NFL Playoff Scenarios Entering Week 17

Can you believe it? We’re finally at Week 17 in this NFL betting season. How amazing is that? It only seems like yesterday that the New Orleans Saints were waltzing their way to a Super Bowl trophy.

Okay, it was harder for the Saints than simply waltzing. Even with the Saints and Falcons both in, there’s a lot up for grabs for a couple of preseason NFC Super Bowl faves: the New York Giants and Green Bay Packers.

In the AFC, things are much simpler. The team that will not make the playoffs but got all of the hub-bub during the off-season is the San Diego Chargers. All of the other pre-season favorites are in.

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Let’s get to some NFL Playoff Scenarios!

NFC

Atlanta Falcons – playoff spot
New Orleans Saints – playoff spot
Chicago Bears – NFC North Champions
Philadelphia Eagles – NFC East Champions

Atlanta gets homefield advantage if they beat Carolina this Sunday. New Orleans gets homefield advantage if they beat Tampa Bay this Sunday and Atlanta loses to Carolina.

The Chicago Bears no matter what happens on Sunday, have secured the #2 seed in the NFC Playoffs because the Philadelphia Eagles lost to the Minnesota Vikings on Tuesday night.

If the St. Louis Rams beat Seattle on Sunday, then, yes, they will make the playoffs. No…that is not a typo. Seattle makes it by beating the Rams on Sunday.

If Green Bay beats Chicago, then they’re in. If they lose to Chicago and the New York Giants and Tampa Bay Bucs both lose, then they still get in.

The New York Giants are in if the Green Bay Packers lose. Tampa Bay can still get in, but they’ll need both the Giants to lose and the Packers to lose and they will need to beat the Saints on Sunday.

There are some scenarios regarding ties, but…yeah, let’s not get into those! Ties rarely happen in Week 17 or any other week, or even season for that matter.

AFC

New England Patriots – AFC East Champions/homefield advantage
Pittsburgh Steelers – playoff spot
Baltimore Ravens – playoff spot
New York Jets – playoff spot
Kansas City Chiefs – AFC West Champions

Pittsburgh clinches the AFC North Division and a first-round bye with a victory over Cleveland. Baltimore clinches the AFC North Division and a first-round bye with a victory over Cincinnati and a Pittsburgh loss.

Indianapolis clinches the AFC South if they beat the Tennessee Titans. If Tennessee beats Indianapolis, then the Colts can still win the AFC South if the Jacksonville Jaguars lose to the Houston Texans. Jacksonville gets in with a victory over the Texans and a Colts loss.

The New York Jets have clinched a playoff spot but cannot secure a first-round bye because the Patriots ran roughshod over the AFC East Division.

The Kansas City Chiefs have clinched the AFC West but cannot secure a first-round bye because they won’t be able to leapfrog either the Steelers or Ravens even if they beat Oakland on Sunday and both of those teams lose.

Okay, so now that we know the scenarios let’s get to some predictions:

Atlanta and Green Bay win. The Philadelphia Eagles lost on Tuesday night versus the Vikings. So, Chicago gets the 2-seed. St. Louis beats Seattle. The seeds in the NFC Playoffs will be:

1. Atlanta Falcons – BYE
2. Chicago Bears – BYE
3. Philadelphia Eagles.
4. St. Louis Rams
5. New Orleans Saints
6. Green Bay Packers

In the AFC, Cleveland upsets Pittsburgh, Baltimore beats the horrible Cincinnati Bengals and the Colts beat Tennessee. Indy also gets the third seed because the Chiefs rest QB Matt Cassel and lose to Oakland. So, in the AFC Playoffs the seeds will be:

1. New England Patriots – BYE
2. Baltimore Ravens – BYE
3. Indianapolis Colts
4. Kansas City Chiefs
5. New York Jets
6. Pittsburgh Steelers

Now, let’s see what actually happens!