NFL Playoff Picture Week 14: Examining AFC, NFC Scenarios Before Sunday's Action

The Dallas Cowboys made the first playoff move in Week 14, defeating the Chicago Bears on Thursday Night Football to increase their record to 9-4 on the season and, for the time being, become the NFC's No. 5 seed.

That may have been the first movement of the week, but rest assured, it won't be the last.

Playoff implications are running rampant throughout the NFL this week, and 14 of the 15 remaining games involve at least one team that is still in the mix for a postseason berth. Gil Brandt of NFL.com tweeted exactly how many teams are still alive:

With so many teams still in contention, there are plenty of scenarios that will be playing out within the last four weeks of the regular season. If you're really curious about your team's playoff chances, PredictionMachine.com has your answer. If that isn't enough, NFL on ESPN's Playoff Machine should suffice:

So what does the playoff picture look like heading into Sunday? Here's a glance, followed by a few postseason scenarios to watch for in Week 14.

AFC Seed	Team	NFC Seed	Team
1	New England Patriots (9-3)	1	Arizona Cardinals (9-3)
2	Denver Broncos (9-3)	2	Green Bay Packers (9-3)
3	Cincinnati Bengals (8-3-1)	3	Philadelphia Eagles (9-3)
4	Indianapolis Colts (8-4)	4	Atlanta Falcons (5-7)
5	San Diego Chargers (8-4)	5	Dallas Cowboys (9-4)
6	Miami Dolphins (7-5)	6	Seattle Seahawks (8-4)

Week 14 Playoff Scenarios

Indianapolis Colts Can Clinch AFC South

There's a strong possibility the Colts will officially take the AFC South following Sunday's action.

The terms are simple: Indianapolis needs to win and the Houston Texans must lose. That would boost the Colts to 9-4 on the season and drop the Texans to 6-7, giving the Colts a three-game cushion and tiebreaker (common opponents) with just three games remaining.

How likely is this scenario to happen? Well, it's possible but not highly likely.

Indianapolis is in great position to defeat the Cleveland Browns on Sunday. The Browns are in some turmoil right now, due to some uncertainty at the quarterback position. Brian Hoyer was benched in Week 13 for rookie Johnny Manziel—who produced a touchdown—but the veteran will be back under center against the Colts.

With Cleveland's offense in disarray, Andrew Luck and Co. have a great opportunity to take advantage and earn a big road win. However, that's only half of the battle to claim the division title this week.

In what is a less than likely scenario, Houston must also lose to the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday. The Texans were on fire last week, thanks to the resurgent play of Ryan Fitzpatrick and the return of Arian Foster. It's difficult to see the hapless Jaguars earning a victory here, so the Colts may have to wait one more week to take the division's crown.

Denver Broncos Can Earn Playoff Berth

All right, let's just get one thing out of the way: This is a pretty far-fetched scenario, but it's a possibility. If the Broncos defeat the Buffalo Bills and Baltimore Ravens, Pittsburgh Steelers, the Browns, the Texans and Kansas City Chiefs lose, Peyton Manning and Co. will officially be in the playoffs.

In this scenario, Denver would move to 10-3 on the season and would finish the year 10-6 at the absolute worst. If those remaining teams win out following Week 14, the Broncos would own tiebreakers over each one except the Chargers. In this instance, San Diego would win the AFC West, but Denver would still be awarded a wild-card spot.

Don't expect this scenario to play out in Week 14. After all, the Broncos don't only need a Jaguars victory, they also need the Cincinnati Bengals to be the only AFC North team to generate a win for the second consecutive week and the Arizona Cardinals to overcome a plethora of injuries to defeat the Chiefs.

Some of this scenario is likely to play out, but not all of it.

NFC Future Scenarios

The Philadelphia Eagles are closing in on winning the NFC East. They can take the division in two weeks, but their road won't be easy.

On Sunday, Philadelphia must defeat the surging Seattle Seahawks. If the team gets that done, it moves to 10-3 on the season. In Week 15, the Eagles play the Cowboys, and a victory in that game would give Philadelphia a two-game lead and a tiebreaker with two games to play. Checkmate.

Dallas could wind up being the odd man out in the NFC's wild-card picture. Both the Detroit Lions and Seahawks own tiebreakers over the Cowboys, so if these three teams continue to duke it out for the two wild-card spots, Dallas would be left on the outside looking in.

The Green Bay Packers could overtake Arizona for the NFC's No. 1 seed this week. The Cardinals are struggling and have dropped two consecutive games. They now have a difficult test against the Chiefs on Sunday. Meanwhile, the Packers have a favorable matchup against the Atlanta Falcons on Monday. If the Cardinals lose and the Packers win, Green Bay controls its own destiny in the conference.

Piggybacking off that scenario, if the Cardinals do lose to the Chiefs, they also risk losing the NFC West. If Seattle defeats Philadelphia, it would tie Arizona's 9-4 record. The Seahawks own a tiebreaker over the Cardinals due to a head-to-head victory earlier this season, and they would then control the division.

There's plenty on the line in Week 14. Hang on to your hats.