Andy Lyons/GettyWith just one week remaining in the regular season, the playoff picture is starting to come into focus.
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Detroit was coming off a 7-point loss to the Rams in their last appearance, while New Orleans beat the Buccaneers in Week 14. The Lions’ offense dismantled the New Orleans Saints, 35-27, on a night when quarterback Matthew Stafford could do no wrong.
Carolina has clinched the NFC South and a first-round bye. Of course, Pittsburgh could have avoided all this by simply beating Baltimore last Sunday… something the Belichick-deliberately-lost-to-the-Jets-to-screw-the-Steelers crowd (oh yes, they’re out there) conveniently ignores. The only way the Texans can lose the AFC South title is if they lose at home to Jacksonville, Indianapolis beats Tennessee, and then a bunch of other games break the Colts’ way to give Indy a strength-of-victory tiebreaker.
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Each pixel is colored to show the relative wavelength of light that each pixel was allowed to see by LEISA’s linear filter. You can’t say, “Oh, that looks interesting, let’s go take a look”; you have to let the mission make all the observations.
CLINCHED: Carolina – NFC South and a first-round bye, Arizona – NFC West and a first-round bye, Washington – NFC East and the No. 4 seed, Green Bay – playoff berth, Minnesota – playoff berth, Seattle – wild card. If the Seahawks lose to the Cardinals, then this spot will go to the loser of the game between the Vikings and Packers.
Denver Broncos beat Cincinnati Bengals in overtime, clinch AFC playoff berth
The Bengals should still not be feared as a playoff opponent, even if Andy Dalton returns for them at quarterback. The Bengals are already in the playoffs and the last thing they need is for another quarterback to get injured.
Denver clinches the AFC West with a win or tie OR a Kansas City loss or tie.
Cincinnati clinches a first-round bye with a win and a Denver loss or tie, OR a tie and a Denver loss, OR a Denver loss and Kansas City win.
The Steelers entered Week 16 in control of their own playoff destiny but a Sunday road loss to the Baltimore Ravens combined with a Jets win over the New England Patriots left Pittsburgh on the outside looking in with one week remaining in the season. Denver would earn the second seed assuming current #1 New England handles Miami, #3 Cincinnati would host #6 NY, and #4 Houston/Indianapolis would take on 5th seeded Chiefs.
The Redskins have clinched a playoff berth and are locked in as the NFC’s No. 4 team.
Houston Texans (8-7) – 99% chance to make playoffs.
Based on National Football League odds, it’s most likely that both the Patriots and the Broncos will win next week.
Pittsburgh Steelers (9-6) – 45% chance to make playoffs.
Colts (7-8; vs. Titans on Sunday): See Houston above.
The Vikings have clinched a playoff berth.
Carolina clinches home-field advantage throughout the NFC playoffs with a win or tie OR an Arizona loss or tie.
Oakland at Kansas City: The Chiefs will look to put a tenth consecutive victory in the books and ensure a playoff berth at home against their arch rival.
Kansas City clinches the AFC West with a win and a Denver loss. A loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers would allow the Cardinals to overtake them at the top. A loss also keeps the Bengals as the No. 3 seed, which would mean a first-round playoff game against the No. 6 seed.
Minnesota clinches the NFC North with a win over Green Bay.
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This spot goes to the victor of this weekend’s game between the Green Bay Packers and Minnesota Vikings. If they lose and the Cardinals beat the Seattle Seahawks, the No. 1 seed will belong to Arizona. The victor of the Packers vs. Vikings will be the No. 3 seed, with the Packers falling to No. 5 with a loss and the Vikings possibly falling to No. 6 with a loss.
