NFL: NFC Playoff scenarios in Week 17 for each team
By Mike Dyce
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