NFL PLAYOFF PICTURE GOING INTO THE FINAL SUNDAY

EVERY WEEK 17 CLINCHING SCENARIO

With few things decided entering Week 17 of the 2018 season, I look at every NFL Playoffs clinching scenario from each conference.

Entering NFL Week 17, there are few things that are totally decided regarding the 2019 NFL Playoffs and the seeding for the postseason in both the AFC and NFC. In the former, eight teams remain alive and there is literally no seed that is set on that side of the bracket. For the NFC, seven teams remain alive, but only two seeds are certain.

The two teams that definitively know their fate heading into Week 17 in regards to the 2019 NFL Playoffs are the New Orleans Saints and the Dallas Cowboys. The former is going to be the top seed in the NFC as they’ve already clinched that spot. Meanwhile, while the Cowboys are the NFC East winners, they are locked into the four-seed as there’s no way they can catch the Chicago Bears in front of them.

Having said that, there are teams that aren’t just playing for seeding, but are playing for their lives as a whole. For good measure, let’s look at the standings for teams still alive for the 2019 NFL Playoffs entering Week 17 (teams marked with an “x” have clinched at least a berth):

AFC

1. Kansas City Chiefs (11-4) x
2. New England Patriots (10-5) x
3. Houston Texans (10-5) x
4. Baltimore Ravens (9-6)
5. Los Angeles Chargers (11-4) x
6. Indianapolis Colts (9-6)
7. Tennessee Titans (9-6)
8. Pittsburgh Steelers (8-6-1)

NFC

1. New Orleans Saints (13-2) x
2. Los Angeles Rams (12-3) x
3. Chicago Bears (11-4) x
4. Dallas Cowboys (9-6) x
5. Seattle Seahawks (9-6) x
6. Minnesota Vikings (8-6-1)
7. Philadelphia Eagles (8-7)

So that’s where we stand heading into a Week 17 slate that is obviously loaded with playoff implications. To try and make sense of what could be a wild week, though; we’ll look at every playoff scenario that’s at play for NFL Week 17 in each conference.

I START WITH THE AFC.

PITTSBURGH STEELERS

Things are far from settled in the AFC, and that starts with the Steelers. They could be the No. 4 or 6 seed in the 2019 NFL Playoffs in the conference. If Pittsburgh wins or ties against the Bengals and the Baltimore Ravens lose to the Cleveland Browns, the Steelers win the AFC North and are the fourth seed. For the six-seed, things are far less likely as Pittsburgh would need to win, the Ravens would need to win and the Sunday Night Football matchup between the Colts and Titans would need to end in a tie.

TENNESSEE TITANS

Variance is the name of the game for the Titans in NFL Week 17. If they beat the Colts, Houston loses to Jacksonville, New England loses to the Jets and the Ravens loss or tie against the Browns, Tennessee could shockingly be the No. 2 seed. They could also be the three seed if they win, the Texans lose, the Ravens lose and the Steelers win.

In terms of more likely scenarios, the Titans will be the No. 4 seed if they win, Houston loses and Baltimore picks up the win. And even likelier, the Titans are the sixth seed in the AFC if they win and Houston wins.

INDIANAPOLIS COLTS

There are numerous scenarios for the Colts here, just like with the Titans. If Indy wins, Houston loses, Baltimore loses and Pittsburgh wins, the Colts would be the No. 3 seed. If the Colts win, Houston loses and Baltimore wins, Indianapolis would then be the fourth seed. Moreover, if Indianapolis wins and the Texans win, the Colts would then be the No. 6 seed.

LOS ANGELES CHARGERS

The Chargers are going to be in the playoffs, but their seeding could change dramatically. If LA wins against the Broncos and the Kansas City Chiefs lose (or tie) to the Oakland Raiders, the Bolts are the No. 1 seed in the AFC for the NFL Playoffs. That also happens if LA ties and the Chiefs outright lose. Meanwhile, if both the Chargers and Chiefs win (or if the Chargers lose and Chiefs tie), LA is the No. 5 seed.

BALTIMORE RAVENS

We’re just diving into the wildness at the top of the AFC. If the Ravens win, New England loses, Houston loses and there is no tie on Sunday night, Baltimore can be the No. 2 seed. This can also happen if Baltimore wins, Pats lose, Texans lose and other outcomes alter the strength of victory for a tiebreaker over the aforementioned Texans.

Meanwhile, if the Ravens win, Pats win, Houston loses and there’s no Colts-Titans tie, Baltimore could be the third seed. This also happens if Houston loses and Baltimore wins along with the aforementioned tiebreaker scenario. What’s more, if the Ravens win, Texans win and Patriots los, the Ravens could also be the No. 3 seed.

Furthermore, if Baltimore wins but so do the Texans and Pats, the Ravens are the fourth-seed, which also happens if Baltimore loses and the Steelers lose, or if both teams tie. Lastly, in the world of not-going-to-happen, if the Steelers win the Ravens tie and the Colts and Titans also tie, Baltimore would sneak in as the No. 6 seed.

HOUSTON TEXANS

Our first team that has clinched a spot in the NFL Playoffs. They can be the top seed in the AFC if they win, the Chiefs and Patriots lose and if the strength of victory tiebreaker winds up favoring Houston over Kansas City. Meanwhile, Houston can be the two-seed in a number of ways. If they win and the Pats lose (or tied), the Texans are No. 2. Houston winning, KC and LA losing and the aforementioned tiebreaker also work. So too does the Texans tying and Pats losing. And finally, Houston losing, Titans-Colts being a tie, Patriots losing, Ravens winning and the tiebreaker over Baltimore gets the Texans the No. 2 seed.

Perhaps the simplest thing for Houston is the shot at the third seed, which requires just a win against the Jaguars if everyone else wins. However, it can also happen if they lose to the Jags as the Colts and Titans tie. And lastly, Houston can be the final Wild Card team if they lose and Colts vs. Titans has an actual winner and loser.

NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS

Things are slightly simpler at the top. The Patriots can win the No. 1 seed in the AFC if they win while the Chargers and Chiefs lose. Meanwhile, New England can be the No. 2 seed if they just win against the Jets, but can also clinch if they tie New York while the Texans lose or if they lose to the Jets, the Ravens and Titans loss or tie and the Texans lose.

Meanwhile, if the Patriots lose and the Ravens, Texans or Titans wins, New England is the third seed in these NFL Playoffs out of the AFC. Similarly, if the Pats lose and two of those previously mentioned three teams win, then New England could drop to the No. 4 seed.

KANSAS CITY CHIEFS

For the Chiefs, they can be the No. 1 seed if they do something simple. If they beat the lowly Raiders, they’re in as the top seed. However, they’ll be the one-seed also if they tie while the Chargers loss or tie. This can also happen if the Chargers lose while the Pats and Texans loss or tie. As for the No. 2 seed, the Chiefs losing, Chargers losing and Pats losing or tying would land them there. So too would the Chargers losing and Texans losing or tying, as would Los Angele s losing and the strength of victory tiebreaker favoring them over Houston.

To wrap it up, the Chiefs can be the No. 3 seed if they lose and the Chargers lose, which would be a precipitous drop from grace. This also happens if both teams tie as well. Meanwhile, if the Chiefs lose and the Chargers win, it’s the No. 5 seed for Kansas City.

NFC PLAYOFF CLINCHING SCENARIOS

PHILADELPHIA EAGLES

We start with the bottom of the standings and, if the season ended today, the 8-7 Eagles would be out as the seventh-seed. However, they can play their way in with the right Week 17 breaks. Put simply, if Philadelphia beats the Washington Redskins and the Chicago Bears beat the Minnesota Vikings; the Eagles will get in as the No. 6 seed in the NFC.

MINNESOTA VIKINGS

Obviously the Vikings need to win to make the playoffs and, if they do get in, they’re a Wild Card team. However, their seeding is still not totally set. If Minnesota wins and the Seattle Seahawks lose to the Arizona Cardinals, the Vikes would be the No. 5 seed. Even still, if the Vikings win (or even just tie) Chicago, then Minnesota clinches the playoff berth as the sixth seed. This also happens if Philly loses or ties against Washington, regardless of the outcome of their own game.

SEATTLE SEAHAWKS

The only difference between the Vikings and Seahawks is that Seattle has clinched a playoff berth at this point. What we don’t know is their seed. For Seattle, the simplest scenario is, if they get the win (or tie) over the Cardinals, they are the fifth seed, which can also happen with a loss, a Vikings loss and Eagles win. They will be the No. 6 seed if they lose to Arizona and Minnesota wins.

DALLAS COWBOYS

Nothing to see here. The Dallas Cowboys have clinched the fourth seed in the NFC for the NFL Playoffs as they have the NFC East but can’t catch any other division winners.

CHICAGO BEARS

Entering NFL Week 17, the Bears have the NFC North locked up, but their seed is not yet set. If the Los Angeles Rams win (or tie) against the San Francisco 49ers, then it’s set that Chicago is the No. 3 seed. However, if the Bears win against Minnesota and the Rams lose to San Fran, then Matt Nagy’s team gets the two-seed and a first-round bye.

LOS ANGELES RAMS

As stated when talking about the Bears, the Rams scenario is the converse of that. If they win or tie against the 49ers, they are the No. 2 seed, which also happens if the Bears loss or tie. Meanwhile, a Chicago win and Rams loss would put LA as the third seed in the NFC.

NEW ORLEANS SAINTS

We end the NFC with no drama at all. The Saints have clinched the top seed in the conference for the 2019 NFL Playoffs and nothing that happens in Week 17 will change that.