NFL Playoff Scenarios 2017: Week 17 Picture and Latest Bracket Predictions
All 32 NFL teams are in action on a jam-packed Sunday of football, but only a handful of those teams are playing in games that will have any bearing on the upcoming playoffs.
Only two teams outside the current playoff picture can force their way into the postseason, but among the teams already guaranteed to play beyond Week 17, there is still plenty of opportunity to reshape the landscape.
Here's how the playoff bracket stacks up heading into the final week of the regular season.
| 1 | New England Patriots (13-2) | Dallas Cowboys (13-2) | |
| 2 | Oakland Raiders (12-3) | Atlanta Falcons (10-5) | |
| 3 | Pittsburgh Steelers (10-5) | Seattle Seahawks (9-5-1) | |
| 4 | Houston Texans (9-6) | Green Bay Packers (9-6) | |
| 5 | Kansas City Chiefs (11-4) | New York Giants (10-5) | |
| 6 | Miami Dolphins (10-5) | Detroit Lions (9-6) | |
| Still In the Hunt | |||
| Washington Redskins (8-6-1) | |||
| Tampa Bay Buccaneers (8-7) |
The AFC is relatively straightforward, with all six teams listed above guaranteed playoff berths. The NFC has a bit more intrigue. The Washington Redskins and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are both on the outside looking in but are not yet eliminated from contention.
The Buccaneers need a win over the Carolina Panthers in Week 17 and a miracle string of results in order to make the postseason. According to ESPN.com, the Bucs will make the playoffs if they beat the Panthers, the Redskins tie with the New York Giants, the Green Bay Packers lose to the Detroit Lions and four other teams—Dallas Cowboys, Indianapolis Colts, San Francisco 49ers and Tennessee Titans—all win in Week 17.
So let's get this first projection out of the way: The Buccaneers are not going to make the playoffs. There's still a chance, but it's an infinitesimal one.
Washington, by contrast, has a fair shot at the postseason. The Giants are locked into the No. 5 seed in the NFC, which gives head coach Ben McAdoo the luxury of resting key players knowing their play won't have any impact on their playoff standing.
.jpg?w=256)
.jpg?w=256 "Texans Giants Football")
He'll have to choose between keeping his key players in rhythm—they are after all guaranteed to play next week in the NFC Wild Card Round—or protecting them from suffering an injury in a game without any material implications.
With everything to play for, Washington would seem a good bet to come out firing and take the game to the Giants. The team already has the confidence of a 29-27 win over the G-Men in Week 3, and though Kirk Cousins has been inconsistent over the past few weeks, he's one of the few quarterbacks to find success against New York this season. Cousins threw for 296 yards and two scores without a pick in Week 3 against New York.
It's the biggest game of the season for Washington and a chance for Cousins to put on a show. However, Bleacher Report's Mike Tanier noted Cousins hasn't been at his best in some of Washington's toughest contests this season:
"But then there are those 'big games.' Cousins delivered a shaky performance on Monday night against the Panthers in Week 15, when a win would have solidified Washington’s playoff chances. He was worse against the Cardinals in Week 13, often looking jittery against that dangerous defense. The Redskins came up short against the Cowboys on Thanksgiving Day, and the stage looked a little too big for Cousins in the Monday night season opener against the Steelers.
"
There was also the London game. There’s something symbolic about tying Andy Dalton’s Bengals when the spotlight is on that could make the Redskins wary of hitching their future to a quarterback who always seems to get stopped at the velvet rope outside the Brady-Rodgers VIP entrance. The Redskins don’t want to become the Bengals, stuck in third gear for half a decade.
Cousins might not be as prolific as he was in Week 3, but the possibility of the Giants resting their best players at some point in this contest points toward a Washington victory, albeit a slim, nervy one.
Should the Redskins win, they simply have to hope that the Packers and Lions don't play to a tie in the Sunday night game. The odds of that are incredibly low, but the NFL has already seen two ties this season, and the Packers and Lions are two rivals capable of bogging each other down into a desperate fight for the playoffs. That said, the Packers would appear to have the edge in this matchup.
The Lions have lost their last two games, and Matt Stafford has thrown one touchdown against four interceptions in the last three weeks. The Packers are winners of five straight, with Aaron Rodgers lighting it up in the passing game and Ty Montgomery bringing stability to an injury-plagued backfield.
Rodgers challenged his team to "run the table" with the Packers' season on the ropes, per Rob Maaddi of the Associated Press (h/t Madison.com), and the team has responded in kind.
"I wanted to infuse some confidence in my teammates," Rodgers said, per Maaddi. "We had the potential to do what we did. It was a leap of faith at that time. We're here now with a chance to finish this thing off and get ourselves into the playoffs. I like that we're playing for something."
Since the Lions have little running game to speak of, the white-hot Packers should be able to pull out this road win, clinch the NFC North, bounce the Lions from a playoff spot that seemed all but guaranteed just a few weeks ago and allow the Redskins to reach the NFC Wild Card Round.
As for the top of the NFC, the Dallas Cowboys have clinched the No. 1 seed. The Atlanta Falcons and Seattle Seahawks are both vying for the No. 2 seed, which grants a first-round bye.
The Falcons control their own destiny, as a win over the New Orleans Saints gives them the No. 2 seed no matter what the Seahawks do against the lowly 49ers. The Seahawks should have little trouble beating the bottom-dwelling 49ers on Sunday. The Falcons won't be able to rest on their laurels, as they are scheduled to play at the same time as the Seahawks.
Atlanta already defeated New Orleans 45-32 earlier this season. The offense has been in the same brilliant form as of late, totaling 116 points over the last three games.
The Saints' porous secondary will have no answer for Julio Jones, and Matt Ryan will outduel Drew Brees on the way to a Falcons win and a much-needed week off in the playoffs.
Moving over to the AFC, the big game to watch is the contest between the Oakland Raiders and Denver Broncos. The Raiders lost their MVP-candidate quarterback Derek Carr to a broken fibula in Week 16, leaving Matt McGloin to lead the charge against one of the league's toughest defenses.
The Broncos' own offense has struggled during the latter part of the season, with an underwhelming Trevor Siemian struggling to keep defenses honest and a dormant running game leading to a dearth of scoring. Backup quarterback Paxton Lynch is in line to get some playing time on Sunday, which could throw the Broncos out of rhythm on offense and take some of the pressure off McGloin.
The veteran McGloin has massive shoes to fill, and his middling track record (11 career touchdowns, 11 interceptions) does not bode well against a defense that features an elite secondary and the pass-rushing marvel that is linebacker Von Miller. However, most of his experience came as a rookie in the 2013 season, so he has had time to grow as a quarterback and study what NFL defenses are going to throw at him.
The Broncos defense allowed 33 points in a loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 16, but it was something of an aberration, as they gave up just 39 points total in the three weeks prior. The Chiefs found great success against the Broncos with tight end Travis Kelce (11 catches, 160 yards and one touchdown in Week 16) torching them time and time again for big gains, but the Raiders don't have such a middle-of-the-field weapon to utilize.
Raiders wide receivers Amari Cooper and Michael Crabtree are likely going to have a difficult time against the Broncos' excellent stable of cornerbacks, making it difficult for McGloin to do what he needs to lead his team to victory.
A Raiders loss would allow the Chiefs an opportunity to win the AFC West by defeating the San Diego Chargers on Sunday.
Despite a litany of injuries, the Chargers have been a competitive team this year, with most of their games coming down to the wire. However, with the Chargers reeling from a demoralizing Week 16 loss to the Cleveland Browns, persistent relocation chatter and running back Melvin Gordon out injured, the Chiefs should be able to defeat a worn-down franchise with nothing to play for at season's end.
The New England Patriots—surprise, surprise—are in line for the No. 1 seed and will clinch it should they defeat the Miami Dolphins on Sunday or the Raiders lose to the Broncos. It's been another magnificent year for head coach Bill Belichick and his charges. They overcame Tom Brady's four-game suspension to start the season and injuries to tight end Rob Gronkowski to put together yet another wildly successful campaign.
Even if the Dolphins prevail on Sunday and the Raiders pull off the win in Denver, it will do little to spoil what the Patriots have achieved so far this season. Look for them to take a first-round bye and possibly even home-field advantage and go into the postseason as the AFC team with the best chance at reaching the Super Bowl.
.jpg?w=480)
.jpg?w=480 "Texans Giants Football")
.jpg?w=600 "Full Bryce Young Trade Return 🔁")
.jpg?w=600 "Steelers Draft Pittsburgh Native")
.jpg?w=600 "Tyreek, Aiyuk's Best Landing Spots")
