NFL Playoff Picture Week 17: AFC and NFC Scenarios and Predictions

It is a good time to be the NFL—everything continues to unfold as planned.

Well, it would be nice if the eventual NFC South champion had a winning record, but outside of that, it's smooth sailing.

The league wants the majority of season-ending bouts each year to mean something. Call it "mission accomplished" this year, as a few are division title games and even a Jacksonville-Houston showdown offers some intrigue.

Below, let's take a look at the current playoff picture and nail down some predictions with a week and one game left.

NFL Playoff Picture and Conference Scenarios

All playoff scenarios courtesy of CBSSports.com and ESPN.com and current as of December 22 at 12 a.m. ET.  

Predictions

AFC Seed	Team	NFC Seed	Team
1	New England Patriots (13-3)	1	Seattle Seahawks (12-4)
2	Denver Broncos (13-3)	2	Green Bay Packers (12-4)
3	Indianapolis Colts (11-5)	3	Dallas Cowboys (12-4)
4	Cincinnati Bengals (10-5-1)	4	Atlanta Falcons (7-9)
5	Pittsburgh Steelers (10-6)	5	Arizona Cardinals (11-5)
6	San Diego Chargers (10-6)	6	Detroit Lions (11-5)

Atlanta Seizes the NFC South

Rogelio Solis/Associated Press

Look at these Atlanta Falcons go.

Most left Matt Ryan and Co. for dead going into Week 16. Really, why not? The team entered as losers of three of their last four, and a road trip to take on the New Orleans Saints is never an easy task.

Except this time it was.

SundayNight Football illustrates the lopsided encounter:

Ryan was solid in a hostile environment. A strong showing from Devonta Freeman is an encouraging sign for a team that at times has been too one-dimensional on offense.

Most impressive, though, was the fact the Falcons were able to limit Drew Brees to a touchdown with a pair of interceptions.

This strong defense now rides into a matchup with the Carolina Panthers. Cam Newton and Co. were able to get a critical four-point win over the Cleveland Browns in Week 16 to force the division-deciding encounter.

Keep in mind, though, that this same Atlanta defense limited Newton to a pair of touchdowns and interceptions in a Week 11 Falcons win in Carolina.

This time things will go down in Atlanta. Thanks to a 4.7 per-carry average from Freeman the last time he met these Panthers, not to mention a smooth 268 yards and a score from Ryan, the Falcons figure to have a distinct advantage in front of a raucous crowd.

Either way a team with a losing record from the division will get in with teams such as the Philadelphia Eagles already on the outs. It might as well come via an entertaining affair where some of the league's most notable names put everything on the line.

Green Bay Scores Revenge 

Critical seeding leans on the outcome of an NFC North rematch between the Green Bay Packers and Detroit Lions.

Calvin Johnson and the Lions stole the first encounter by a 19-7 margin. Matthew Stafford was erratic with 246 yards and a pair of picks, but 61 yards and a fourth-quarter touchdown from Reggie Bush sealed the deal.

Now is probably a good time to mention that Bush is back and looks healthy. In a six-point win over the Chicago Bears in Week 16, he ran for 54 yards and a score and caught six passes for 44 yards.

Leon Halip/Getty Images

It is still hard to back the Lions, though.

The rematch comes at Lambeau Field. A Lions defense that held Aaron Rodgers to 162 yards and a score will not find similar success on the road. This is especially the case considering Ndamukong Suh and Co. allowed Chicago backup Jimmy Clausen to throw for 181 yards and two scores this past weekend.

Meanwhile, Green Bay took down the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 20-3 fashion, which prompted some confident words from coach Mike McCarthy, per The Associated Press, via ESPN.com:

"

We've won six out of seven games, so I'd like to classify that as playing a lot of solid football, that's for sure. We'll clean this game up tomorrow; we'll be on it. We'll also start on Detroit. I like where we're at, and I really like this football team. ... I feel good about the offense, defense and special teams.

"

The man has a point. Detroit struggles on the road this year, too, but especially against potent offenses. New England's Tom Brady threw for 349 yards and a pair of scores in a 34-9 win earlier this season.

Right now, these Packers are too hot and at home. Look for Rodgers to not only redeem himself for an early season loss, but for the Packers to take another serious step forward in the momentum department.