NFL Playoffs 2018: Projecting AFC, NFC Bracket Before Final Games

After Sunday, the NFL playoff picture will be complete.

No more speculating, no more ESPN Playoff Machine, no more potential scenarios—we'll have our answers one way or the other.

There are still three teams (two in the AFC; one in the NFC) on the outside looking in with a shot to make it: the Los Angeles Chargers, Buffalo Bills and Seattle Seahawks.

Each team has its own way it can get in, but it all comes down to this.

There are a number of teams that are likely going to rest some starters—the Los Angeles Rams, Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs, to name a few.

Below are the predictions for how the 2017-18 playoff picture will look, and we will also look at each of the Wild Card Round matchups.

Let's go.

Final AFC Bracket Projections

1. New England Patriots (13-3)

2. Pittsburgh Steelers (13-3)

3. Jacksonville Jaguars (11-5)

4. Kansas City Chiefs (9-7)

5. Baltimore Ravens (10-6)

6. Los Angeles Chargers (9-7)

Final NFC Bracket Projections

1. Philadelphia Eagles (13-3)

2. Minnesota Vikings (13-3)

3. New Orleans Saints (12-4)

4. Los Angeles Rams (11-5)

5. Carolina Panthers (12-4)

6. Seattle Seahawks (10-6)

Predicted Wild Card Weekend Matchups

Los Angeles Chargers at Jacksonville Jaguars

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After starting the season 0-4, the Los Angeles Chargers will make it! With a win over the Oakland Raiders and a Tennessee Titans home loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars, Philip Rivers and the gang will have Super Bowl aspirations once again.

But first, they need to go through the vaunted Jaguars defense.

Sure, in Week 16 the Jacksonville defense looked like a shell of itself, giving up 44 points to the San Francisco 49ers, but that was a definite outlier when you look at the 2017 season as a whole.

With that said, if Rivers and the Chargers can find a way to build an early lead against the Jaguars, they too have a good enough defense to slow down Jacksonville's offense and quarterback Blake Bortles.

However, if L.A. finds itself behind, with this defense playing at home, it may be too much to overcome.

Put the Jaguars in a position where Bortles needs to throw the ball, and defensive ends Joey Bosa and Melvin Ingram should be able to take care of him.

If he gets the ball off, though, cornerbacks Trevor Williams and Casey Hayward should be able to do enough.

This game boils down to which team can build an early lead. If we see a team leading by a couple of possessions early on, this one might be in the bag.

Baltimore Ravens at Kansas City Chiefs

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Considering how lackluster their offense has been this season, it kind of catches you off guard when you see the Baltimore Ravens have 10 wins.

But nevertheless, the 10-win Ravens will be on the road to take on the nine-win Kansas City Chiefs in one of the loudest venues there is, Arrowhead Stadium.

As mentioned, the Ravens offense has struggled mightily for the majority of the season.

Quarterback Joe Flacco, though, has seemed to find his stride recently, scoring multiple touchdowns in four straight games. But the defense took a big hit with the season-ending injury to cornerback Jimmy Smith, and the Chiefs should be able to exploit that.

With running back Kareem Hunt, wide receiver Tyreek Hill and tight end Travis Kelce, Kansas City might have too much firepower for the Ravens to overcome.

If Baltimore's secondary, with cornerbacks Brandon Carr and Marlon Humphrey as well as safeties Tony Jefferson and Eric Weddle, can find a way to stop Hill from burning them, the Ravens could have a chance. And the Chiefs defense, especially the secondary, hasn't exactly been something to brag about in 2017.

Can the Ravens slow down some of these playmakers? That will be decisive in how this game turns out.

Seattle Seahawks at New Orleans Saints

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With an Atlanta Falcons home loss to the Carolina Panthers and a Seattle Seahawks home win over the Arizona Cardinals, the Seahawks have backed their way into a date with the New Orleans Saints.

The Seahawks will need to continue to rely on quarterback and MVP candidate Russell Wilson to lead them. They have virtually no running game, the defense is beat up with injuries and, while the addition of Duane Brown has been nice, Wilson has been sacked at least three times in eight games this season, with a high of seven.

The Saints are no slouches, either. They have a deadly running game and a solid wide receiving corps.

That's not to mention rookie sensation cornerback Marshon Lattimore, who will likely blanket Seahawks wide receiver Doug Baldwin all day long.

This is a tall task for Seattle but not impossible. That might sound cliche, but let's be real: The deck is stacked mightily against the Seahawks in the playoffs that time around.

Carolina Panthers at Los Angeles Rams

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Of all four wild-card games, this is the hardest to pick who will win.

This could go either way.

Both teams have pass defenses ranked inside the top 11, according to Football Outsiders' DVOA metric. According to that same metric, the Carolina Panthers have a markedly better run defense than the Los Angeles Rams, ranking sixth and 18th, respectively.

With that said, the Panthers aren't going up against just any running back in this situation—it's Todd freakin' Gurley.

Both quarterbacks are fine, though Carolina quarterback Cam Newton can be a bit more inconsistent. But with his inconsistency comes to ability to make plays with his legs.

The receiving options are fairly even, but Jared Goff has wide receivers Robert Woods, Cooper Kupp and Sammy Watkins (also running back Gurley), while Newton has wide receiver Devin Funchess and tight end Greg Olsen.

This is going to be a battle and should be the most competitive game of Wild Card Weekend.

At home, the Rams have the advantage, but as noted, this could go either way. It's hard to be confident picking one way or the other.

Statistics courtesy of Pro Football Reference and Football Outsiders.