NFL Playoff Picture Week 16 Scenarios: 11 teams can tie up bids
Here's a look at playoff clinching scenarios for Week 16 of the 2014 NFL season.
By
Joe Ferreira
•
3 min read
We saw three teams clinch divisions in the AFC during Week 15 with New England capturing the East, Indianapolis winning the South and Denver topping the West.
The AFC North is still open with Cincinnati, Pittsburgh and Baltimore in the running for division supremacy and each team winning this week. If Cincinnati, Pittsburgh and Baltimore all win and San Diego loses at San Francisco, then the three AFC North teams will grab the final three AFC playoff spots. On the NFC side, if Philadelphia loses, Dallas wins or ties, New Orleans wins and Carolina loses, then we have all six playoff spots locked up in that conference as well.
Some overall playoff notes:
Four teams have qualified for the playoffs through 15 weeks (NE, IND, DEN, ARI), which is the second-fewest teams to gain a playoff berth at this point since the playoff field expanded to 12 teams in 1990 (three teams locked up spots through 15 weeks in 1995). Also, if ARI, DAL, DET and NO do not clinch their divisions in Week 16, it will be the second straight year that all four division titles in the NFC will go down to Week 17. That's never happened in back-to-back seasons in a conference going back to 1970. In fact, only five times have all divisions in the AFC or NFC come down to the final weekend (1980 AFC, 1983 NFC, 1987 AFC, 2000 AFC, 2013 NFC).
Here are the AFC playoff scenarios for Week 16:
New England can clinch home-field advantage in the AFC playoffs with:
1) NE win + DEN loss
New England can clinch a first-round bye with:
1) NE win
2) NE tie + IND loss or tie
3) IND loss + CIN loss or tie + PIT loss or tie + BAL loss or tie
Denver can clinch a first-round bye with:
1) DEN win
2) DEN tie + IND loss or tie
Cincinnati can clinch the AFC North division title with:
1) CIN win + PIT loss + BAL loss or tie
Cincinnati can clinch a playoff spot with:
1) CIN win
2) CIN tie + BAL loss
3) CIN tie + KC loss or tie + SD loss or tie
4) KC loss + SD loss + BUF loss or tie
Pittsburgh can clinch a playoff spot with:
1) PIT win
Baltimore can clinch a playoff spot with:
1) BAL win + PIT loss + CIN loss
2) BAL win + KC loss or tie + SD loss or tie
3) BAL tie + KC loss + SD loss + BUF loss or tie
Here are the NFC playoff scenarios for Week 16:
Arizona can clinch the NFC West division title and home-field advantage throughout NFC playoffs with:
1) ARI win
Detroit can clinch the NFC North with:
1) DET win + GB loss
Detroit can clinch a first-round bye with:
1) DET win + GB loss + DAL loss
Detroit can clinch a playoff spot with:
1) DET win
2) DET tie + PHI loss or tie
3) PHI loss
Dallas can clinch the NFC East division title with:
1) DAL win + PHI loss or tie
2) DAL tie + PHI loss
Dallas can clinch a playoff berth with:
1) DAL win + GB loss or tie + DET loss or tie as long as both don't tie
Seattle can clinch a playoff spot with:
1) SEA win + PHI loss or tie
2) SEA win + DET loss or tie
3) SEA win + GB loss or tie
4) SEA tie + PHI loss
5) SEA tie + DET loss + GB loss
6) PHI loss + DAL win or tie
Green Bay can clinch a playoff spot with:
1) GB win + PHI loss or tie
2) GB win + DAL win or tie
3) GB tie + PHI loss
4) GB tie + PHI tie + DAL win or tie
5) PHI loss + DAL win or tie
New Orleans can clinch the NFC South division title with:
1) NO win + CAR loss
Playoff picture standings and tiebreakers
Joe Ferreira is an NFL playoffs expert in his 23rd season of handling official playoff scenarios for the NFL. Follow Joe on Twitter: @JoeNFL.
