NFL Playoff Scenarios 2016: Latest AFC, NFC Wild-Card Picture and Vegas Odds

Fans hoping for a dramatic final day of the NFL regular season are out of luck, with all but two playoff spots up for grabs in Week 17.

It's a somewhat underwhelming conclusion, albeit a fitting one for a year plagued by injuries to key players and referee mistakes on an almost weekly basis. Both factors have hampered the overall product and created a league in which only one team—the Carolina Panthers—truly looks exceptional.

Here's the lay of the land in each of the conference's wild-card races with one more week to go.

NFL Playoff Picture

NFL Wild-Card Hunt

Team	Conference Championship Odds	Super Bowl Odds
AFC
Denver Broncos	13/2	12/1
Kansas City Chiefs	7/1	14/1
New York Jets	40/1	25/1
Pittsburgh Steelers	3/1	16/1
NFC
Green Bay Packers	11/2	16/1
Minnesota Vikings	25/1	25/1
Seattle Seahawks	11/4	7/1

AFC Wild-Card Analysis

One wild-card spot remains up for grabs in the AFC, and the Pittsburgh Steelers and New York Jets are essentially fighting for it.

Both the Kansas City Chiefs and Denver Broncos are assured of postseason football. One of the two will take home the AFC West, while the other will have to settle for the wild card. Denver is in the driver's seat with a one-game lead over Kansas City.

Getting the fifth seed will be important for whichever team eventually gets it since it would mean likely avoiding the New England Patriots until the AFC Championship Game.

Before Sunday, the Steelers were one of the hottest teams in the league. Winners of five of its previous six games, including a three-game winning streak, Pittsburgh instead fell 20-17 to the Baltimore Ravens. It turned the ball over twice and allowed a career-high 274 yards through the air to Ryan Mallett.

For whatever reason, the Steelers continue to have trouble putting away inferior teams, per Mark Kaboly of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review:

Should the Steelers miss out on the postseason, they won't get any sympathy from Sports Illustrated's Chris Burke:

Their defeat has opened the door for the Jets, who can make the playoffs with a win over the Buffalo Bills or a Steelers loss. Head coach Todd Bowles played down the idea his team's game against the Bills now carries any additional significance.

Seth Wenig/Associated Press

"The past couple weeks have been playoff games," said Bowles Monday, per Dom Cosentino of NJ Advance Media. "There really is no pressure. They just play together and we have fun, and we try to get better as a team. There's no pressure on us. We know have to win; we've been having to win the past five weeks. It's no different going into Sunday."

Nobody will be hungrier for a win than quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick, per ESPN Stats & Info:

It would be somewhat poetic if Bowles led the Jets to the playoffs following a victory against a Rex Ryan-coached team after the Jets largely failed to meet expectations in Ryan's final four years in the Big Apple.

NFC Wild-Card Analysis

The NFC wild-card picture is straightforward, as all of the conference's six playoff spots are spoken for.

The Seattle Seahawks are already guaranteed passage to the Wild Card Round, and they only have seeding to play for in Week 17.

The Green Bay Packers and Minnesota Vikings, on the other hand, face off to determine the NFC North champion. The winner of the clash earns the division crown, while the other will move down to the wild card.

Judging by their recent performances, the Packers could be in serious trouble, both on Sunday and in the playoffs. They looked dreadful in their 38-8 defeat to the Arizona Cardinals, and former Packers wideout Antonio Freeman was incredulous about what he had seen, per ESPN Milwaukee:

"

"It's a simple game. #Packers gave up 9 sacks, two fumbles returned for TDs. Most team don't even give that up in EIGHT games!" -@afreeman86

— ESPN Milwaukee (@ESPNMilwaukee) December 29, 2015"

Pro Football Focus' Sam Monson placed the majority of the blame squarely on the offense:

"

This game was a microcosm of Green Bay’s season, but with added issues thrown in. The passing game once again struggled, with receivers not getting open on their own, and being given little help in doing so schematically. Aaron Rodgers did not play well, contributing his own inaccuracy to the overall problems, but he was under assault all day from a Cardinals pass-rush that seemed to be meeting little or no resistance in the form of Green Bay’s pass-blocking.

Rodgers was sacked eight times, and pressured on 18 of his 38 dropbacks, and ultimately looked like the season had begun to catch up with him. For years with him under center the Packers offense has been the strength of the team, but this season it has been an issue.

"

The level of panic in Green Bay, Wisconsin, would shoot through the roof if the Packers lose to the Vikings on Sunday.

Green Bay will also likely have some supporters in the Pacific Northwest. Since the Packers have a victory over the Seahawks, they would bump Seattle down to the sixth seed if the two finish with the same record.

On the other hand, Seattle beat Minnesota earlier in the year, thus getting the tiebreaker over the Vikings.

Seeding could mean everything in the NFC. Not only would the fifth seed likely avoid the Carolina Panthers in the divisional round, it would also play the Washington Redskins in the Wild Card Round.

Both of those outcomes would be extremely favorable, so you can be sure the Seahawks will be watching Sunday night's NFC North-decider with rapt attention.