NFL Playoff Picture 2017: AFC, NFC Wild-Card Scenarios and Week 17 Predictions

We're now a day away from the final Sunday of the 2016 NFL season. By the time the Detroit Lions and Green Bay Packers are finished closing out the schedule, we'll know exactly which teams are in the playoffs and how they will be seeded.

Right now, a large chunk of the playoff field is set. The entire AFC field is known, though we still have to sort out the seeding. In the NFC, there is one division champion yet to crown and a final playoff spot to fill.

So while much of Week 17 will be meaningless, there are still some serious implications.

We're going to examine the looming slate of games, along with the latest odds—courtesy of our friends at OddsShark. We'll also make our predictions for each Week 17 matchup and take a look at some of the most interesting playoff scenarios that could arise from the final week.

NFL Week 17

Game	Line	Proj. Winner
Dallas at Philadelphia	PHI -4	DAL
Cleveland at Pittsburgh	PIT -6	PIT
Buffalo at NY Jets	BUF -3.5	BUF
Jacksonville at Indianapolis	IND -4.5	IND
New England at Miami	NE -9.5	NE
Chicago at Minnesota	MIN -6.5	MIN
Houston at Tennessee	TEN -3	TEN
Baltimore at Cincinnati	Even	BAL
Carolina at Tampa Bay	TB -4	TB
NY Giants at Washington	WAS -7.5	WAS
New Orleans at Atlanta	ATL -7	ATL
Arizona at Los Angeles	ARI -6.5	ARI
Oakland at Denver	DEN -1.5	DEN
Seattle at San Francisco	SEA -9.5	SEA
Kansas City at San Diego	KC -4.5	KC
Green Bay at Detroit	GB -3.5	GB

Current Playoff Standings

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

Scenarios to Watch For

Raiders Lose in Denver

A couple of scenarios could shake things up at the top of the AFC playoff race. If the New England Patriots lose to the Miami Dolphins, the Oakland Raiders will have a chance to secure the conference's No. 1 seed. However, the Patriots would still own an opening-week bye in this scenario.

If the Raiders lose in Denver, however, the Kansas City Chiefs will have the opportunity to win the AFC West and the conference's No. 2 seed. In this scenario, Oakland would drop from the No. 2 seed all the way to No. 5.

It's a plausible scenario too. The Raiders will rely on backup quarterback Matt McGloin to lead them through a Denver defense that is rated second overall by Pro Football Focus. While the Raiders seem to have plenty of faith in McGloin, it remains to be seen what kind of psychological effect losing Derek Carr for the season actually has on the team.

For the Broncos, the presence of McGloin means the defense can focus more on shutting down Oakland's rushing attack. The Raiders gashed Denver (for more than 200 yards) on the ground the last time the two teams met in Week 9.

The Broncos will almost certainly dare McGloin to beat them through the air in a hostile environment.

“We’ve played against him in the past before [Derek] Carr got there, so we have experience playing against him," Broncos cornerback Chris Harris said, per Kyle Martin of the Raiders' official website. "We expect a big run game. We expect them to come out and start pounding us like they did the first time.”

Don't be surprised if the Raiders open the postseason with a rematch against the Houston Texans.

Lions and Packers Finish Their Game in a Draw

Mike Roemer/Associated Press

The Washington Redskins nearly control their own destiny this week. If they beat the New York Giants, they'll finish the season 9-6-1 and should have a good chance of earning the NFC's final playoff ticket.

Since the Giants have nothing to play for, they might not even play their starters for the entire game.

To be fair, though, the Giants appear poised to at least treat the start of the game as any other.

“Yes. Everyone is going to play Sunday,” Giants running back Rashad Jennings said, per Jordan Raanan of ESPN.com.

If Washington wins, it will have the inside track at the No. 6 seed. The one thing that can prevent the team from making the postseason is a tie between the Packers and Lions. In this admittedly unlikely scenario, the Redskins would be left watching the playoffs from home.

If the Packers and Lions tie, both will finish 9-6-1 alongside Washington. Green Bay would win the NFC North thanks to its head-to-head win over Detroit earlier in the season. The Lions own a head-to-head win over the Redskins, so they would edge Washington out of the sixth seed.

Since the Redskins have experienced a tie this season, they know it is possible. The first step for them will be beating the Giants. The next will be waiting and hoping the Lions and Packers can settle things inside four quarters.

Saints Upset the Falcons

Right now, the Atlanta Falcons hold the No. 2 seed in the NFC. All Atlanta has to do is beat the New Orleans Saints in Week 17 to secure that spot and a first-round bye. If the Saints manage to pull off the upset, though, Atlanta could slide into the No. 3 seed.

It would be unwise to count the Saints out too. They have a potent offense—rated eighth overall by Pro Football Focus—and a future Hall of Fame quarterback in Drew Brees.

Brees and Co. have slashed through many quality defenses this season, and while the Falcons have improved defensively, they are far from elite. Pro Football Focus rates the Falcons 19th in overall defense for the season.

Atlanta isn't at risk of losing the NFC South title here, but a loss could knock the team out of a first-round bye. If the Seattle Seahawks manage to hold off the San Francisco 49ers, they would slide into that No. 2 slot and earn a bye.

This could be a major boon for Seattle, as the Seahawks have been inconsistent on the road this season.

Seattle strolled into New England and dropped 31 points on the Patriots in a winning effort in Week 10. However, the offense has also had outings of three, five, six and 10 points in non-winning efforts on the road.

This scenario would ensure that the Seahawks are able to make it through the divisional round without playing on the road at all.