NFL TV Schedule 2015: Week 17 Coverage Map, Game Times and Predictions

While the exact seeding hasn't been confirmed for the NFL postseason, there's just two playoff spots left to claim heading into Week 17. The New York Jets (10-5) or the Pittsburgh Steelers (9-6) will claim one of them, and we'll know which team is in around 4 p.m. ET.

The Jets are on the road against the Buffalo Bills to close the season, while the Steelers are traveling to take on the Cleveland Browns. Both games are part of the early schedule with 1 p.m. ET kickoffs. 

The Jets have won five games in a row, and they can clinch a spot with a win. If they lose to the Bills, the Jets will need the Browns to pull off an unlikely victory over the Steelers. Pittsburgh and New York haven't played this season, so the head-to-head tiebreaker wouldn't be applicable. Conference record is the next tiebreaker for a wild-card spot.

If the Jets lose and the Steelers win—which is the only way the two teams can wind up tied—both would have a 7-5 conference record. The third tiebreaker is common games. That's where the Steelers have the edge with a 4-1 record compared to a 3-2 mark for the Jets.

Check out all of the NFL tiebreaker procedures at NFL.com.

The Steelers got a bit of bad news on Wednesday when starting quarterback Ben Roethlisberger left practice early feeling ill, per Aditi Kinkhabwala of NFL.com. It would be a shock if Roethlisberger missed the team's biggest game of the season with an illness, but it's a story worth monitoring as Sunday approaches.

Here's a look at the entire Week 17 NFL schedule with viewing and coverage map information. Below the chart and coverage map info is a close look at playoff scenarios surrounding the as-yet-determined AFC South title.

Away	Home	Time	TV	Prediction
New York	Buffalo	1 PM	CBS	Buffalo
New England	Miami	1 PM	CBS	New England
New Orleans	Atlanta	1 PM	FOX	Atlanta
Baltimore	Cincinnati	1 PM	FOX	Cincinnati
Pittsburgh	Cleveland	1 PM	CBS	Pittsburgh
Jacksonville	Houston	1 PM	CBS	Houston
Tennessee	Indianapolis	1 PM	CBS	Indianapolis
Washington	Dallas	1 PM	FOX	Dallas
Philadelphia	New York	1 PM	FOX	Philadelphia
Detroit	Chicago	1 PM	FOX	Chicago
Tampa Bay	Carolina	4:25 PM	FOX	Carolina
Oakland	Kansas City	4:25 PM	FOX	Kansas City
San Diego	Denver	4:25 PM	CBS	Denver
Seattle	Arizona	4:25 PM	FOX	Seattle
St. Louis	San Francisco	4:25 PM	CBS	St. Louis
Minnesota	Green Bay	8:30 PM	NBC	Minnesota

Coverage maps of the week's games can be viewed here, courtesy of 506 Sports. All out-of-market NFL games can be live-streamed via DirecTV's NFL Sunday Ticket.

Michael Hickey/Getty Images

The Houston Texans (8-7) have the inside track ahead of the Indianapolis Colts (7-8) for the AFC South division title. The easiest way for this subpar division battle to end would be with a Texans victory at home against the Jacksonville Jaguars, and/or a Colts loss at home to the Tennessee Titans. Houston would then claim the division and earn the right to host a playoff game.

However, things will get tricky if the Texans lose and the Colts win. The teams would be tied at 8-8, and the tiebreaker to determine the division champion would go down to the fifth, sixth or seventh step in the process. 

The teams are deadlocked in head-to-head meetings, winning percentage in the division, common games and games within the conference. That leaves us with the following dizzying scenario, per CBSSports.com.

The Texans would clinch the strength-of-victory tiebreaker if any of the following teams win on Sunday: the New Orleans Saints, Cincinnati Bengals, New York Jets, San Diego Chargers or New England Patriots.

If all of that fails, the Texans would still clinch the division via strength of schedule if the Kansas City Chiefs win or tie and the Browns win or tie—as long as both teams don't tie. If that still doesn't settle things, the next tiebreaker is best combined ranking among AFC teams in points scored and points allowed in all games.

Mercy.

The Texans have an AFC ranking of 17, and the Colts are well below them at No. 25.

The Colts' only path to the division title is through the sixth tiebreaker. They would first need to win and have Houston lose, of course. From there, the Saints, Bengals, Jets, Chargers and Patriots must all lose to create the tie in the strength-of-victory category.

The Colts would then win the division if both of the following occurs:

• Baltimore Ravens, Atlanta Falcons, Bills, Denver Broncos and Miami Dolphins win.

• Oakland Raiders win or tie and the Steelers win or tie—as long as both teams don't tie.

It feels like I just directed an entire day of NFL RedZone programming. The amount of if-then scenarios is truly insane, but it could very well be the path into the postseason for the Texans or Colts. 

Why the Steelers and Texans Will Make the Postseason

Gene J. Puskar/Associated Press

Unless Roethlisberger is seriously afflicted, it seems highly unlikely he'd miss the season finale. That's bad news for Cleveland. The Browns are a mess in just about every way. They have lost two in a row and nine of their last 10 games.

That includes a 30-9 defeat at the hands of the Steelers in Week 10. There's no way the Cleveland secondary finds an answer for the Steelers' high-flying receiving corps led by Antonio Brown. Pittsburgh will win in Cleveland.

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Gary Wiepert/Associated Press

The toughest call is the Jets vs. Bills. New York has been winning of late, but not all that impressively. This is the same Jets team that needed a late field goal to beat a woefully shorthanded Dallas Cowboys team in Week 15.

Bills head coach Rex Ryan has all the motivation in the world to stick it to the Jets. The team fired him almost a year to the day of the 2015 season finale.  Offensively, New York is underwhelming, and Ryan and the Bills defense can make this game their personal Super Bowl.

The Bills will play the ultimate spoiler and send the Jets home with a crushing defeat.

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George Bridges/Associated Press

To put it plainly, the Texans aren't a great team, but they are good enough to beat a 5-10 Jacksonville Jaguars squad at home. Jacksonville has lost four of five games coming into the season finale, and while head coach Gus Bradley has been able to ensure his team plays hard most weeks, there's still a gap in talent on the defensive side of the ball.

Jacksonville is ranked 29th in the NFL in passing defense and has just eight interceptions on the season, per Pro-Football-Reference.com. Per Ed Werder of ESPN.com, Texans QB Brian Hoyer has cleared concussion protocol and will start on Sunday. 

Look for him to take advantage of a weak Jaguars defense and lead his team into the postseason.