It seems like the 2015 NFL season just started, but there is now only one week left in the regular season. Some playoff tickets have been punched, but there are still some postseason spots up for grabs and only one team has locked in their seed as we head into Week 17. If the season ended today, this is what the seeding in each conference would look like:
AFC
Division Leaders
1. New England Patriots (12-3) – clinched AFC East and first-round bye
2. Denver Broncos (11-4) – clinched playoff berth
3. Cincinnati Bengals (11-4) – clinched AFC North
4. Houston Texans (8-7) – has all but clinched the AFC South
Wild Cards
5. Kansas City Chiefs (10-5) – clinched playoff berth
6.New York Jets (10-5)
In the Hunt
Pittsburgh Steelers (9-6)
Indianapolis Colts (7-8)
NFC
Division Leaders
1. Carolina Panthers (14-1) – clinched NFC South and first-round bye
2. Arizona Cardinals (13-2) – clinch NFC West and first-round bye
3. Green Bay Packers (10-5) – clinched playoff berth
4. Washington Redskins (8-7) – clinched NFC East
Wild Cards
5. Minnesota Vikings (10-5) – clinched playoff berth
6. Seattle Seahawks (9-6) – clinched playoff berth
In the Hunt
There are no NFC teams in the hunt. All six playoff spots in the NFC have been locked up going into Week 17. The only thing left to be decided is the seeding.
2015 NFL Playoff Scenarios
AFC
New England Patriots (at Miami Dolphins)
New England clinches home-field advantage throughout AFC playoffs with:
NE win or tie OR
DEN loss or tie
Denver Broncos (vs San Diego Chargers)
Denver clinches AFC West division with:
DEN win or tie OR
KC loss or tie
Denver clinches a first-round bye with:
DEN win OR
DEN tie + CIN loss or tie OR
KC loss or tie + CIN loss
Denver clinches home-field advantage throughout AFC playoffs:
DEN win + NE loss
Cincinnati Bengals (vs Baltimore Ravens)
Cincinnati clinches a first-round bye with:
CIN win + DEN loss or tie OR
CIN tie + DEN loss OR
DEN loss + KC win
Houston Texans (vs Jacksonville Jaguars)
Houston clinches AFC South division with:
HOU win or tie OR
IND loss or tie OR
HOU clinches strength of victory tiebreaker over IND or clinches strength of schedule tiebreaker over IND
*Note regarding strength of victory and strength of schedule tiebreakers:
HOU clinches strength of victory tiebreaker over IND if one of the following teams wins or ties: New England Patriots, Cincinnati Bengals, San Diego Chargers, New Orleans Saints, or New York Jets.
HOU clinches strength of schedule tiebreaker over IND if KC wins or ties and BAL wins or ties as long as both teams don’t tie
Indianapolis Colts (vs Tennessee Titans)
Indianapolis clinches AFC South division with:
IND win + HOU loss + IND ties HOU in strength of victory tiebreaker and clinches strength of schedule tiebreaker over HOU
*Note: IND ties HOU in strength of victory tiebreaker and clinches strength of schedule tiebreaker over HOU if BOTH of the following occurs:
All of the following teams win: MIA, BAL, ATL, DEN and BUF.
OAK win or tie + PIT win or tie as long as both teams don’t tie
If Houston and Indianapolis end up tied in strength of victory and tied in strength of schedule, the teams would then go to the next tiebreaker, which is best combined ranking among AFC teams in points scored and points allowed in all games.
Kansas City Chiefs (vs Oakland Raiders)
Kansas City clinches AFC West division with:
KC win + DEN loss
New York Jets (at Buffalo Bills)
The New York Jets clinch a playoff spot with:
NYJ win or tie OR
PIT loss or tie
Pittsburgh Steelers (at Cleveland Browns)
Pittsburgh clinches a playoff spot with:
PIT win + NYJ loss
NFC
Carolina Panthers (vs Tampa Bay Buccaneers)
Carolina clinches home-field advantage throughout NFC playoffs with:
CAR win or tie OR
ARI loss or tie
Arizona Cardinals (vs Seattle Seahawks)
Arizona clinches home-field advantage throughout NFC playoffs with:
ARI win + CAR loss
Green Bay Packers (vs Minnesota Vikings)
Green Bay clinches NFC North division with:
GB win or tie
Minnesota Vikings (at Green Bay Packers)
Minnesota clinches NFC North division with:
MIN win
Washington Redskins (at Dallas Cowboys)
Already locked into the number four seed.
Seattle Seahawks (at Arizona Cardinals)
Seattle clinches number five seed with:
SEA win + GB win
Seattle clinches number six seed with:
SEA loss OR MIN win
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