What the playoff picture looks like with three games to go
How the playoffs would line up if the NFL season ended today:
If the season ended after Week 15.
AFC
Top Seed with bye: Denver Broncos* (12-2)
First round matchups:
No. 2 New England Patriots (11-3) vs. No. 7 Houston Texans (9-5)
No. 3 Jacksonville (10-4) vs. No. 6 Buffalo Bills (10-4)
No. 4 Pittsburgh Steelers (8-6) vs. No. 5 Los Angeles Chargers (10-4)
NFC
Top Seed with bye: Los Angeles Rams* (11-3)
First round matchups:
No. 2 Chicago Bears (10-4) vs. No. 7 Green Bay Packers (9-4-1)
No. 3 Philadelphia Eagles (9-5) vs. No. 6 San Francisco (10-4)
No. 4 Tampa Bay (7-7) vs. Seattle (11-3)
∗Clinched playoff berth
What Patriots can clinch in Week 16:
New England can secure a playoff berth with:
- A win over Baltimore
- OR EITHER
- A Colts loss/tie OR a Texans loss or tie
Patriots can be eliminated from race for top seed if:
- Broncos win and Patriots lose
Week 16 Games
Thursday, Dec. 18
L.A. Rams at Seattle, 8:15 p.m.
Saturday, Dec. 20
Philadelphia at Washington, 5 p.m.
Green Bay at Chicago, 8:20 p.m.
Sunday, Dec. 21
Buffalo at Cleveland, 1 p.m.
Cincinnati at Miami, 1 p.m.
Kansas City at Tennessee, 1 p.m.
L.A. Chargers at Dallas, 1 p.m.
Minnesota at N.Y. Giants, 1 p.m.
N.Y. Jets at New Orleans, 1 p.m.
Tampa Bay at Carolina, 1 p.m.
Atlanta at Arizona, 4:05 p.m.
Jacksonville at Denver, 4:05 p.m.
Las Vegas at Houston, 4:25 p.m.
Pittsburgh at Detroit, 4:25 p.m.
New England at Baltimore, 8:20 p.m.
Monday, Dec. 22
San Francisco at Indianapolis, 8:15 p.m.
All NFL Clinching scenarios:
AFC
CLINCHED:
Denver Broncos (12-2) – playoff berth
Denver Broncos (12-2) vs. Jacksonville Jaguars (10-4); Sunday (4:05 p.m. ET, FOX)
Denver clinches AFC West division title and the AFC’s No. 1 seed, lone first-round bye and home-field advantage with:
- DEN win + LAC loss or tie + NE loss + BUF loss or tie
Denver clinches AFC West division title with:
- DEN win + LAC loss or tie OR
- DEN tie + LAC loss
Buffalo Bills (10-4) at Cleveland Browns (3-11); Sunday (1 p.m. ET, CBS)
Buffalo clinches playoff berth with:
- BUF win + IND loss or tie OR
- BUF win + HOU loss or tie OR
- BUF tie + IND loss OR
- BUF tie + HOU loss
New England Patriots (11-3) at Baltimore Ravens (7-7); Sunday night (8:20 p.m. ET, NBC)
New England clinches playoff berth with:
- NE win or tie OR
- IND loss or tie OR
- HOU loss or tie
Jacksonville Jaguars (10-4) at Denver Broncos (12-2); Sunday (4:05 p.m. ET, FOX)
Jacksonville clinches playoff berth with:
- JAX win + IND loss or tie OR
- JAX win + HOU loss or tie OR
- JAX tie + IND loss OR
- JAX tie + IND tie + HOU loss
Los Angeles Chargers (10-4) at Dallas Cowboys (6-7-1); Sunday (1 p.m. ET, FOX)
Los Angeles Chargers clinch playoff berth with:
- LAC win + IND loss or tie OR
- LAC win + HOU loss or tie OR
- LAC tie + IND loss OR
- LAC tie + IND tie + HOU loss
NFC
CLINCHED:
Los Angeles Rams (11-3) – playoff berth
Philadelphia Eagles (9-5) at Washington Commanders (4-10); Saturday (5 p.m. ET, FOX)
Philadelphia clinches NFC East division title with:
- PHI win OR
- DAL loss OR
- PHI tie + DAL tie
Chicago Bears (10-4) vs. Green Bay Packers (9-4-1); Saturday night (8:20 p.m. ET, FOX)
Chicago clinches playoff berth with:
- CHI win + DET loss or tie OR
- CHI tie + DET loss
Green Bay Packers (9-4-1) at Chicago Bears (10-4); Saturday night (8:20 p.m. ET, FOX)
Green Bay clinches playoff berth with:
- GB win + DET loss or tie OR
- GB tie + DET loss
San Francisco 49ers (10-4) at Indianapolis Colts (8-6); Monday night (8:15 p.m. ET, ESPN)
San Francisco clinches playoff berth with:
- SF win OR
- DET loss OR
- SF tie + DET tie
Seattle Seahawks (11-3) vs. Los Angeles Rams (11-3); Thursday night (8:15 p.m. ET, Prime Video)
Seattle clinches playoff berth with:
- SEA win or tie OR
- DET loss or tie
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Category: General Sports
