NFL Playoff Picture 2017: Latest Super Bowl Bracket and AFC, NFC Scenarios

The New England Patriots can make up for last season's failures if they go to Miami Sunday and beat the resurgent Dolphins.

If they do, they will pick up their 14th win of the season and clinch the No. 1 seed in the AFC. The Patriots were in this same position a year ago but lost their season finale in Miami, and the No. 1 seed went to the eventual Super Bowl champion Denver Broncos.

The Patriots appear to have learned quite a few lessons from their struggles last year. They have won their last six games and are not easing back with the playoffs around the corner.

If the Pats lose at Miami, the Oakland Raiders can capture the No. 1 seed by beating the Denver Broncos. However, that is a dubious assignment considering they will play on the road without star quarterback Derek Carr. He broke his fibula against the Indianapolis Colts in Week 16, and his season is over.

Conference	Seed	Team	Week 17 opponent	Skinny
AFC	1	New England Patriots	at Miami	Need a win in South Florida to clinch top seed
AFC	2	Oakland Raiders	at Denver	Could drop to No. 5 seed with loss.
AFC	3	Pittsburgh Steelers	vs. Cleveland	Locked in and dangerous
AFC	4	Houston Texans	at Tennessee	The team everyone wants to face
AFC	5	Kansas City Chiefs	at San Diego	Move to No. 2 with a win and Oakland loss
AFC	6	Miami Dolphins	vs. New England	Could move to No. 5 with a win and KC loss
NFC	1	Dallas Cowboys	at Philadelphia	Locked in at No. 1
NFC	2	Atlanta Falcons	vs. New Orleans	A win clinches first-round bye
NFC	3	Seattle Seahawks	at San Francisco	Coming off a key loss at home
NFC	4	Green Bay Packers	at Detroit	Rodgers has them on a roll
NFC	5	New York Giants	at Washington	Locked in at No. 5
NFC	6	Detroit Lions	vs. Green Bay	For the division title
NFC	--	Washington Redskins	vs. New York Giants	Need a win vs. division rivals
NFC	--	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	vs. Carolina	Need a win and a lot of help

Backup Matt McGloin will take Carr's place. Head coach Jack Del Rio said the Raiders will not change the team's mindset.

"It's a tough game and things happen in this game and it's all about the team," Del Rio said at his Monday press conference (h/t Paul Gutierrez of ESPN.com). "It's all about us moving on to the next opportunity and pulling together as a group of men and being unselfish and sacrificing for each other and all those things." 

If the Raiders lose that game, their status as the AFC West leaders will be at risk. The Kansas City Chiefs are one game behind in the division race, and if they beat the San Diego Chargers and the Raiders lose, the Chiefs would gain the division crown and the No. 2 seed in the AFC playoffs.

The Pittsburgh Steelers and the Houston Texans are locked in as the No. 3 and 4 seeds, respectively. If the current seedings hold, the Steelers would host the Miami Dolphins and the Texans would host the Chiefs.

Michael Ainsworth/Associated Press

The Steelers lost 30-15 when they played the Dolphins in Miami earlier this year, while the Texans beat the Chiefs in Week 2 by a 19-12 margin. However, Kansas City would almost certainly welcome another game against the Texans. It beat Houston 30-0 in last year's wild-card matchup.

In the NFC, the Dallas Cowboys are locked in as the No. 1 seed and the Atlanta Falcons have the inside track on the No. 2 seed and a bye in the first round of the playoffs.

The Falcons gained that advantage when the NFC West champion Seattle Seahawks lost their Week 16 home matchup with the Arizona Cardinals. The Falcons have a half-game advantage over Seattle, and if Atlanta can defeat New Orleans in the season finale, it will clinch that No. 2 seed.

The Detroit Lions will host the Green Bay Packers in the Sunday night season finale, and the winner of that game will claim the NFC North title. The Lions have lost two games in a row, and their once-strong playoff position is at risk.

If they lose to the Packers and the Washington Redskins beat the New York Giants in their season finale, the Lions will find themselves on the outside of the playoff picture.

If the Redskins lose that game, the loser of the Green Bay-Detroit game and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers will still be in the running.

The Bucs' chances are slim, as they would need a number of games to break their way—including the 2-13 San Francisco 49ers beating the Seahawks—to get into the postseason.