NFL playoff image; AFC, NFC Week 17 Rankings: Buccaneers clinch


Here’s what the NFL playoff picture looks like with Week 17 underway:

FCA

y – 1. Buffalo Bills (12-3), AFC East champions: Must win at Cincinnati on Monday to keep inside the track for the AFC’s first-round bye and home-field advantage. Fall to the Bengals, and Buffalo could slide to third place in the conference. Remaining schedule: at the Bengals, against the Patriots

y – 2. Kansas City Chiefs (13-3), AFC West champions: A Buffalo loss to Cincinnati opens the door for KC to snatch the No. 1 seed, a goal currently hampered by the Chiefs’ Week 6 loss to the Bills. Remaining schedule: at Raiders

x – 3. Cincinnati Bengals (11-4), AFC North leaders: If they can beat Buffalo and find themselves in a three-way tie with the Bills and Chiefs, the defending conference champions would earn home court and a first-round bye. A win on Monday and a loss at Baltimore on Sunday would hand Cincinnati the AFC North championship. Lose on Monday and the Bengals risk moving to wild card range. Remaining schedule: against Bills, against Ravens

Follow every game: Latest NFL Scores and Schedules

4. AFC South leaders Jacksonville Jaguars (8-8): They ended a five-year drought against the Houston Texans with Sunday’s decisive win … but it had little bearing on the Jags’ playoff chances. The division title will be determined against Tennessee in Week 18. Remaining schedule: against titans

x – 5. Baltimore Ravens (10-5), joker #1: A win on Sunday or a loss at Cincinnati on Monday guarantees the Ravens and Bengals will play the AFC North Championship Game in Week 18. Remaining schedule: vs. Steelers, Bengals

x – 6. Los Angeles Chargers (9-6), joker #2: Making the playoffs for the first time in four years, it remains to be seen which division champion Bolts will visit in the first round. Remaining schedule: against the Rams, at the Broncos

7. New England Patriots (8-8), Wild #3: Not only avoided elimination by beating Miami on Sunday, the Pats have a great chance of advancing by winning next Sunday. Remaining schedule: at Invoices

8. Miami Dolphins (8-8), off the playoff field: QB Tua Tagovailoa’s five-game slide and latest concussion jeopardizes their playoff hopes, with Sunday’s loss at Foxborough knocking the Fins out of their predicted playoff bracket. Remaining schedule: vs. Jets

9. New York Jets (7-8), out of playoff field: QB Mike White is back, and if he can put together a pair of wins — and enjoy a loss in New England — then NYJ would end the league’s longest playoff drought at 12. Remaining schedule: at Seahawks, at Dolphins

10. Pittsburgh Steelers (7-8), off the playoff field: The playoffs still look like a pipe dream, especially with coach Mike Tomlin’s first loss in the first season away … although the odds have improved greatly by winning four of the last five. Remaining schedule: at Ravens, against Browns

11. Tennessee Titans (7-9), out of playoff field: They essentially treated Thursday night’s loss to Dallas as a preseason game given that it’s the Week 18 game with Jacksonville that will determine the AFC South crown. Remaining schedule: at Jaguar

12. Las Vegas Raiders (6-9), out of playoff scope: They’re technically alive, but even the Silver and Black have already waved the white flag by benching QB Derek Carr. Remaining schedule: against 49ers, at Chiefs

NFC

x – 1. Philadelphia Eagles (13-3), leaders NFC East: They are 0 for 2 without injured QB Jalen Hurts, failing twice to wrap up the NFC No. 1 seed. But Philly can still do it in Week 18 against a Giants team tagged for the sixth seed and with little left to play before the wildcards turn. Remaining schedule: against the giants

y – 2. Minnesota Vikings (12-3), NFC North champions: If they win — which must be done on the road against a pair of cold-weather divisional rivals — and the Eagles lose in Week 18, Vikes will snatch the NFC No. 1 seed. Remaining schedule: at Packers, at Bears

y – 3. San Francisco 49ers (11-4), NFC West champions: Thanks to their best NFC record of 9-2 in intraconference games, the Niners still have a path to the No. 1 seed if they win and no one else in the NFC reaches 14 wins. Remaining schedule: at Raiders, against Cardinals

Buccaneers QB Tom Brady can get his team back into the playoffs with a win Sunday against Carolina.

y – 4. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (8-8), NFC South champions: It hasn’t been a great year, but Sunday’s win over Carolina eliminated the Panthers and gave the Bucs back-to-back division crowns for the first time in franchise history. Remaining schedule: among the hawks

x – 5. Dallas Cowboys (12-4), joker #1: If they win in Week 18 and the Eagles don’t, Team USA rushes to the NFC East throne. The Cowboys also have a road to the No. 1 seed if they beat Washington — Philly must obviously lose its last two games — and finish tied for the top of the conference with Minnesota. Remaining schedule: among the commanders

x – 6. New York Giants (9-6-1), joker #2: Big Blue is back in the playoffs for the first time since 2016 with Sunday’s win. Remaining schedule: among the eagles

7. Detroit Lions (8-8), joker #3: Beat Green Bay in Week 18 and the Lions are playoff-bound. Remaining schedule: at the packers

8. Washington Commanders (7-8-1), out of playoff field: The crushing loss to the Cleveland Browns leaves Washington in danger of being knocked out if the Packers win on Sunday. Remaining schedule: vs. Cowboys

9. Green Bay Packers (7-8), out of playoff field: They’ve had a lot of outside help in recent weeks, but the biggest help has come internally thanks to Pack’s three-game winning streak. If they win the final two, Green Bay will make the playoffs for the fourth time in four years under coach Matt LaFleur. Remaining schedule: against the Vikings, against the Lions

10. Seattle Seahawks (7-8), out of playoff field: From the start 6-3, they have won once. But hope persists…and the Week 4 victory in Detroit could serve them well. Remaining schedule: against Jets, against Rams

11. New Orleans Saints (7-9), off the playoff field: A surprise win in Philadelphia leaves them long shots for a wildcard berth … but the Packers’ victory ends the Saints’ hopes. Remaining schedule: against the panthers

x – unhooked berth

y – unhooked division

***

Follow USA TODAY Sports’ Nate Davis on Twitter @ByNateDavis.




USA Today

Not all news on the site expresses the point of view of the site, but we transmit this news automatically and translate it through programmatic technology on the site and not from a human editor.
Back to top button