NFL Standings 2018-19: Week 16 Records, Playoff Scenarios, WC Picture Review

The 15th week of the 2018 NFL season is officially in the books. The New Orleans Saints survived the Carolina Panthers on Monday night, meaning they remain in control of the No. 1 seed in the NFC. Over in the AFC, things aren't quite as clear.

The Kansas City Chiefs and Los Angeles Chargers share an 11-3 record, but the Chiefs are on top of the AFC West and in control of the No. 1 seed because of tiebreakers. This means that if the Chiefs win out, they'll be the No. 1 seed. The Chargers need to win out and see Kansas City lose, and they'll be the No. 1 seed.

The Saints, meanwhile, only need to go 1-1 down the stretch to secure their top spot.

Let's take a look at the full playoff picture heading into Week 15. We'll run down how the teams still alive stand, the rest of the NFL's playoff scenarios and the wild-card picture.

Week 16 Playoff Picture

AFC Division Leaders

1. Kansas City Chiefs (11-3)

2. Houston Texans (10-4)

3. New England Patriots (9-5)

4. Pittsburgh Steelers (8-5-1)

Wild Card

5. Los Angeles Chargers (11-3)

6. Baltimore Ravens (8-6)

In the Hunt

7. Indianapolis Colts (8-6)

8. Tennessee Titans (8-6)

9. Miami Dolphins (7-7)

10. Cleveland Browns (6-7-1)

NFC Division Leaders

1. New Orleans Saints (12-2)

2. Los Angeles Rams (11-3)

3. Chicago Bears (10-4)

4. Dallas Cowboys (8-6)

Wild Card

5. Seattle Seahawks (8-6)

6. Minnesota Vikings (7-5-1)

In the Hunt

7. Philadelphia Eagles (7-7)

8. Washington Redskins (7-7)

9. Carolina Panthers (6-8)

Playoff Scenarios

The Chiefs and Chargers are the only teams in the AFC to have clinched playoff berths so far. The New England Patriots can claim the AFC East by winning one of their two games. The Houston Texans need the same to clinch the AFC South.

The Texans currently own the No. 2 seed in the conference, but if they lose one of their remaining games and the Patriots win out, New England will snatch it way. The Patriots won the head-to-head matchup early in the season.

Things are a little more uncertain in the AFC North. The 8-5-1 Pittsburgh Steelers currently hold the division lead, but the 8-6 Baltimore Ravens are right behind them. If the Steelers slip up and the Ravens win out, Baltimore will take the division and the Steelers could even still miss the playoffs.

"We can beat anybody," Steelers guard David DeCastro said after his team beat the Patriots, per ESPN's Jeremy Fowler. "We can also lose to anybody."

Over in the NFC, the Dallas Cowboys are the kind of team that can beat anyone and also lose to anyone. They gutted out a win over the Saints and then just got punched in the mouth by the Indianapolis Colts in a shutout loss.

A win and losses by the Washington Redskins and Philadelphia Eagles would have locked up the NFC East for Dallas. The opposite happened.

The Saints, Chicago Bears and Los Angeles Rams have all clinched their respective divisions.

L.A. currently holds the No. 2 seed, but if the Rams win out and the Saints lose out, they can steal the top spot. They can also lose the second seed to Chicago by losing a game while the Bears win out.

Chicago won the head-to-head matchup a couple weeks ago.

Nick Wass/Associated Press

Wild-Card Picture

There are still plenty of teams alive in the wild-card races, which is going to make for a fun finish to the season. The Seattle Seahawks and Minnesota Vikings control wild-card spots in the NFC, but both the Eagles and Redskins are still alive.

If Washington or Philadelphia wins out while the other NFC East team and the Vikings each lose a game, they'll be in. This means that even a single loss could send the Vikings home at season's end. Seattle can get in by winning out or by beating the Arizona Cardinals in Week 17.

The Panthers are only technically still alive in the wild-card race.

Things get a little trickier in the AFC. The Ravens, Indianapolis Colts and Tennessee Titans all share an 8-6 record. Baltimore is currently in control thanks to holding the tiebreaker. If the Ravens win out, they're at least in the postseason as the No. 6 seed.

If the Ravens lose a game, though, the Colts or the Titans could take that sixth seed by winning out. They happen to play each other in the season finale.

For the Cleveland Browns (yes, the Browns), the path to the postseason is extremely rocky. They first need to win out. They would then need the Ravens to lose out and the Colts and Titans to both lose in Week 16. Cleveland would then need the Colts and Titans to tie in the finale, which would leave three teams at 8-7-1, and Cleveland would own the tiebreaker based on common opponents.

Miami's situation is basically the same as Cleveland's. They can finish 9-7 while the Colts and Titans sit at 8-7-1. They also have a slim shot at the AFC East.