NFL Playoff Picture 2019: Week 17 Scenarios, Standings and Predictions

With one week of football left to go in the NFL regular season, a number of teams will be playing for a chance at the postseason. 

Here is where the playoff teams stand going into Week 17:

Standings

AFC Playoff Bracket

1. Kansas City Chiefs (11-4)

2. New England Patriots (10-5)

3. Houston Texans (10-5)

4. Baltimore Ravens (9-6)

5. Los Angeles Chargers (11-4)

6. Indianapolis Colts (9-6)

In the Hunt

7. Tennessee Titans (9-6)

8. Pittsburgh Steelers (8-6-1)

NFC Playoff Bracket

1. New Orleans Saints (13-2)

2. Los Angeles Rams (12-3)

3. Chicago Bears (11-4)

4. Dallas Cowboys (9-6)

5. Seattle Seahawks (9-6)

6. Minnesota Vikings (8-6-1)

In the Hunt

7. Philadelphia Eagles (8-7)

In the AFC, not a lot has been set in stone.

Kansas City should finally clinch the No. 1 spot and home-field advantage through the AFC playoffs with a victory over the four-win Raiders.

That win will confirm the Los Angeles Chargers' No. 5 spot in the Wild Card Round with an 11-4 record, making their matchup against the Broncos not relevant to the playoff picture. If the Chiefs were to lose, the Chargers would jump to the one spot.

The New England Patriots should be able to secure their No. 2 spot with a win over the Jets at home, giving them the edge over the Houston Texans despite the outcome of the Texans-Jaguars game.

The Patriots have the head-to-head tiebreaker over Houston, guaranteeing them the higher seed if both teams end the season with the same record. If both teams were to lose, New England would still secure the second seed.

In the event of a New England loss and a Houston win, the Texans will take the No. 2 spot and secure a first-round bye—forcing the Patriots to play in the AFC Wild Card Round.

This is where things get a little trickier in the AFC, with the No. 4 and No. 6 spot up for grabs.

Baltimore sits at the No. 4 spot with one more win than conference rival Pittsburgh and would secure that spot and win the division with a win over Cleveland in Week 17.

The Ravens are 6-point favorites to beat the Browns. With a win, the Ravens would knock the Steelers out of the playoff race. If they were to lose, the Ravens would leave the door open for the Steelers to steal the division and the playoff spot.

At the six spot, the Tennessee Titans and Indianapolis Colts will duke it out in a Week 17 battle that determines who will make the playoffs. If this game were to end in a tie, and the Steelers and Ravens both won, the Steelers would take the No. 6 seed and move on to the postseason. 

The NFC has wrapped things up better than the AFC has, with the New Orleans Saints not playing games with their playoff berth. The Saints secured the No. 1 seed in the NFC with an exciting win over the Steelers in Week 16, rendering their Week 17 game irrelevant to the playoff picture. 

Despite losing their last two games, the Los Angeles Rams should not have a problem clinching the No. 2 spot, as they are 10-point favorites to beat the 49ers in Week 17.

In the event of a loss, the No. 3 Bears could swoop in and take that first-round bye with a win over the Vikings in Week 17—thanks to their win over the Rams in the regular season.

The Cowboys have already clinched their division, sitting happily at the No. 4 spot with nothing to gain from a win or a loss. At 9-6, Dallas cannot catch up with the 11-4 Bears and won't drop down to the five or six spot with a loss since it's a division champion.

Seattle clinched a playoff berth last week with a win over Kansas City and would secure its No. 5 spot with a win over the Cardinals, which seems likely as they sit as 13.5-point favorites.

The last spot in the NFC playoff bracket is where there's the most room for change. Minnesota sits at No. 6 and will face a tough Bears team in Week 17. A win over the Bears guarantees the Vikings a spot in the postseason.

However, if they lose, Philadelphia—a 7-point favorite—is given a chance to take the six spot with a win over Washington. A Vikings loss and an Eagles win will result in Philadelphia taking the No. 6 spot. If the Vikings win or if the Vikings and Eagles both lose, Minnesota will move on to the playoffs.

Predictions

In the AFC, Kansas City and New England will secure the one and two spots, respectively, with wins over their Week 17 opponents. This will result in Houston staying in the No. 3 spot and Los Angeles remaining as the five seed in the wild-card round.

Baltimore will secure the No. 4 seed and the AFC North Division title with a win over Cleveland, knocking Pittsburgh out of the playoff race. Additionally, look for Indianapolis to defeat Tennessee for the final spot in the AFC playoffs.

The top four NFC playoff seeds won't change, with the top four teams taking care of business against their Week 17 division matchups—most of which are against far inferior teams. Seattle will beat the Cardinals to remain in its five spot as well.

Unfortunately for Minnesota, a Chicago win will kick them out of the playoffs because Philadelphia will beat Washington on the road. That Eagles win will seal the Vikings' fate, eliminating them from the NFC playoffs and making the Eagles a team to beat in the six spot.

All odds courtesy of OddsShark.

More Week 17 scenarios can be found at CBS Sports.