Here's how the NFC playoffs break down following Green Bay's loss in Foxboro.

Atlanta Falcons, 12-2:

Clinched playoff berth. Can clinch No. 1 seed with win and Saints loss

Philadelphia Eagles, 10-4:

Can clinch NFC East with a win. Can clinch first-round bye with two wins and a Bears loss.

Chicago Bears, 9-4:

Clinch NFC North with wins over the Vikings or Packers. Clinch first-round bye with two wins and Eagles loss

WILD CARD CHASE:

New Orleans Saints, 10-4:

Can clinch NFC South with two wins and two Falcons losses.  Can clinch wild card with a win.

New York Giants, 9-5:

Can clinch NFC East with two wins and two Eagles losses. Can clinch wild card with a win AND Packers loss AND Buccaneers loss.

Green Bay Packers, 8-6:

Can clinch NFC North with two wins and two Bears losses. Clinch wild card with wins over Giants and Bears

Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 8-6:

clinch wild card with two wins AND two Giants losses AND Packers loss

NFC WEST BREAKDOWN

The West is up for grabs.  St. Louis and Seattle are 6-8 and San Fransisco is 5-9.  All three teams have games against at least one of the other two. It will come down to week 17 when Rams and Seahawks face eachother.

The AFC's playoff picture is taking shape following the New England Patriots' last-second victory over the Green Bay Packers in Gillette Stadium.

Here's a quick breakdown of how the AFC playoff picture looks after Sunday night's game.

New England Patriots, 12-2:

New England has already clinched a playoff berth, and can clinch the AFC East and the No. 1 seed with a win over Buffalo next week.  They can also clinch with a Jets loss or tie against Chicago next week.

Pittsburgh Steelers, 10-4:

Pittsburgh has clinched a playoff berth and can clinch the AFC North with a win next week and a Ravens' loss.  They can clinch a first-round bye with a win, AND a Patriots win AND a Ravens loss AND a Jets loss.

Indianapolis Colts, 8-6:

If they win their final two games, they take the South on a tiebreaker based on strength of schedule.

Kansas City Chiefs, 9-5:

Beat the Raiders and they win the AFC West.  They can also clinch with a win and a Chargers loss.

WILD CARD CHASE:

New York Jets, 10-4:

Clinch a wild card with a win over Chicago next week.  They can still win the AFC East, a first-round bye and home-field advantage with two wins and two Patriots' losses and a Ravens loss.

Baltimore Ravens, 10-4:

Can clinch a wild-card with a win this week. They can win the AFC North if they win out and Pittsburgh loses.  They can also win the AFC's top seed with two wins AND a Steelers loss AND two Patriots losses AND two Jets wins.

Jacksonville Jaguars, 8-6:

Can win the AFC South with two wins and a Colts loss. 

San Diego Chargers, 8-6:

Can win the AFC West with two wins and two Chiefs losses. 

Oakland Raiders, 7-7:

Can take the West with two wins AND two Chiefs losses AND a Chargers loss. Cannot win a wild card.

The New England Patriots survived a Sunday night scare against the Green Bay Packers in Gillette Stadium thanks to the player who was very nearly the goat of the game, Tully Banta-Cain.

With Green Bay trailing by four and driving for a potential game-winning touchdown, quarterback Matt Flynn threw an interception to safety Brandon Meriweather. Game over.

Not so fast.

Tully Banta-Cain was flagged for illegal hands to the face, offsetting the interception, giving the Packers a first down and a second chance. 

On the same drive, with time expiring, Flynn rolled out to his right looking for a receiver in the end-zone.  Banta-Cain saw his chance for redemption and seized it.  He sacked Flynn, causing a fumble and ending the game.  For real this time.

New England survived by the skin of their teeth and now advances to 12-2.  Brady's bunch can clinch home-field advantage throughout the playoffs with a win over Buffalo next week.

New England Patriots rookie sensation, tight end Aaron Hernandez, has been catching passes left and right.  This week he also happened to catch an illness.  He was questionable for tonight's game because he was sick with the flu.  The NFL's youngest player suited up for the game and is playing sick.

Tonight's sickness however has nothing to do with illness and everything to do with his performance on the field.

Hernandez, the former Florida Gator, caught his second touchdown of the night to give New England the lead midway through the fourth quarter in Gillette Stadium Sunday night.  Hernandez made a nice catch near the front corner and broke a tackle around the four-yard line.

He waltzed into the endzone, giving the Patriots a 31-27 lead.  Hernandez has now caught both of Tom Brady's touchdown passes tonight.

Whatever it is Hernandez has been sick with, Patriots fans may start hoping the rest of the team catches the same bug.

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New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady has just set another NFL all-time record, this time breaking former Cleveland Brown Berni Kosars mark of 286 consecutive passes in a single season without an interception.

Tom Brady has now officially established himself as the measuring stick for quarterback efficiency.  His NFL record 287th consecutive pass in a single season without an intercption came on an incompletion to Julian Edelman.

Truthfully speaking Brady has been very fortunate so far in tonight's game.  He's thrown at least three passes that could have very easily been intercepted by the Packers, including his record setter. 

Still, for the most part, Brady has been on point.  He just hasn't had many opportunities to produce.  Brady and the offense have only had three possessions in the second half and found themselves trailing by three points in the fourth quarter.

It's the first time since a midseason loss in Cleveland the Patriots have trailed this late in the game.  Right on cue, Brady added to his new record, led the team down the field and threw a touchdown to Aaron Hernandez to take the lead.

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Former Boston College standout B.J. Raji is having a great game in his return to the New England area.  Raji already has two sacks of Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, the most recent one ended a New England drive in which the Patriots desperately needed to recapture some momentum.

He's been pressuring Brady all night, even when he hasn't gotten the sacks to show for it.  Dan Connolly may have given the Green Bay special teams all they could handle on that highlight-reel kick return, but he left the game with a head injury and his replacement, Ryan Wendell, has his hands full trying to keep Raji away from the NFL's leading MVP candidate.

Now trailing by six points following a Packers field goal and a clutch goal-line stand by the New England defense, the Patriots will need to find a way to keep Raji out of their backfield.  From here on out it's Brady time and Raji could continue to be a major thorn in the Patriots' side.

Keeping Brady off the turf is now priority No. 1 for New England.

The New England Patriots' first lead over the Green Bay Packers was short lived and Tom Brady is finally about to take the field for the first time in the second half with his team trailing by a field goal.

Now would be a good time for Brady and the New England offense to put together their trademark second half onslaught.

After briefly taking the lead thanks to an interception return for a touchdown, the Patriots gave it right back by allowing Matt Flynn and the Green Bay Packers to march down the field en route to another touchdown.

To make matters worse, that patented second half onslaught I just mentioned is officially not happening.  The Patriots just went three and out, failing to gain a first down and were forced to punt the ball away back to the Packers.

Brady was sacked again, the third sackof the game for Green Bay.  This is the most pressure Brady's had to deal with in quite some time and the New England offense just can't seem to find any rhythym.

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Trailing the Green Bay Packers by four points to start the second half, the New England Patriots needed a big play and Kyle Arrington gladly obliged.

Arrington jumped a slant route at the Green Bay 30-yard line and intercepted Matt Flynn's pass.  From then on it was a show of poor tackling and nice moves as Arrington wiggled, juked and sprinted his way to the end zone.

It was New England's NFL leading 21st interception of the season and it gave the Patriots their first lead of the game.  Any time a team can erase a deficit without their offense stepping on the field they've got to be happy with their performance.

At the exact moment of this writing, Arrington barely missed his second interception of the night to completely deflate the Packers offense.  He was an early-week question mark to even suit up, but he brought his "A" game tonight.

This was supposed to be a cake walk.  The Patriots haven't lost in Gillette Stadium with Tom Brady starting the game since 2006.  New England is the hottest team in the NFL, coming off wins over the New York Jets and Chicago bears in emphatic fashion.  The Green Bay Packers came to town without star quarterback Aaron Rodgers.

Add it all together and you've got the making of a regular Boston massacre.

The Packers didn't get the memo and they actually lead the game at halftime.

New England closed the first half with some nice momentum though.  Set up by Dan Connolly's, yes Dan Connolly's, spectacular kickoff return, Tom Brady and the offense got the ball at the Green Bay four-yard line.  Three plays later Brady threw a touchdown pass to tight end Aaron Hernandez to bring New England within three points.

The Packers get the ball to start the second half so the Patriots still have an uphill battle ahead of them, but at least for the moment they've quelled Green Bay's momentum.

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Just when the Packers had seized momentum and taken a ten point lead, Dan Connolly took matters into his own hands and set an NFL Kickoff return record to give the New England Patriots the ball at the Green Bay four-yard line.

Green Bay squibbed the kickoff, presumably in an effort to keep the ball away from the explosive Brandon Tate, and it landed in the hands of offensive guard Dan Connolly.  In typical lineman fashion, Connolly covered the ball with both hands and braced for contact.  Contact never came and he rumbled downfield.

By the time the dust settled and the smoke cleared, Connolly had lumbered his way all the way to the Packers four-yard line and produced the longest kick return ever by an offensive lineman.  With the game beginning to feel like a possible upset, Connolly gave the Patriots the boost they needed and rejuvenated the sideline as well as the home crowd.

The video isn't available yet, but once it is, do yourself a favor and check it out.  It was the ugliest thing of beauty you could ever hope to see.

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No Aaron Rodgers, no problem for Matt Flynn and the Green Bay Packers.  In his first NFL start, Flynn is currently picking the New England Patriots secondary apart the way I pick the diced onions out of a McDonald's hamburger.  By the way McDonald's, I hate your new commercial poking fun at the Dunkin Donuts' "New Englander" ad campaign. Not a good idea to make fun of people who dress up for Patriots games when you're advertising in New England.

Anyway, Flynn just threw his second touchdown of the night, this time to his top receiver, Greg Jennings, who until this point had been a non-factor.  Flynn, thus far, is showing remarkable poise under pressure.  During the first few drives for Green Bay, Flynn seemed flustered by the blitz.  During the last two drives, he settled down and calmly got the ball out to his hot read.

In a wild turn of events, the Packers now lead the New England Patriots by a score of 17-7.  The Patriots haven't lost at home this season, yet somehow the Packers have come into town with a backup quarterback making his first start and have made a game out of it.

It's way too early to start calling the upset, but things are certainly shifting in Green Bay's favor.

To make matters worse, the Patriots are killing themselves with penalties.  On the touchdown drive New England committed a personal foul for helmet-to-helmet contact, then committed pass interference to give Green Bay a fresh set of downs at the goal line.

If the Pats hope to beat the Packers they need to stop beating themselves.

Green Bay Packers backup quarterback Matt Flynn lofted a perfectly thrown ball down the sideline to wide receiver James Jones.  Devin McCourty, who was questionable tonight due to a rib injury sustained during last week's win over the Chicago Bears, was beaten on the play.

It wasn't McCourty who made the biggest mistake though.  It was Patriots' safety Brandon Meriweather.  Meriweather has struggled mightily this season, at one point losing his starting job.  The former Pro-Bowler not only misplayed the ball, he also took a terrible angle on the receiver and missed completely.

Instead of tackling James Jones, he tackled his own teammate, McCourty.  Once the two defensive back collided, Jones had a free run into the end-zone to give the Packers a 10-7 lead.

In what was supposed to be a blowout with Green Bay missing star quarterback Aaron Rodgers, the game hasn't followed that script at all.  The Packers are playing aggressively, taking chances on special teams and taking shots downfield.  So far it's working beautifully and they're giving New England all they can handle early.

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BenJarvus Green-Ellis just ripped off the longest run of his career to give the New England Patriots a 7-3 over the Green Bay Packers.

New England's leading rusher had key blocks on the play from receivers Wes Welker and Deion Branch.  Branch absolutely levelled Green Bay defensive back Tramon Williams.

It was a typical Patriots drive.  They used their rookie tight end, Rob Gronkowski on a big pass play over the middle for a first down.  Later in the drive, they converted a 3rd and 17 to Deion Branch.  Branch worked the sticks beautifully and gained exactly he 17 yards he needed.

Quarterback Tom Brady nearly threw his first interception since week six, but Charles Woodson couldn't hang on.  That kept the drive alive and opened the door for "The Firm" to give New England their first lead of the game.

On a side note, most Patriots fans have recognized Gronkowski's excellence all season.  During the drive, NBC analyst Chris Collinsworth brought him into the national spotlight by saying Gronkowski deserved Pro Bowl consideration.  As somebody who's watched the rookie assert himself all year, it was nice to see a national spectator sing his praises.

Speaking of New England's rookie tight ends, Aaron Hernandez is active tonight. As is rookie cornerback Devin McCourty.

After succesfully executing a game-opening onside kick, the Green Bay Packers, with backup quarterback Matt Flynn at the helm, drove deep into New England Patriots territory before kicking a field goal to take an early lead in Gillette Stadium.

Considering where the Packers began their drive, the Patriots defense performed admirably.  They gave up big yards to Green Bay, but held their ground when it mattered most.  After allowing Flynn to pick and choose his receivers all the way to the New England ten-yard line, the Patriots forced a sack to end a once-promising drive.

Rather than give up and easy, early touchdown, New England held Green Bay to a field goal for the first "little" victory of the game.

This early, it may not seem like a big distinction, but it still affords the Patriots some leeway and gives them a chance to put the Packers in a hole and force them to throw the ball more than they may like.

Yielding an early touchdown would have been costly.  Holding the Packers to a field goal means New England can still reclaim the lead in one play.

The Green Bay Packers have just won the coin toss and elected to kick to Tom Brady and the Patriots offense. It was a puzzling decision for about two seconds.

That was until Green Bay pulled a New Orleans Saints and executed a surprise onside kick.  They caught the Patriots completely off-guard and recovered the kick.  Now Green Bay gets the first offensive posession of the game, takes a possession away from Brady and doesn't have to give New England the first drive of the second half.

Great call.

Now the Packers give their offense a short field to work with and have the chance to take some pressure off their defense.  A halfway decent drive should give Green Bay a field goal and help keep Matt Flynn comfortable.  A good drive could result in a touchdown and put the Patriots in the hole early.

At the very least it puts extra pressure on the Patriots young defense.  It should be interesting to see how they respond early.