NFL Playoff Picture Week 16: AFC, NFC Scenarios for Browns, Seahawks and More

There are just two gameweeks left in the 2018 NFL season. And believe it or not, very little about the postseason has been decided. In fact, only the Los Angeles Chargers, Kansas City Chiefs, New Orleans Saints, Chicago Bears and Los Angeles Rams have clinched playoff spots.

Nobody in the AFC has even clinched a division.

There are a ton of scenarios that can unfold before the regular season's conclusion. There's even the possibility that the New England Patriots, the No. 3 seed, fall out of the playoff picture and that the no-longer-lowly Cleveland Browns manage to sneak in.

Heck, in the NFC, the 6-8 Carolina Panthers could still have a shot—if the Minnesota Vikings, Washington Redskins and Minnesota Vikings all lose out.

We're here to take a look at the playoff picture as it stands. We'll also examine some of the stranger possibilities of the postseason.

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)

Cleveland Needs a Miracle

As mentioned—and as any Cleveland fan you may have in your life has already reminded you—the Browns are still alive in the postseason race. They can stay alive after Week 16 if they beat the Cincinnati Bengals while the Baltimore Ravens, Tennessee Titans and Indianapolis Colts all lose. From there, though, Cleveland's playoff hopes will rest on utter shenanigans.

Cleveland would then need to beat Baltimore in Week 17 while the Titans and Colts tie. This would leave Indianapolis, Cleveland and Tennessee in a three-way tie at 8-7-1. Cleveland would get in based on the common-opponent tiebreaker.

Things would have been a lot simpler if the Colts or the Titans had lost in Week 15. Alas, the NFC East wasn't in a helping mood. Both the Titans and Colts pitched shutouts. Unfortunately, Cleveland's chances again depend on the NFC East, as Indianapolis hosts the New York Giants and Tennessee hosts the Washington Redskins in Week 16.

But heck, Cleveland can still finish 4-1-1 in the AFC North, so there's that.

Seahawks Need 1 (Specific) Win

The Seattle Seahawks don't need a domino cascade of outcomes in order to get into the postseason. At 8-6, they are in prime position to secure at least one of the NFC's wild-card spots. However, losing to the San Francisco 49ers in Week 15 put them in an odd position.

Seattle couldn't have earned a first-round bye even with a victory in Week 15 because the Rams had already clinched the division. However, it left open the slight possibility that Seattle could miss the playoffs because of tiebreakers by losing to the Arizona Cardinals in Week 17—even with a victory over the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday.

A New York Times analysis of the possible playoff scenarios shows that Seattle has a 96 percent chance of making the postseason, but not 100 percent.

That's only a slim chance of missing, but losing to both the Chiefs and the Cardinals would put Seattle in serious jeopardy. On the other hand, beating Arizona would put Seattle at 9-7 and give it the tiebreaker edge over every other wild-card contender in the conference.

Beating Kansas City all but assures Seattle of a spot in the postseason, but winning one of the final two pretty much guarantees the Seahawks will be in.

Patriots Can Be (Almost) Anything

Don Wright/Associated Press

The New England Patriots are in an odd situation as well. At 9-5, they need just one more win to clinch the AFC East. However, they could also lose out and miss the playoffs entirely. Or they could win out and earn a first-round bye with a Houston Texans loss.

New England could even still earn the conference's No. 1 seed if both the Chiefs and Chargers lose out and go from 11-3 to 11-5.

Pretty much the only slot the Patriots won't land in is the No. 5 seed. Whoever doesn't win the AFC West between L.A. and Kansas City will be sitting there. It's most likely, though, that New England will be the second, third, fourth or sixth seed.

Winning out is the only thing New England can control, and that challenge just became a bit tougher. Big-play receiver Josh Gordon was recently suspended for violating terms of his reinstatement.

Before the suspension was confirmed, Gordon announced he would be leaving the game for the foreseeable future.

"I take my mental health very seriously at this point to ensure I remain able to perform at the highest level," Gordon wrote in a statement, per Kevin Patra of NFL.com. "I have recently felt like I could have a better grasp on things mentally. With that said, I will be stepping away from the football field for a bit to focus on my mental health."

With Gordon suspended indefinitely, though, the receiver has no control over his return, and there's essentially zero chance the Patriots see him back before or during the playoffs.