NFL Playoff Picture Week 17: Latest AFC, NFC Standings and Bracket Scenarios

The 2014 NFL regular season is approaching Sunday's full slate of Week 17 action, and football fans of teams in the AFC and NFC are looking to the playoff picture to check the latest bracket scenarios.

With the league backloading the schedule with divisional matchups, there are several games Sunday that will decide which teams advance to the postseason and which will be on the outside looking in.

Here are the AFC and NFC standings and bracket scenarios heading into Week 17.

AFC Standings
AFC West	Wins	Losses	Tie
AFC East	Wins	Losses	Tie
AFC North	Wins	Losses	Tie
AFC South	Wins	Losses	Tie
NFC Standings
NFC West	Wins	Losses	Tie
NFC East	Wins	Losses	Tie
NFC North	Wins	Losses	Tie
NFC South	Wins	Losses	Tie
Denver Broncos	11	4	0
San Diego Chargers	9	6	0
Kansas City Chiefs	8	7	0
Oakland Raiders	3	12	0
New England Patriots	12	3	0
Miami Dolphins	8	7	0
Buffalo Bills	8	7	0
New York Jets	3	12	0
Cincinnati Bengals	10	4	1
Pittsburgh Steelers	10	5	0
Baltimore Ravens	9	6	0
Cleveland Browns	7	8	0
Indianapolis Colts	10	5	0
Houston Texans	8	7	0
Tennessee Titans	3	12	0
Jacksonville Jaguars	2	13	0
Seattle Seahawks	11	4	0
Arizona Cardinals	11	4	0
San Francisco 49ers	7	8	0
St. Louis Rams	6	9	0
Dallas Cowboys	11	4	0
Philadelphia Eagles	9	6	0
New York Giants	6	9	0
Washington Redskins	4	11	0
Detroit Lions	11	4	0
Green Bay Packers	11	4	0
Minnesota Vikings	6	9	0
Chicago Bears	5	10	0
Carolina Panthers	6	8	1
Atlanta Falcons	6	9	0
New Orleans Saints	6	9	0
Tampa Bay Buccaneers	2	13	0

The Full Playoffs Bracket and Scenarios

Week 17 AFC Scenarios

Broncos clinch first-round bye with:

1. Denver win vs. Oakland OR
2. Denver tie vs. Oakland + Cincinnati loss or tie vs. Pittsburgh OR
3. Cincinnati loss OR
4. Cincinnati tie + Indianapolis win vs. Tennessee

Bengals clinch AFC North with:

1. Cincinnati win vs. Pittsburgh

Bengals clinch first-round bye with:

1. Cincinnati win + Denver loss or tie OR
2. Cincinnati tie + losses by both Denver and Indianapolis

Steelers clinch AFC North with:

1. Pittsburgh win vs. Cincinnati

Chargers clinch playoff spot with:

1. San Diego win vs. Kansas City OR
2. San Diego tie + Baltimore loss or tie vs. Cleveland

Ravens clinch playoff spot with:

1. Baltimore win + San Diego loss or tie OR
2. Baltimore tie + San Diego loss

Chiefs clinch playoff spot with:

1. Kansas City win + loss by Baltimore + loss or tie by Houston

Texans clinch playoff spot with:

1. Houston win + losses by both Baltimore and San Diego

Week 17 NFC Scenarios

Cowboys clinch home-field advantage throughout NFC with:

1. Dallas win + loss or tie by Arizona vs. San Francisco + Detroit vs. Green Bay tie OR
2. Dallas win + win by Seattle vs. St. Louis + Detroit vs. Green Bay tie

Cowboys clinch first-round bye with:

1. Dallas win + loss or tie by both Seattle and Arizona OR
2. Dallas win + Detroit vs. Green Bay tie OR
3. Seattle and Arizona both lose OR
4. Dallas and Seattle both tie + Arizona loses or ties + Detroit vs. Green Bay does not end in a tie

Lions clinch NFC North with:

1. Lions win or tie

Lions clinch home-field advantage throughout NFC playoffs with:

1. Lions win + Seattle loss or tie + Arizona loss or tie OR
2. Detroit tie + losses by both Seattle and Arizona + Dallas loses or ties

Lions clinch first-round bye with:

1. Detroit win OR
2. Detroit tie + Dallas loss or tie OR
3. Detroit tie + both Arizona and Seattle lose

Packers clinch NFC North and first-round bye with:

1. Green Bay win

Packers clinch home-field advantage throughout NFC playoffs with:

1. Green Bay win + loss or tie by Seattle

Seahawks clinch NFC West with:

1. Seattle win OR
2. Seattle tie + loss or tie by Arizona OR
3. Arizona loss

Seahawks clinch home-field advantage throughout NFC playoffs with:

1. Seattle win + Detroit vs. Green Bay does not end in tie OR
2. Seattle win + Dallas loss or tie OR
3. Seattle tie + losses or ties by both Arizona and Dallas + Detroit vs. Green Bay tie

Seahawks clinch first-round bye with:

1. Seattle win OR
2. Seattle tie + Arizona loss or tie + Dallas loss OR
3. Seattle tie + Arizona loss or tie + Detroit vs. Green Bay tie

Cardinals clinch NFC West with:

1. Arizona win + Seattle loss or tie OR
2. Arizona tie + Seattle loss

Cardinals clinch home-field advantage throughout NFC playoffs with:

1. Arizona win + Seattle and Green Bay both lose or tie OR
2. Arizona tie + Seattle loss + Dallas loss or tie + Detroit vs. Green Bay tie

Cardinals clinch first-round bye with:

1. Arizona win + Seattle loss or tie OR
2. Arizona tie + Seattle loss + Dallas loss or tie OR
3. Arizona tie + Seattle loss + Detroit vs. Green Bay tie

Panthers clinch NFC South with:

1. Carolina win or tie vs. Atlanta

Falcons clinch NFC South with:

1. Atlanta win

Game of the Week: Carolina Panthers vs. Atlanta Falcons

The most intriguing matchup of the weekend is the battle between Atlanta and Carolina, with the NFC South division championship hanging in the balance. The winner enters the playoffs, and the loser watches from home.

Atlanta has the initial edge due to the fact that the game will be played in the Georgia Dome, but the two teams are so familiar with each other that the result will be yet another close final score. The Falcons won the first game between the rivals, 19-17.

While the rushing attack has been lackluster this season, the Atlanta pass offense has been dangerous. The fifth-ranked unit, led by Matt Ryan, has averaged 288.5 yards per game, but the Panthers are ranked ninth, allowing only 228 passing yards per game.

Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan told STATS LLC about making the playoffs, via ESPN.com:

"

It doesn't matter how you get there -- you just have to get in. We have a game at home and for us, if you win, you're in. Obviously this year has shaken out a lot different than any other year I've been a part of in our division. But even saying that, it doesn't matter. We are where we are, and we're excited about our chances.

"

On the other side of the ball, Carolina has started to return to an elite form. As long as quarterback Cam Newton doesn’t show any setbacks from a back injury that cost him one game, the Carolina offensive unit should be able to exploit the weak Atlanta defense.

The Falcons come into Week 17 ranked 32nd in the league against the pass (allowing 291.1 yards per game) and 18th against the run (allowing 113.3 yards per game). After winning three straight games, Newton and the Panthers are ready to shine once again.

This game will not be pretty, but Carolina should be able to pull out the victory using its stellar defense and the timely scoring of the offensive unit.

Predicted Score: Carolina 27, Atlanta 17

 

*Stats via NFL.com.

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