NFL Playoffs 2016-17: Predicting Post-Week 16 AFC, NFC Standings

We're almost through Week 16 of the 2016 NFL season. We're beginning to get a firm idea of which teams are going to be in the 2016-17 postseason, but the postseason slate isn't set quite yet.

The Houston Texans locked up a playoff spot on Saturday night. The Oakland Raiders made a significant push toward a first-round bye with a win on Saturday too. However, there are plenty of prime postseason slots still up for grabs—even after 16 weeks.

The Seattle Seahawks had an opportunity to secure a first-round bye, but they fell to the Arizona Cardinals. The New England Patriots blew out the New York Jets, but they still haven't secured the AFC's No. 1 seed.

For all of the action that occurred on Saturday, the playoff race is still very much unsettled. However, this isn't going to stop us from trying to predict how the rest of the week is going to unfold.

Predicting the outcome of the next few games is exactly what we're going to do here. We'll be examining the remaining Week 16 games and the latest odds (courtesy of OddsShark) as well as making our predictions against the lines. We'll also examine the latest playoff-related storylines from Week 16.

Projected Post-Week 16 Standings

Seed	Team	Record
AFC
NFC
1	New England Patriots	13-2
2	Oakland Raiders	12-3
3	Pittsburgh Steelers	10-5*
4	Houston Texans	9-6
5	Kansas City Chiefs	11-4*
6	Miami Dolphins	10-5
7	Baltimore Ravens	8-7*
8	Denver Broncos	8-7*
1	Dallas Cowboys	13-2*
2	Atlanta Falcons	10-5
3	Seattle Seahawks	9-5-1
4	Green Bay Packers	9-6
5	New York Giants	10-5
6	Detroit Lions	9-6*
7	Washington Redskins	8-6-1
8	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	8-7

Remaining Games

Game	Line	Prediction
Baltimore at Pittsburgh	PIT -6	PIT
Denver at Kansas City	KC -3	KC
Detroit at Dallas	DAL -6.5	DET

Storylines to Follow

The AFC North Battle

The Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens will go to war on Sunday. There's really no getting around the physical clash that these two teams want to unleash.

In addition to the rivalry here, the Ravens and Steelers will essentially be battling for the AFC North crown. The Steelers currently hold a one-game lead on the Ravens, but Baltimore owns a head-to-head victory over the Steelers.

"When we play them this late in the season, there's always high stakes. When you look at it, this is our season in a nutshell here," Ravens tight end Dennis Pitta explained, per Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun.

If the Ravens manage to beat the Steelers for a second time this season, the AFC North race will come down to Week 17. The Ravens will need to beat the Cincinnati Bengals and finish 10-6 to win the division.

If Pittsburgh wins on Sunday, though, the Steelers will win the AFC North and secure their place in the postseason.

Kansas City's Run

Ed Zurga/Associated Press

The Kansas City Chiefs lost control of the AFC West last week with a loss to the Tennessee Titans. The Chiefs own two victories over the division-leading Oakland Raiders, though, so if both teams finish with identical records, the Chiefs can win the division.

In order for the Chiefs to make a realistic run at the division crown, though, they'll need to best the Denver Broncos and their vaunted defense—which is rated second overall by Pro Football Focus for the season so far.

The Raiders took care of business against the Indianapolis Colts on Saturday, so the Chiefs will have to win their next two games and hope for a Raiders letdown in Week 17 to get the division.

Unfortunately for Oakland, Raiders quarterback Derek Carr suffered a significant injury during Saturday's win over the Colts. NFL Network's Ian Rapoport shared the details:

The Raiders have already locked up a playoff spot, but they aren't going to be at full force once the team gets to the postseason.

Either way, the 10-4 Chiefs will have the opportunity to match the Raiders in the division race on Sunday.

The AFC West race could very well come down to the final day of the regular season.

Detroit's Finish

The Detroit Lions still hold a narrow lead over the Green Bay Packers in the NFC North. However, the Packers have managed to rip off five wins in a row and set up a potential division-title match in Week 17. 

Since the Packers already have one head-to-head win over Detroit, the Packers would win the division if the teams finish with identical records. Regardless of what happens between the 9-5 Lions and the Cowboys on Monday, the NFC North is going to come down to the season finale.

Either the Packers are going to finish 10-6 with two wins over Detroit, or the Lions are going to finish 10-6 or 11-5 and win the division.

Essentially, Monday's game between the Lions and Cowboys means nothing for the playoff race.