NFL Playoff Picture Week 16: Reviewing Latest Bracket Scenarios for AFC, NFC

When the Washington Redskins take on the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field Saturday night, they will be in control of their own destiny.

Win that game, and the Redskins will earn the NFC East Championship and become the No. 4 seed in the NFC playoffs. However, the Redskins are not the only NFC East team that controls its own fate. So do their opponents.

The Eagles will have more work to do, but if they beat the Redskins at home and then go to MetLife Stadium in Week 17 and beat the New York Giants, they will earn the NFC East crown.

The Giants? They are still alive, but they need quite a bit of help. They need the Eagles to beat the Redskins, they must win their own two games at Minnesota and at home against the Eagles and they will also need the Dallas Cowboys to beat the Redskins in the season finale.

Winning at Minnesota will be a huge challenge, because the Giants won't have superstar wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. in the lineup as a result of a one-game suspension.

The Vikings will be fully motivated to beat the Giants and follow that with a victory at Green Bay in Week 17. If the Vikings beat the Giants, they will clinch a playoff berth, and if they follow that with a victory over the Packers, the Vikings will win the NFC North.

The Packers can clinch the NFC North this week with a win at Arizona coupled with a Minnesota loss to the Giants. The Packers have already clinched a wild-card spot.

It's unlikely the Packers will clinch this week because the Cardinals are a formidable and motivated opponent with the top-ranked offense in the league. If the Cardinals win, they will clinch a first-round bye, and they certainly have the balance on offense and defense to cause problems for Green Bay for 60 minutes.

The Carolina Panthers will try to remain undefeated by winning at Atlanta this week. They pummeled the Falcons 38-0 in Week 14, and a victory here will clinch the No. 1 seed in the NFC playoffs for Ron Rivera's team.

On the AFC side, the New England Patriots can clinch home-field advantage throughout the AFC playoffs with a win at MetLife Stadium over the New York Jets. This game will be a major challenge for the Patriots, because the Jets are fighting for their playoff lives.

The Jets, Kansas City Chiefs and Pittsburgh Steelers are all 9-5, but if all three teams win out, the Jets would be the team on the outside of the playoffs looking in.

The Chiefs can clinch a wild-card spot if they beat the Cleveland Browns and the Jets or Patriots lose, while the Steelers can clinch their wild-card spot if they win and the Jets fall to the Patriots.

Fred Vuich/Associated Press

The most crucial game on the AFC schedule is the Monday night encounter between the Cincinnati Bengals and the Denver Broncos in Denver. If the Broncos win, they will have the inside track on a first-round bye because they will have the same 11-4 record as the Bengals, and they will also hold the tiebreaker edge.

If the Bengals win in the Mile High City, they will clinch the first-round bye. That scenario will also create problems for the Broncos.

If Denver drops its fifth game of the year, the streaking Chiefs could take first place in the AFC West away from them by winning their final two games. In addition to their game with the Browns this week, the Chiefs host the Oakland Raiders in the regular-season finale.

If the Broncos lose to the Bengals and drop their season finale at home to the Chargers, they could miss out on making the postseason.

Finally, the Houston Texans have a chance to clinch the AFC South title this week if they can beat the Tennessee Titans and also clinch the strength of victory tiebreaker. The Indianapolis Colts still have a chance to catch the Texans, but they would have to beat the Miami Dolphins on the road this week and close with a victory over the Titans and get help from the Texans' opponents.