NFL Playoff Picture Week 17: AFC, NFC Scenarios, Predictions for 2015 Postseason

Contrary to the typical final week, most NFL playoff hopefuls control their own fate.

Considering the close standings throughout each division, the picture heading into Week 17 is surprisingly straightforward. Three division titles will be determined by head-to-head matchups, with the AFC and the NFC North losers settling for a wild-card bid.

Even the crowded chase for the final AFC Wild Card spot has boiled down to four foes, two of which will clash. The schedule-makers have to love how everything played out entering the season finale.

The most intrigue lies north, where each division resides in more peril than Winterfell. Now that winter has come, let's preview those monumental bouts.

NFL Playoff Picture

Check out CBS Sports' full look at all postseason scenarios.

Postseason Bracket Predictions

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

Week 17 Predictions

Detroit Lions at Green Bay Packers

The Green Bay Packers and the Detroit Lions each enter their showdown at 11-4, with Detroit owning the current head-to-head advantage. Yet, Green Bay is the much better team on paper.

While Green Bay posts an NFC-best plus-128 point differential, the Lions lag far behind at plus-49. Detroit has stormed to the finish line with four straight wins, but that will happen against teams with a combined 18-42 record.

If Jimmy Clausen didn't start at quarterback for the Chicago Bears, Matthew Stafford's two picks might have cost the Lions a Week 16 victory. Despite Stafford's shaky Sunday, head coach Jim Caldwell defended him during Monday's press conference, per the Detroit Free Press' Dave Birkett: 

"

I think there's a lack of appreciation for him around here, I think, at times. Let me just tell you something: He's a man's man. He's a tough guy. He gets hit out there every single ballgame, he hangs in there, and there may be one he'd like to have back, but then there's a couple others, or one other that's probably not all his fault.

"

That's nice, but simple math says Detroit has declined offensively, falling down to No. 18 in yards accumulated. If there's any chance of this team sweeping Green Bay, the No. 2 defense will have to contain Aaron Rodgers, again.

In Week 3, Rodgers registered a season-low 162 passing yards on 6.0 yards per attempt. So the Lions' key to victory is shutting down an MVP candidate at home, where he averages 9.67 yards per attempt with 23 touchdowns and zero interceptions.

Since that upset, the Lions have only played two teams in the playoff hunt. They lost to the Arizona Cardinals with Drew Stanton at quarterback before getting stomped by the New England Patriots. The Packers are far more deserving of taking the division and a first-round bye.

Prediction: Packers 23, Lions 14

Cincinnati Bengals at Pittsburgh Steelers

Why even bother predicting a game involving the Cincinnati Bengals?

After barely beating the 2-13 Tampa Bay Buccaneers and getting squashed by the Pittsburgh Steelers, they decimated the Cleveland Browns before upsetting the Denver Broncos on Monday night.

So much for snapping their three-year playoff streak. And so much for the "Cincinnati can't win a prime-time game with Andy Dalton" theory. Let's hope so, as another one is coming. NBC grabbed the AFC North title clash for Sunday night, a decision NFL senior vice president of broadcasting Howard Katz explained to TheMMQB.com's Peter King: 

"

No matter what would happen in the [Cincinnati-Denver] Monday night game, Cincinnati-Pittsburgh would be for the division. And there was further drama, potentially, that if the Bengals lost to Denver, they may have to win Sunday to even make the playoffs—and San Diego, Baltimore, Houston and Kansas City were all still alive in the AFC. So if Cincinnati needed to win to make the playoffs, there would be a twist because of the teams that would be alive Sunday during the day with a win.

"

As always, nobody has any idea which Bengals will show up Sunday. Will it be the guys who averaged 5.6 yards per carry against the NFL's then-No. 2 rushing defense while picking off Peyton Manning four times? Or will everyone see the squad that surrendered 543 yards to Pittsburgh three weeks ago?

The way Pittsburgh's offense is rolling, the latter is more probable. The AFC's most prolific offense has scored 29.6 points over the past five games, fueled by one of the best running back-wide receiver duos ever.

Le'Veon Bell, who torched Cincinnati's No. 22 defense for 235 total yards and three touchdowns, has compiled an insane 2,115 yards from scrimmage. Antonio Brown, meanwhile, leads the NFL in receptions by a landslide.

Per ESPN Stats & Info:

Even at 10-4-1, the Bengals sport the AFC's ninth-best point differential (plus-31). They'll need another huge game from Jeremy Hill, but the Steelers just held Jamaal Charles to 29 yards on nine carries last Sunday.

Despite Cincinnati's huge win over Denver, trust the Steelers to clinch the division at home. 

Prediction: Steelers 34, Bengals 23