NFL Playoff Standings 2017: Top Bracket Seeds, Wild-Card Matchups and Scenarios

The New England Patriots were a determined team as they came to Miami for their regular-season finale with the playoff-bound Dolphins.

Bound to pick up the win they needed to clinch home-field advantage throughout the AFC playoffs, the Patriots jumped out to a 20-0 lead, withstood a Dolphins rally and pulled away for a decisive 35-14 triumph at Hard Rock Stadium.

That means all roads lead through New England on the way to the Super Bowl, at least for any AFC team that has hopes of representing the conference.

"It feels good man," New England cornerback Logan Ryan told Jim McBride of the Boston Globe. "The good thing about this schedule is we got to right a lot of wrongs that we messed up on last year. I think the difference with this team is when the [Dolphins] were driving, they had momentum and we got those turnovers."

The biggest turnover came when Miami was threatening early in the fourth quarter, but Devin McCourty forced a fumble by Damien Williams, and Shea McClellin returned it deep into Miami territory.

Conference	Team	Seed	Playoff opponent
AFC	New England Patriots	1*	vs. Houston, Oakland or Miami
AFC	Kansas City Chiefs	2*	vs. Pittsburgh, Houston or Oakland
AFC	Pittsburgh Steelers	3	vs. Miami
AFC	Houston Texans	4	vs. Oakland
AFC	Oakland Raiders	5	at Houston
AFC	Miami Dolphins	6	at Pittsburgh
NFC	Dallas Cowboys	1*	vs. Green Bay, N.Y. Giants or Detroit
NFC	Atlanta Falcons	2*	vs. Seattle, Green Bay or N.Y. Giants
NFC	Seattle Seahawks	3	vs. Detroit
NFC	Green Bay Packers	4	vs. N.Y. Giants
NFC	New York Giants	5	at Green Bay
NFC	Detroit Lions	6	at Seattle
	*-Bye in Wild Card Round

In addition to the home-field edge Bill Belichick and Tom Brady wanted, it means the Patriots won't have to face the explosive and high-powered Pittsburgh Steelers until a potential meeting in the AFC Championship Game.

The loss also means the Dolphins will go into the postseason as the No. 6 seed. They will play the Steelers on the road during the upcoming Wild Card Weekend.

Pittsburgh is going into the playoffs with a seven-game winning streak, and the Steelers clinched their playoff position in Week 16 when they defeated the Baltimore Ravens. The Dolphins beat the Steelers 30-15 in Week 6 as running back Jay Ajayi ran for 204 yards to lead the Miami offense.

Game	Date	Time (ET)	TV
Oakland at Houston	Jan. 7	4:35 p.m.	ESPN/ABC
Detroit at Seattle	Jan. 7	8:15 p.m.	NBC
Miami at Pittsburgh	Jan. 8	1:05 p.m.	CBS
N.Y. Giants at Green Bay	Jan. 8	4:40 p.m.	FOX

That game was in Miami, and repeating that success on the road will be more challenging for the Dolphins.

The Oakland Raiders were playing for first place in the AFC West, but they lost to the Denver Broncos. The Raiders started the game with backup Matt McGloin at quarterback in place of Derek Carr (broken fibula), but he was forced out of the game with an apparent shoulder injury in the second quarter and rookie Connor Cook had to replace him.

While Cook completed 14 of 21 passes for 150 yards with a touchdown, the Broncos came through with a 24-6 victory. 

The Raiders loss opened the door for the Kansas City Chiefs, who came up with a 37-27 victory over the San Diego Chargers. That gave the Chiefs the AFC West crown, and the No. 2 seed in the AFC playoffs. Oakland fell to the fifth seed in the AFC playoffs.

The Houston Texans will host the Raiders in the second AFC wild-card game. The fourth-seeded Texans had been locked into their position before they dropped a 24-17 decision to Tennessee in their regular-season finale.

The NFC playoffs came into focus throughout the day. The Atlanta Falcons raced out to a 38-13 lead over the New Orleans Saints and held on for a 38-32 victory. That allowed the Falcons to clinch the No. 2 seed, giving them a bye in the first week of the playoffs.

The NFC West champion Seattle Seahawks edged the San Francisco 49ers 25-23, and that clinched the No. 3 seed in the NFC playoff structure.

The Green Bay Packers earned the NFC North title as a result of their 31-24 road victory over the Detroit Lions Sunday night. While the Lions lost their last three regular-season games, they clinched a spot as the sixth seed when the New York Giants beat the Washington Redskins earlier in the day.

The loss eliminated the Redskins from playoff contention.

The fifth-seeded Giants will go to Green Bay in an NFC Wild Card Game, while the Lions will go to Seattle to face the Seahawks.