NFL Playoff Scenarios 2018: Wild-Card Picture, Postseason Bracket and Odds

With no Sunday or Monday night games on the schedule, the 2017 NFL regular season came to a close with a flurry of afternoon matchups on New Year's Eve, setting up the fans of 12 teams to ring in the new year with their playoff tickets booked.

The wild-card race went down to the wire in both conferences, with the Tennessee Titans and Buffalo Bills cementing their places in the AFC bracket and the Atlanta Falcons getting a necessary win over the Carolina Panthers to take the sixth and final spot in the NFC.

The Baltimore Ravens, Los Angeles Chargers and Seattle Seahawks all had shots to make the playoffs, but those teams either couldn't take care of business or didn't get the help they needed in other games to survive another week.

The Ravens' ouster from the playoffs was the big stunner. They had the lead late against the Cincinnati Bengals, but a long Tyler Boyd touchdown reception with under a minute to play gave the Bengals the victory and allowed the Buffalo Bills to force their way into the playoffs.

ESPN.com's Bill Barnwell noted that the Ravens were a virtual playoff lock entering Week 17:

Now that the postseason is settled, here are the playoff brackets and latest Super Bowl, AFC championship and NFC championship odds, according to OddsShark. The odds were last updated Sunday morning, so they should start to change now the brackets are set in stone. Still, they offer an idea of which teams oddsmakers think are most capable of winning the Super Bowl.

                     

AFC Playoff Picture

1. New England Patriots: 13-3 

2. Pittsburgh Steelers: 13-3

3. Jacksonville Jaguars: 10-6

4. Kansas City Chiefs: 10-6

5. Tennessee Titans: 9-7

6. Buffalo Bills: 9-7

NFC Playoff Picture

1. Philadelphia Eagles: 13-3

2. Minnesota Vikings: 13-3

3. Los Angeles Rams: 11-5

4. New Orleans Saints: 11-5

5. Carolina Panthers: 11-5

6. Atlanta Falcons: 10-6

Wild-Card Matchups

Saturday

No. 5 Tennessee Titans at No. 4 Kansas City Chiefs at 4:35 p.m. ET on ESPN/ABC

No. 6 Atlanta Falcons at No. 3 Los Angeles Rams at 8:15 p.m. ET on NBC

Sunday

No. 6 Buffalo Bills at No. 3 Jacksonville Jaguars at 1 p.m. ET on CBS

No. 5 Carolina Panthers at No. 4 New Orleans Saints at 4:40 p.m. ET on FOX

Super Bowl Odds

New England Patriots: 12-5

Minnesota Vikings: 9-2

Pittsburgh Steelers: 11-2

New Orleans Saints: 8-1

Los Angeles Rams: 8-1

Philadelphia Eagles: 11-1

Carolina Panthers 18-1

Jacksonville Jaguars: 18-1

Kansas City Chiefs: 22-1

Atlanta Falcons:  28-1

Tennessee Titans: 100-1

Buffalo Bills: 200-1

AFC Championship Odds

New England Patriots: 4-5

Pittsburgh Steelers: 11-4

Jacksonville Jaguars: 8-1

Kansas City Chiefs: 10-1

Tennessee Titans: 50-1

Buffalo Bills: 75-1

NFC Championship Odds

Minnesota Vikings: 2-1

Los Angeles Rams: 4-1

New Orleans Saints: 4-1

Philadelphia Eagles: 17-4

Carolina Panthers: 8-1

Atlanta Falcons: 12-1

Looking at the playoff odds, what's most striking is how low the Eagles are rated. Despite being the No. 1 seed in the NFC, they have the sixth-best Super Bowl odds. This is due to quarterback Carson Wentz's season-ending ACL injury, which he suffered in Week 14. That leaves Philadelphia leaning on backup Nick Foles to lead the playoff charge.

Foles was brilliant in his first full week of action against the lowly New York Giants, throwing four touchdown passes, but he hasn't been up to standard the past two gameweeks.

Chris Szagola/Associated Press

His play was particularly ugly in Week 17's clunky 6-0 loss to the Dallas Cowboys, in which he completed just 4 of 11 passes for 39 yards and a pick before giving way to backup Nate Sudfeld. The Eagles will need the Foles of 2013 if they are to make good on such a fantastic season. 

The other three teams that get a first-round bye—the New England Patriots, Minnesota Vikings and Pittsburgh Steelers—have appropriately strong odds, with the Vikings getting a boost because of the Eagles' quarterback situation.

However, the NFC is shaping up to be the more interesting conference to watch in the postseason as the teams are all strong top to bottom. The Panthers are the No. 5 seed, yet they came close to winning the NFC South over the Saints. The Falcons are the sixth seed, but they are just one year removed from being Super Bowl runners-up.

The Los Angeles Rams are looking particularly dangerous, especially with running back Todd Gurley racking up 456 yards from scrimmage and six touchdowns in Weeks 15 and 16. In the NFC, it looks like any team is capable of making a run to the Super Bowl.

James Kenney/Associated Press

The same can't necessarily be said in the AFC, where the teams bringing up the rear don't appear all that dangerous. The Bills booked their first playoff trip since 1999 courtesy of a win over the Miami Dolphins and a late Baltimore Ravens collapse, but they had a rocky season.

The Bills were outscored 302-359 on the year, and quarterback Tyrod Taylor was even benched for a game. Running back LeSean McCoy was carted off with an ankle injury in the third quarter against the Dolphins Sunday, per ESPN.com's Mike Rodak. X-rays were negative, but if he's limited or out for the Wild Card Round, the Kansas City Chiefs will be in a good position to win their matchup.

The Tennessee Titans are the other wild-card team, booking a spot in the playoffs thanks to a 15-10 win over the division-rival Jacksonville Jaguars.

While the Titans got a confidence boost with their win, neither they nor the Bills look capable of upsetting the established order and making a Super Bowl run. The Chiefs are an interesting contender if they can play like they did during the first half of the season, and the Jaguars are dangerous so long as Blake Bortles isn't coughing up turnovers.

Winslow Townson/Associated Press

That said, the Patriots and Steelers look deserving of their first-round byes and are the teams to beat. Tom Brady and company have looked dominant for much of the season, and coolly dispatched the New York Jets 26-6 in Week 17. The Steelers got a scare from the Cleveland Browns Sunday, but their multifaceted offense did enough to get the win.

Both of these teams are chock-full of seasoned vets with playoff experience because of their sustained excellence. Patriots head coach Bill Belichick is the best in the game, and Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin is up there with him.

A titanic matchup between these two teams in the AFC Championship Game would make for killer ratings as a great contest between two of the league's model franchises. With the way the AFC is shaping up, that matchup looks pretty likely, although anything can happen once the teams get down to the business of playing.