NFL Playoff Predictions: What Would the Postseason Look Like If It Started Today

Playoff spots are starting to be locked up right now.

The Packers have clinched the NFC North, the 49ers locked up the NFC West and the Texans cemented their first-ever AFC South championship with a win on Sunday.

So although several teams still have hope for a wild-card berth or a division title or even a first-round bye, the playoff picture is really coming into form. 

If the season were to end today, this is where we'd stand. 

Sorry Cincinnati, Dallas, Oakland, Chicago and Tennessee fans, but your teams are on the outside looking in.  

NFC 1st Seed: Green Bay Packers

Record: 13-0

Remaining Schedule: at KCC, CHI, DET

Mike McCarthy may end up sitting his starter very, very early in Weeks 16 and 17, but the Packers have enough depth to complete the perfect regular season anyway.

More to the point, next Sunday, they should walk all over the Chiefs, who just canned their head coach, then easily dispatch the rival Bears at home. Even against that awful pass defense, Caleb Hanie is no threat. 

So that leaves just the Week 17 battle against the Lions. Don't discount Matt Flynn who can earn himself a big contract next year if he completes the 16-0 mark. 

First-Round Opponent: Bye, lowest remaining seed

AFC 1st Seed: Houston Texans

Record: 10-3

Remaining Schedule: CAR, at IND, TEN

As favorable as the Packers' schedule is, the Texans' comes fairly close.

Their defense is playing well enough right now to at least contain Cam Newton this week, and  the Colts game should be an absolute cakewalk.

And while logic suggests that Tennessee will be a difficult test in Week 17—they are a division rival and might be in the hunt for a wild card—I don't see it: Plenty was on the line in Week 7, and the Texans blew the doors off the Titans. 

Unlike the Packers, however, the Texans probably can't afford to sit their starters at any point in this season. For one, T.J. Yates needs all the work he can get, but also, they will probably have to win out to earn that top seed and critical home-field advantage.

First-Round Opponent: Bye, lowest remaining seed

NFC 2nd Seed: San Francisco 49ers

Record: 10-3

Remaining Schedule: PIT, at SEA, at STL

The sky is certainly not falling by the Bay. The 49ers still have the inside track on a bye, and they've already locked up the NFC West.

But starting with Sunday's terrible loss in Glendale, this is a rough patch right now for the 49ers. They've got a great Steelers team—very used to the spotlight of a prime time game—coming to town then depart for two road games. 

The Rams will be a pushover but don't sleep on the Seahawks who are on the rise right now and are always tough in Seattle. One slip-up and the 49ers could slip behind the Saints.  

First-Round Opponent: Bye, highest remaining seed

AFC 2nd Seed: Baltimore Ravens

Record: 10-3

Remaining Schedule: at SDC, CLE, at CIN

We all know that the Ravens own the tiebreaker with the Steelers, but that still might not be enough to secure the first-ever home playoff game for the John Harbaugh/Joe Flacco era.

To be honest, I think the division—and ultimately the identity of the second-seed—will be determined in Week 15 in sunny California. If the Ravens stumble against San Diego and the Steelers outlast the 49ers, Pittsburgh should claim the division. They've both got winnable games in Weeks 16 and 17.

Having said that, the Ravens defense is definitely capable of limiting Phillip Rivers and the Jekyll-and-Hyde San Diego offense. 

First-Round Opponent: Bye, highest remaining seed

NFC 3rd Seed: New Orleans Saints

Record: 10-3

Remaining Schedule: at MIN, ATL, CAR

This slideshow lays out how the playoff picture would look if the season ended today. In that case, the 49ers would win a tiebreaker with the Saints and claim the second spot.

But just looking at the remaining schedules, I think the Saints will spring ahead of San Francisco. The 49ers are very capable of losing to Pittsburgh and Seattle, while the only really demanding game for New Orleans should be the rematch with a desperate Atlanta team.

Sure Minnesota and Carolina can score points, but with those two games on the turf inside domes, Drew Brees will open up the aerial circus. 

First-Round Opponent: Home vs. Detroit Lions

AFC 3rd Seed: New England Patriots

Record: 10-3

Remaining Schedule: at DEN, MIA, BUF

I'm not foolish enough to pick the Patriots to end Tebow-mania, so let's say there's one more loss on the Pats' schedule. So given the fact that they trail both Houston and Baltimore in the tiebreaker category, that will be enough to send New England on the road should they win their wild-card matchup.

And really, would that be so bad? They've laid an egg the last two times they hosted playoff games at Gillette Stadium, so maybe going on the road is just what they'll need for a return to the top. Remember, they did just that in their first two Super Bowl championships of the dynasty. 

The only bad news? If things end up as they stand, the Jets—who pulled off an impressive road upset last January—will be the team coming to Foxborough, Mass. 

First-Round Opponent: Home vs. New York Jets

NFC 4th Seed: New York Giants

Record: 7-6

Remaining Schedule: WAS, "at" NYJ, DAL

Oh, how quickly things turn.

You've got to love how things are shaping up for the Giants right now. First, they pull off an incredible comeback in Dallas, and now, they get to come back home for the rest of the regular season. The game against the Jets in Week 16 is obviously not a road trip. 

Couple that stroke of good fortune with another Dallas collapse and the season-ending injury to DeMarco Murray and the Giants are sitting pretty right now. 

And with a dome team, the Falcons, coming to East Rutherford, they should have a good shot at a rematch with the Packers in the divisional round. 

First-Round Opponent: Home vs. Atlanta Falcons

AFC 4th Seed: Denver Broncos

Record: 8-5

Remaining Schedule: NEP, at BUF, KCC

The good fortune for Tim Tebow and the Denver Broncos continues even after the miracle win over Chicago.

Sure, the Patriots are coming to town, but down the stretch, Tebow-the-passer showed marketed improvement last week against a good Bears defense. And the Patriots' pass defense can make any passer look good. They're dead last in the NFL, and it's not even close.

So, Denver certainly has a chance to defeat Tom Brady and Co. But even if they don't, they get two slumping teams in Buffalo and Kansas City and should finish at 10-6. The way Oakland has played the last few weeks, they've shown no signs that they can match that mark.  

First-Round Opponent: Home vs. Pittsburgh Steelers

NFC 5th Seed: Atlanta Falcons

Record: 8-5

Remaining Schedule: JAX, at NOS, TBB

That trip to the Superdome sticks out like a sore thumb, but it's still a game the Falcons can win. 

The last six Saints-Falcons games have been decided by a touchdown or less, and if Julio Jones continues to develop as a deep threat, Atlanta should be able to match Drew Brees point-for-point.

But even if they are pounded in that critical Week 16 visit to the Bayou, they have home games against two bad teams, neither of whom can keep pace with Atlanta's offense.

You do have to wonder, how the Falcons will follow up three straight dome games with a trip to potentially snowy and cold New Jersey.

First-Round Opponent: at New York Giants

AFC 5th Seed: Pittsburgh Steelers

Record: 10-3

Remaining Schedule: at SFO, STL, at CLE

If the season ended today, the Steelers would find themselves a wild-card team. Far worse, is the fact that they very well could go 13-3 and find themselves a wild-card team. Now sure, they have no one to blame but themselves, losing twice to the Ravens.

But they still have a good shot at leap-frogging their great divisional foe in the next three weeks. They should trounce Cleveland and St. Louis, meaning that if the Ravens can lose to either Seattle or San Diego, the Steelers can pull into the third seed or higher.   

Of course, that also depends on Pittsburgh flying cross-country and defeating a very good 49ers team, but it will be very interesting to see how things play out. So too would Tim Tebow versus that Steelers defense.   

First-Round Opponent: at Denver Broncos

NFC 6th Seed: Detroit Lions

Record: 8-5

Remaining Schedule: at OAK, SDC, at GBP 

I don't want to rain on Lions fans parade—they split during the Ndamukong Suh ban and just saw the Bears choke away a sure win in Denver—but I feel compelled to.

Of all the remaining playoff contenders, they certainly have the toughest schedule: a trip to the Black Hole against a desperate Raiders team, a visit from the rising Chargers, then a rematch with the Packers in Lambeau Field.

The only saving grace is that the Packers will probably rest their starters in the second half of that game. 

Well, that's not the only saving grace. The two greatest threats to overtake Detroit for the sixth-seed are Chicago and Dallas, each of whom is currently devastated by offensive injuries. 

First-Round Opponent: at New Orleans Saints

AFC 6th Seed: New York Jets

Record: 8-5

Remaining Schedule: at PHI, NYG, at MIA

The loss of Jim Leonhard is huge, but they did survive the same injury to their "defensive quarterback" last year. They will miss him, but there's enough talent in that secondary to make up for his loss. 

I certainly don't see the Jets winning out—in fact, they could lose as many as two games—but I just don't think there's a team below them in the wild-card chase that will overtake them.

The Bengals have to play the Ravens in Week 17, the Raiders are falling fast, the Titans have to go to Houston and San Diego has a brutal schedule to close. 

The Jets may limp into the playoffs once again, but that didn't slow them down last year. And take a look at who they would be playing if the season ended today...they upset the Pats last January in Foxborough. 

First-Round Opponent: at New England Patriots