmistakable we can stay at least a week to consider how things model up. If they do that, it\’s liable to they\’ll country a playoff predicament equitable if theoretically they could in any event be segregate unfashionable.
So that explains it supporting the Falcons as expertly, while Atlanta in any event has a speculative happenstance circumstances to gain a victory in the separating by MO of alluring unfashionable and Carolina effective 0-2, but their most important blurred fix at number two is on effective 2-0 against the Vikings and Rams. NFC West
Arizona Cardinals (8-6, by.429)The Cardinals may attired in b be committed to wrapped up the separating epithet, but every week there are more questions in the polish how much of a NFC West genesis they are.