Erik BeastonDecember 23, 2024

1. 
3. Credit: B/R
4. Week 16 in the NFL shook up the playoff picture as fans had known it, with division titles in view for some teams once left for dead and seeding somewhat clearer than it had been previously.
5. What do the current brackets look like, which teams are as few as a win away from winning their division and cashing their tickets to the postseason, and for whom are the last two games of the season the highest stakes?
6. Find out with this review of the playoff brackets following Sunday’s games.
7. 
9. Lee Coleman/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
10. The current NFC playoff picture is as follows:
11. 1. x-Detroit Lions (13-2, NFC North)
12. 2. x-Philadelphia Eagles (12-3, NFC East)
13. 3. Los Angeles Rams (9-6, NFC West)
14. 4. Atlanta Falcons (8-7, NFC South)
15. 5. x-Minnesota Vikings (13-2)
16. 6. Green Bay Packers (10-4)
17. 7. Washington Commanders (10-5)
18. 8. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (8-7)
19. 9. Seattle Seahawks (8-7)
20. 10. Arizona Cardinals (7-8)
21. 12. San Francisco 49ers (6-9)
22. 15. Carolina Panthers (4-11)
23. 16. New York Giants (2-13)
24. 
26. Cooper Neill/Getty Images
27. The current AFC playoff picture is as follows:
28. 1. xz-Kansas City Chiefs (14-1, AFC West)
29. 2. xz-Buffalo Bills (12-3, AFC East)
30. 3. x-Pittsburgh Steelers (10-5, AFC North)
31. 4. xz-Houston Texans (9-6, AFC South)
32. 5. x-Baltimore Ravens (10-5)
33. 6. Los Angeles Chargers (9-6)
34. 8. Indianapolis Colts (7-8)
35. 10. Cincinnati Bengals (7-8)
36. 12. Jacksonville Jaguars (3-12)
37. 13. New England Patriots (3-12)
38. 14. Cleveland Browns (3-12)
39. 15. Tennessee Titans (3-12)
40. 16. Las Vegas Raiders (3-12)
41. 
43. Emilee Chinn/Getty Images
44. Entering Week 17, there are several clinching scenarios for teams still officially on the outside looking in at this year’s playoff picture.
45. The Los Angeles Rams clinch the NFC West in Week 17 with the following scenario:

• Rams win vs. Arizona
• Seattle Seahawks lose vs. Chicago Bears

1. Seattle plays Chicago on Thursday night, so the Rams will know what scenario awaits them entering their primetime game on Saturday night.
2. The Seahawks will travel south to Los Angeles in Week 18, which could be a game for all of the NFC West marbles if both teams win in
3. The Atlanta Falcons jumped the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the standings thanks to their one-sided demolition of the New York Giants and their rivals’ loss to Dallas on Sunday Night Football.
4. If the Falcons can win out, the NFC South is theirs.
5. The Buccaneers will lose the tie-breaker to Atlanta since the Falcons won both head-to-head match-ups this season.
6. Tampa Bay must finish with a better record than Atlanta to win the division.
7. 
9. Michael Owens/Getty Images
10. The Baltimore Ravens’ 34-17 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers Saturday night ensured there would be no coronation of an AFC North champion for another week.
11. To complete the comeback and win the division, the Ravens have to win against the Houston Texans and Cleveland Browns, while the Steelers lose one of their remaining games (against Kansas City and Cincinnati).
12. Even if the teams win in Week 17, the Ravens can still clinch the North with a victory over the Browns and a Steelers loss to the Bengals, giving Baltimore a better divisional record.
13. It would be a significant come-from-behind division title for the Ravens, who were once firmly in the Wild Card, looking up at a Steelers team that appeared to be running on all cylinders. A 2-3 record in their last five games, though, halted Pittsburgh’s momentum and opened a door the Ravens are poised to blow off its hinges in the season’s final two weeks.
14. A Pittsburgh victory over Kansas City and the Ravens’ result against Houston matters not as the division crown will come down to the final week of the season.
15. And AFC North fans would not have it any other way.