NFL Playoff Picture Week 15: Full AFC, NFC Outlook and Predictions

There are only three more weeks until we finally get to see which 12 NFL teams get to play more than 16 games this season.

While the NFC playoff hunt looks pretty predictable aside from a crazy NFC East, the AFC scenarios are still very much up in the air. In that conference, six legitimately good teams are trying to fit into only five spots, since the AFC South division winner must occupy one of six playoff openings.

Let's look at some predictions as to how both playoff brackets might end up, with the current records and seedings also notated.

AFC Playoff Predictions

Predicted Seed	Team (Current Seed)	Predicted Record (Current Record)
1	New England Patriots (1)	14-2 (11-2)
2	Denver Broncos (3)	12-4 (10-3)
3	Cincinnati Bengals (2)	12-4 (10-3)
4	Houston Texans (10)	9-7 (6-7)
5	Kansas City Chiefs (5)	11-5 (8-5)
6	Pittsburgh Steelers (7)	11-5 (8-5)

AFC Predicted Seeding Explanation

The AFC playoff hunt sure looks a lot more intriguing now than it did seven weeks ago.

At that point, the New England Patriots, Cincinnati Bengals and Denver Broncos were all 7-0 and running away with their division titles. No other team in the conference was better than 4-3.

With three weeks left in the season, those three are still the heavy favorites to finish with the top seeds in the conference, but a few compelling wild cards (the Kansas City Chiefs, New York Jets and Pittsburgh Steelers) have emerged as dangerous teams with strong second-half play.

New England has a one-game leg up on both Cincinnati and Denver at the moment, with the Broncos owning that tiebreaker. However, New England has two remaining opponents that are eliminated from playoff contention (the Tennessee Titans and Miami Dolphins) along with a road date against the 8-5 New York Jets.

It may not be easy, but I see the Pats building off a bounce-back Week 14 blowout over the Houston Texans to win out and claim the conference's top seed.

David J. Phillip/Associated Press/Associated Press

The division-leading Bengals and Broncos are likely to remain the second and third seeds in some order, and that seeding will very likely be determined by their Week 16 matchup in Denver. The Bengals are now forced to turn to AJ McCarron due to Andy Dalton's broken thumb, but Brock Osweiler is also still pretty inexperienced himself. I lean toward the Broncos in that game because they're at home and had a bit more time with Osweiler.

At the final division winner spot, it'll be either the Houston Texans or Indianapolis Colts. Both teams are 6-7, and the one that nabs the playoff spot is likely Wild Card Round fodder on the road. Houston has never won in Indy but has a great opportunity to do so in Week 15 with Andrew Luck still out.The matchup very well could be T.J. Yates versus Charlie Whitehurst, but I like Houston's defense a lot more, even on the road.

From there, Houston faces the Titans on the road and the Jacksonville Jaguars at home—both games it should be favored in.

George Bridges/Associated Press

The wild cards are currently the Chiefs and Jets, but the Steelers have an 8-5 record that matches both squads. With three scorching-hot teams, it's tough to eliminate one here, but the Jets play at Dallas, host the Patriots and then visit Buffalo. New York could go 2-1 in those contests and still get knocked out.

Compare that to the other two teams' schedules, and it's easy to see why the Jets might be the most vulnerable here.

The Oakland Raiders, Buffalo Bills and Jaguars are not mathematically eliminated. However, one of them making the playoffs would likely require winning out and getting plenty of help from its wild-card foes.

NFC Playoff Predictions

Predicted Seed	Team (Current Seed)	Predicted Record
1	Carolina Panthers (1)	16-0
2	Arizona Cardinals (2)	13-3
3	Green Bay Packers (3)	11-5
4	Washington Redskins (4)	8-8
5	Seattle Seahawks (5)	11-5
6	Minnesota Vikings (6)	10-6

NFC Seeding Explanation

The Carolina Panthers are extremely unlikely to lose the No. 1 seed. The main question right now is if they'll go undefeated, which I believe they will. After a possibly difficult road matchup against the New York Giants in Week 15, they'll be facing two teams currently below .500 that are likely to be eliminated from playoff contention by the time of the matchup.

The Arizona Cardinals don't have a deadbolt lock on the No. 2 seed, especially with a tough remaining schedule, but they're in great position to keep it. Arizona is a close second in point differential (plus-153), which suggests a random collapse involving two losses in three games or three straight losses is unlikely.

Ross D. Franklin/Associated Press

At the No. 3 seed, the Green Bay Packers could get some resistance from the Minnesota Vikings. The NFC North rivals meet in Week 17, and a win by Minnesota leading to equal records for the teams would mean the Vikings are the division champs. However, the Packers have found their running game recently, and that Week 17 matchup is at Lambeau Field, where Aaron Rodgers has been great throughout his career.

In the NFC East, you have a crazy three-team race (or should we call it a trudge?) for the division title and No. 4 playoff seed between three 6-7 teams: the Washington Redskins, New York Giants and Philadelphia Eagles. Each squad plays, at least, one of the other three before the end of the regular season. The amount of possible scenarios with the squads is dizzying, and we won't go through everything, but Washington's remaining schedule is the least formidable, and it does have the head-to-head against Philly at the moment.

Basically, the NFC East is anyone's guess.

Patrick Semansky/Associated Press/Associated Press

In the first wild-card spot, Seattle has found its groove behind Russell Wilson and a resurgent defense. Winning out looks extremely reasonable, as its Week 17 matchup against the Cardinals could be a formality for a team already guaranteed its No. 2 seed.

The No. 6 seed is the Vikings' to lose. No other team in the playoff hunt is closer than two games behind, and none of them have shown enough fight to overcome that deficit against a Minnesota squad all but guaranteed to win at least one contest down the stretch.