NFL Playoff Picture 2019: Week 17 Standings, AFC and NFC Wild-Card Hunt

The New Orleans Saints will remain indoors from this point through the end of the NFL season.

The Saints earned a 31-28 victory in Week 16 over the Pittsburgh Steelers, and that allowed them to clinch the top seed in the NFC.

They close the regular season with a home game over the eliminated Carolina Panthers and will play their divisional playoff game at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome—they will also host the NFC title game if they win their opening playoff game.

If they can win both of those games, they will represent the NFC in the Super Bowl at Atlanta's Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

New Orleans quarterback Drew Brees is far more effective at home than he is on the road in the postseason. He has a 1-5 career record away from home in the playoffs.

Here is a link to the current NFL standings.

NFC Playoff standings

1. New Orleans Saints (13-2, clinched NFC South)
2. Los Angeles Rams (12-3, clinched NFC West)
3. Chicago Bears (11-4, clinched NFC North)
4. Dallas Cowboys (9-6, clinched NFC East)
5. Seattle Seahawks (9-6, clinched wild-card)
6. Minnesota Vikings (8-6-1)

7. Philadelphia Eagles (8-7)

The Saints earned their NFC South title weeks ago, and the other NFC divisional winners are also set. The Dallas Cowboys have joined the NFC West champion Los Angeles Rams and NFC North titlist Chicago Bears.

The Cowboys bounced back from a 23-0 defeat to the Indianapolis Colts in Week 15 with a 27-20 triumph over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Rick Scuteri/Associated Press

The Rams can clinch the No. 2 seed and a bye in the first round if they defeat the San Francisco 49ers at home in Week 17. If they stumble, that will open the door for the Bears. Chicago will close its regular season with a road game against the Minnesota Vikings.

If the Bears win and the Rams lose, the Bears would get the No. 2 seed and Los Angeles would slip to No. 3. 

The Vikings will earn a wild-card spot in the NFC playoffs if they beat the Bears in the season finale. If they lose and the Philadelphia Eagles beat the Washington Redskins on the road, the defending Super Bowl champions will sneak into the playoffs ahead of the Vikings.

The Eagles defeated the Houston Texans 32-30 on a last-second field goal by Jake Elliott in Week 16. That allowed them to remain in playoff contention. If they had lost that game at Lincoln Financial Field, they would have been eliminated from earning a spot in the playoffs.

The Seattle Seahawks clinched a wild-card spot after beating the Kansas City Chiefs Sunday night. If they beat the Arizona Cardinals at home in Week 17, they will earn the No. 1 wild-card spot.

If they lose that game and the Vikings beat the Bears, Minnesota will move into the No. 1 wild-card spot and the Seahawks will drop to No. 2.

AFC Playoff Standings

1. Kansas City Chiefs (11-4, clinched playoffs)
2. New England Patriots (10-5, clinched AFC East)
3. Houston Texans (10-5, clinched playoffs)
4. Baltimore Ravens (9-6)
5. Los Angeles Chargers (11-4, clinched playoffs)
6. Indianapolis Colts (9-6)

7. Tennessee Titans (9-6)
8. Pittsburgh Steelers (8-6-1)

The AFC still has quite a few questions.

The New England Patriots may have been delayed in clinching the AFC East—they could have accomplished that in Week 14 or 15—but they beat the Buffalo Bills in Week 16 to clinch the division for the 10th consecutive year.

They also moved back into the No. 2 seed in the AFC playoffs a week after losing it because of the Texans' defeat at Philadelphia.

If the Patriots can beat the New York Jets at home in Week 17, they will nail down the No. 2 seed.

The Texans have clinched a playoff spot, but they have not won the AFC South. They have lost two of three after a nine-game winning streak, and head coach Bill O'Brien's team may have peaked during that run.

The No. 2 wild-card spot in the AFC will belong to the winner of the regular-season finale between the Indianapolis Colts and the Tennessee Titans. That game will be played in Tennessee and will conclude the regular season on Sunday night.

However, if the Texans lose their season finale to the Jacksonville Jaguars, the winner of the Indianapolis-Tennessee game will win the AFC South and the Texans will be the No. 2 wild-card team 

The Baltimore Ravens moved into first place in the AFC North after beating the Los Angeles Chargers 22-10 Saturday night. The Ravens' rock-solid defense got the best of the explosive Chargers and picked up a huge road win.

Since the Steelers lost at New Orleans, the Ravens bypassed the Steelers. 

If Baltimore beats the Cleveland Browns at home Sunday, the Ravens will clinch the division. If they lose and the Steelers beat the Cincinnati Bengals at home, the Steelers will take the division title.

The only scenario that would allow the Steelers to emerge as the No. 2 wild-card team would be with a win over the Bengals and the Colts and Titans tie.

The Kansas City Chiefs had a chance to win the AFC West and clinch the top seed in the conference Sunday night, but the loss to the Seahawks means they will have to wait a week.

They can win the AFC West and the No. 1 seed in the AFC if they beat the Oakland Raiders in the season finale.

If they lose and the Chargers beat the Denver Broncos on the road, Los Angeles will win the AFC West and the top AFC seed, while the Chiefs will become the No. 1 wild-card. The Chargers will be the No. 1 wild-card team if the Chiefs win the division title.