NFL Playoffs 2016-17: Bold Predictions for AFC and NFC Matchups

The Baltimore Ravens and New England Patriots closed out Week 14 in fitting fashion on Monday night. There was plenty of drama involved in the game, and the end result carried plenty of playoff implications.

In fact, a lost has changed with the NFL's playoff picture since the beginning of Week 14. The Oakland Raiders took over the AFC West and the No. 2 seed in the AFC. The Seattle Seahawks suffered an embarrassing loss at the hands of the Green Bay Packers and lost their grip on the NFC's No. 2 seed in the process.

The Ravens, meanwhile, fell out of a postseason slot entirely with their 30-23 loss to New England.

Of course, we're still a long way off from finalizing postseason brackets. If this much can change in one week, just imagine how different the playoff landscape might look three weeks from now.

This fact isn't enough to stop us from making some intriguing and bold predictions about the looming postseason. We're going to do exactly that today, using factors like past performances, remaining schedules and injuries as guides.

First, though, let's take a look at the current conference standings.

Week 15 NFL Standings

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

Bold Playoff Predictions

Defending Super Bowl Champs Miss the Playoffs

Ezra Shaw/Getty Images

If the season ended right now, the 8-5 Denver Broncos would be in the postseason as the AFC's final wild-card team. Unfortunately for Denver fans, the season doesn't end today.

Our guess is that by the time the season does end, the Broncos will be out of the playoff picture.

There are a couple of reasons why it's difficult to see this Broncos team as a legitimate contender right now. Part of the problem is an inconsistent offense that is rated just 26th overall by Pro Football Focus.

Denver has struggled to produce points on the offensive side of the ball, and this could prove to be a major flaw own the stretch. This brings us to the second major problem—the remaining schedule.

The Broncos will host Tom Brady and the Patriots in Week 15. It feels mighty unlikely that a Broncos offense that mustered 10 points against the Tennessee Titans last Sunday is going to keep pace with Brady and Co. for four full quarters.

After the Patriots, the Broncos have to close out the season against the Kansas City Chiefs and the Oakland Raiders. Each of these AFC West foes is ahead of Denver in the postseason race and owns a head-to-head victory over the Broncos this season.

Our guess is that Denver goes 1-2 down the stretch and misses the postseason entirely. Perhaps an unexpected team like the Miami Dolphins or Tennessee Titans will sneak in instead.

Green Bay Wins Out, Makes the Postseason

Dylan Buell/Getty Images

Earlier this season, the Green Bay Packers appeared to be out of the playoff race entirely. The defense was playing poorly, quarterback Aaron Rodgers couldn't get on the same page with his receivers and the team sat at 4-6. 

However, the Packers have battled back to reach a record of 7-6. The team is back in the postseason race and has won its last three games by a combined score of 96-36. As defensive coordinator Dom Capers recently explained, per Ryan Wood of the Green Bay Press-Gazette, eliminating big plays has made a tremendous difference:

If the Packers can sneak into the postseason, they have the potential to do some playoff damage. When the offense is rolling, the Packers can put up points with the best of them, and the players are oozing confidence.

"Most of the people in this room probably didn't believe when I said I think we can run the table. But I was confident in our abilities, and getting guys back from some injuries, that we were going to start playing a little bit better and more of a complete game in all three phases," Rodgers explained of the team's recent run, per Tom Pelissero of USA Today.

The Packers can indeed slide into the postseason, though they'll need help. Step one will be winning out to finish 10-6. Fortunately, the Packers face all three NFC North foes to close out the season, so there will be familiarity there, and the Packers will know what they need to do.

The second step will be catching a team ahead of the Packers in the standings. Our guess is the Detroit Lions see their comeback streak end against the New York Giants this week. This—or a loss to the Dallas Cowboys in Week 16—would potentially set up a winner-take-all scenario between the Packers and the Lions in Week 17.

This is a slightly bolder prediction than the one concerning Denver, but we're sticking by it.

Seahawks Earn First-Round Bye, Lose First Playoff Game Anyway

If the Packers to manage to steal the NFC North, then there's a strong change the 8-4-1 Seattle Seahawks regain the No. 2 seed in the NFC. This would be a good thing for Seattle because the Seahawks have been too bad too often on the road this year—specifically on offense.

The Seattle offense has produced road games with three points, six points, five points and 10 points this season. That kind of scoring simply won't cut it in the postseason.

Even at home, though, there are reasons to be concerned if you're a Seattle fan. The loss of star safety Earl Thomas heavily impacts what the team can do on defense, as evidenced in Seattle's 38-10 loss to the Packers this past week.

The Seahawks cannot afford to play as much man defense without Thomas, which in turn affects the team's ability to rush the passer. This could come back to bite the Seahawks if a team like the Packers or the Atlanta Falcons storms into CenturyLink Field for the divisional round.

The Seahawks barely edged out a two-point victory over the Falcons earlier this season with Thomas in the lineup. If the Seahawks play the Packers again and play like they did on Sunday, they won't stand a chance—no matter where the game is being played.

Things could get even worse if Seattle is forced to play a team with a stout defensive front like the Giants. The Seahawks' thrift-store offensive line is rated 31st in run blocking and 32nd in pass blocking by Pro Football Focus for the season.

Projected Final Playoff Seeding

Seed	Team	Record
AFC
NFC
1	Patriots	14-2
2	Chiefs	13-3
3	Steelers	11-5
4	Texans	9-7
5	Raiders	12-4
6	Dolphins	10-6
1	Cowboys	13-3
2	Seahawks	10-5-1
3	Falcons	10-6
4	Packers	10-6
5	Giants	11-5
6	Buccaneers	10-6