NFL Playoffs 2016: Bracket Format, Standings and Latest AFC, NFC Seeds

With one week left in the NFL regular season, this year's playoff puzzle is mostly in focus with some of the pieces waiting to be moved into the right spots. 

All six playoff teams are set in the NFC, with the Green Bay Packers and Minnesota Vikings playing head-to-head; the winner clinches the NFC North, and the other is relegated to wild-card status. 

The AFC is a little more muddled, with two playoff spots still up for grabs. The Houston Texans lead the Indianapolis Colts by one game for the AFC South title, while the New York Jets have an edge on the Pittsburgh Steelers for the second wild-card spot. 

Place	Team	Record
1	New England Patriots (Clinched AFC East)	12-3
2	Denver Broncos (Clinched playoff berth)	11-4
3	Cincinnati Bengals (Clinched AFC North)	11-4
4	Houston Texans (Lead AFC South)	8-7
5	Kansas City Chiefs (Clinched playoff berth)	10-5
6	New York Jets (Lead wild card)	10-5
7	Pittsburgh Steelers	9-6
8	Oakland Raiders	7-8
9	Buffalo Bills	7-8
10	Indianapolis Colts	7-8
11	Jacksonville Jaguars	5-10
12	Miami Dolphins	5-10
13	Baltimore Ravens	5-10
14	San Diego Chargers	4-11
15	Cleveland Browns	3-12
16	Tennessee Titans	3-12

While not the most pressing storyline for Week 17, the Denver Broncos have a chance to claim the AFC's No. 1 seed with a victory over the San Diego Chargers and a New England Patriots loss against the Miami Dolphins. 

It's amazing the Broncos have performed that well despite Peyton Manning's disastrous season with 17 interceptions in 322 attempts and Brock Osweiler's growing pains after being thrust into his first significant action. 

They can also drop to the No. 5 seed with a loss and a Kansas City Chiefs win over the Oakland Raiders. 

The Steelers blew a golden opportunity to control their own destiny last weekend, losing 20-17 to the 5-10 Baltimore Ravens, and will now need to defeat the lowly Cleveland Browns and have the Buffalo Bills defeat the Jets to reach the postseason. 

If the Steelers can't beat the Browns one week after losing to the Ravens, they don't deserve to be called a playoff team. 

Unfortunately for the Steelers, as Mark Kaboly of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review stated, needing to rely on others for help hasn't worked out well for them in the past.

"Over the past 20 years, three times the Steelers faced a scenario like they will in Cleveland in order to get into the playoffs: win and get help," Kaboly wrote. "All three times the Steelers won their game but got no help — two of the instances came over the past six seasons."

One thing that could work to Pittsburgh's advantage is Bills head coach Rex Ryan seeking to keep his former team out of the postseason. 

While not quite at the level of the Broncos being in the mix for the No. 1 seed, the Texans and Colts still fighting for a division title is surprising because those teams have had huge problems at quarterback virtually all year. 

The Texans have gone through four starting quarterbacks, relying on Brandon Weeden entering Week 17 against the Jacksonville Jaguars to claim their first playoff spot since 2012. 

The Colts have been able to hang on with 40-year-old Matt Hasselbeck most of this season, but he's listed as doubtful for Sunday's game against the Tennessee Titans with a sprained AC joint. The team signed Josh Freeman and Ryan Lindley just to have options for Week 17. 

It's an ugly division with the winner certain to struggle in the postseason, but someone has to win it. The Texans have come this far with all of their quarterback questions, so there's no reason to expect a letdown at home against a Jaguars team that's lost four of its last five games. 

Place	Team	Record
1	Carolina Panthers (Clinched NFC South)	14-1
2	Arizona Cardinals (Clinched NFC West)	13-2
3	Green Bay Packers (Clinched playoff berth)	10-5
4	Washington (Clinched NFC East)	8-7
5	Minnesota Vikings (Clinched playoff berth)	10-5
6	Seattle Seahawks (Clinched wild card)	9-6
7	Atlanta Falcons	8-7
8	St. Louis Rams	7-8
9	Detroit Lions	6-9
10	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	6-9
11	New Orleans Saints	6-9
12	Chicago Bears	6-9
13	Philadelphia Eagles	6-9
14	New York Giants	6-9
15	San Francisco 49ers	4-11
16	Dallas Cowboys	4-11

The Carolina Panthers and Arizona Cardinals have already locked up first-round byes, but the Cardinals can steal the No. 1 seed with a win over the Seattle Seahawks and a Panthers loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. 

The biggest head-to-head matchup of the weekend features the Vikings traveling to Lambeau Field hoping to avenge their Week 11 loss against the Packers. 

Before the season started, the Packers were considered a Super Bowl team after reaching the NFC Championship Game last year. Things started out well with a 6-0 record, but injuries and poor play across the board have led to a mediocre 4-5 stretch. 

NFL.com analyst Brian Billick, who was one of the few people to say before the season the Vikings would win the NFC North over the Packers, spoke to Kevin Seifert of ESPN.com prior to Week 17 about how he sees things standing between the two teams now:

"

However you measure the teams for this game, whether it's the offensive lines, defensive lines, matchups in defensive backs versus receivers, you would pretty much give it to the Vikings across the board. The only caveat is the quarterbacks. You have Teddy Bridgewater and Aaron Rodgers.

It's hard to see any team quarterbacked by Aaron Rodgers capitulating dominance in the division over time. We'll see.

"

Rodgers has certainly earned the benefit of the doubt when going through a bad stretch, but Aaron Gleeman of NBC Sports pointed out that Bridgewater has substantial advantages in two key categories:

In seven of the Packers' last 10 games, Rodgers has completed less than 60 percent of his passes with five of his seven interceptions coming during that span.

Bridgewater isn't the dynamic passer Rodgers is and has just 14 touchdown passes this season, but six have come in the last three weeks with no interceptions. 

The Packers' problems extend beyond Rodgers because the running game and offensive line haven't helped anything. This is still a quarterback league, so Green Bay's collapse will be thrown at Rodgers' feet if the Vikings win on Sunday.