Things in the NFC are very tight, no one has clinched their division yet and essentially every division is up for grabs. Seattle Seahawks will win the NFC West with a win and the Carolina Panthers will win the NFC South with a win.
The NFC North and East will both be determined in a Week 17 championship game of sorts. Whoever wins the Chicago Bears-Green Bay Packers game wins the NFC North. The winner of the Philadelphia Eagles-Dallas Cowboys game wins the NFC East.
Even the wild card race is interesting with the New Orleans Saints and Arizona Cardinals — both with 10-5 records — are fighting for the final playoff spot. One thing is for certain, a team with double-digit wins won’t make it to the playoffs.
Here are the playoff standings heading into Week 17 (via ESPN):
| CONF RK | NFC | W | L | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | SOS | SOV | REASON |
| 1 | x – Seattle | 12 | 3 | 0 | .800 | 3-2-0 | 9-2-0 | .491 | .442 | NFC West Champ |
| 2 | x – Carolina | 11 | 4 | 0 | .733 | 4-1-0 | 8-3-0 | .509 | .464 | NFC South Champ |
| 3 | Philadelphia | 9 | 6 | 0 | .600 | 3-2-0 | 8-3-0 | .453 | .389 | NFC East Champ |
| 4 | Chicago | 8 | 7 | 0 | .533 | 2-3-0 | 4-7-0 | .456 | .458 | NFC North Champ |
| 5 | x – San Francisco | 11 | 4 | 0 | .733 | 4-1-0 | 8-3-0 | .487 | .403 | |
| 6 | New Orleans | 10 | 5 | 0 | .667 | 4-1-0 | 8-3-0 | .542 | .493 | Wins tie break over Arizona based on head-to-head win percentage. |
| 7 | Arizona | 10 | 5 | 0 | .667 | 2-3-0 | 6-5-0 | .516 | .447 | |
| 8 | Dallas | 8 | 7 | 0 | .533 | 5-0-0 | 7-4-0 | .471 | .354 | |
| 9 | Green Bay | 7 | 7 | 1 | .500 | 2-2-1 | 5-5-1 | .449 | .367 |
Here are all the playoff scenarios for the NFC teams still in the hunt, from NFL.com:
CLINCHED:
Seattle — playoff spot
Carolina — playoff spot
San Francisco — playoff spot
SEATTLE SEAHAWKS (vs. STL)
Seattle clinches NFC West division and home-field advantage throughout NFC playoffs with:
1) SEA win or tie OR
2) SF loss or tie
CAROLINA PANTHERS (at ATL)
Carolina clinches NFC South division and a first-round bye with:
1) CAR win or tie OR
2) NO loss or tie
Carolina clinches home-field advantage throughout NFC playoffs with:
1) CAR win + SEA loss + SF win
PHILADELPHIA EAGLES (at DAL)
Philadelphia clinches NFC East division with:
1) PHI win or tie
CHICAGO BEARS (vs. GB)
Chicago clinches NFC North division with:
1) CHI win or tie
SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS (at ARI)
San Francisco clinches NFC West division and a first-round bye with:
1) SF win + SEA loss
San Francisco clinches NFC West division and home-field advantage throughout NFC playoffs with:
1) SF win + SEA loss + CAR loss or tie
NEW ORLEANS SAINTS (vs. TB)
New Orleans clinches NFC South division and a first-round bye with:
1) NO win + CAR loss
New Orleans clinches a playoff spot with:
1) NO win OR
2) NO tie + ARI tie OR
3) ARI loss
ARIZONA CARDINALS (vs. SF)
Arizona clinches a playoff spot with:
1) ARI win + NO loss or tie OR
2) ARI tie + NO loss
DALLAS COWBOYS (vs. PHI)
Dallas clinches NFC East division with:
1) DAL win
GREEN BAY PACKERS (at CHI)
Green Bay clinches NFC North division with:
1) GB win