Two teams already know their playoff seeds before Week 17: The Saints, who will be the NFC No. 1 seed, and the Cowboys, who will be the NFC No. 4 seed. After that, things are wide open.
Overall, 12 teams have scenarios in which they can clinch a playoff berth, a division, a first-round bye or home-field advantage throughout the playoffs. We’ll explore all of those scenarios, from the straightforward (Chiefs will have home-field advantage if they win) to the remote (Steelers will be a wild card if they win, and the Ravens win, and the Titans and Colts tie).
Here are the Week 17 playoff scenarios, as distributed by the NFL:
NFC
CLINCHED:
New Orleans Saints – NFC South division title and home-field advantage
Los Angeles Rams – NFC West division title
Chicago Bears – NFC North division title
Dallas Cowboys – NFC East division title
Seattle Seahawks – playoff berth
LOS ANGELES RAMS (12-3) (vs. San Francisco (4-11), Sunday, 4:25 PM ET, FOX)
Los Angeles clinches a first-round bye with:
LAR win or tie OR
CHI loss or tie
CHICAGO BEARS (11-4) (at Minnesota (8-6-1), Sunday, 4:25 PM ET, FOX)
Chicago clinches a first-round bye with:
CHI win + LAR loss
MINNESOTA VIKINGS (8-6-1) (vs. Chicago (11-4), Sunday, 4:25 PM ET, FOX)
Minnesota clinches a playoff berth with:
MIN win or tie OR
PHI loss or tie
PHILADELPHIA EAGLES (8-7) (at Washington (7-8), Sunday, 4:25 PM ET, FOX)
Philadelphia clinches a playoff berth with:
PHI win + MIN loss
AFC
CLINCHED:
Kansas City Chiefs – Playoff berth
Los Angeles Chargers – Playoff berth
New England Patriots – AFC East division title
Houston Texans – Playoff berth
KANSAS CITY CHIEFS (11-4) (vs. Oakland (4-11), Sunday, 4:25 PM ET, CBS)
Kansas City clinches AFC West division title and home-field advantage throughout AFC playoffs with:
KC win OR
KC tie + LAC loss or tie OR
LAC loss + NE loss or tie + HOU loss or tie OR
LAC loss + NE loss or tie + KC clinches at least a tie in strength of victory tiebreaker over HOU
Kansas City clinches AFC West division title and a first-round bye with:
LAC loss + NE loss or tie OR
LAC loss + HOU loss or tie
LAC loss + KC clinches at least a tie in strength of victory tiebreaker over HOU
Kansas City clinches AFC West division title with:
LAC loss OR
KC tie + LAC tie
NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS (10-5) (vs. New York Jets (4-11), Sunday, 1:00 PM ET, CBS)
New England clinches home-field advantage throughout AFC playoffs with:
NE win + KC loss + LAC loss
New England clinches a first-round bye with:
NE win OR
NE tie + HOU loss or tie OR
BAL loss or tie + HOU loss + TEN loss or tie
HOUSTON TEXANS (10-5) (vs. Jacksonville (5-10), Sunday, 1:00 PM ET, CBS)
Houston clinches AFC South division title and home-field advantage throughout AFC playoffs with:
HOU win + NE loss or tie + KC loss + LAC loss + HOU clinches a tie in strength of victory tiebreaker over KC
Houston clinches AFC South division title and a first-round bye with:
HOU win + NE loss or tie OR
HOU win + KC loss + LAC loss + HOU clinches a tie in strength of victory tiebreaker over KC OR
HOU tie + NE loss OR
IND-TEN tie + NE loss + BAL win + HOU clinches a tie in strength of victory tiebreaker over BAL
Houston clinches AFC South division title with:
HOU win or tie OR
IND-TEN tie
BALTIMORE RAVENS (9-6) (vs. Cleveland (7-7-1), Sunday, 4:25 PM ET, CBS)
Baltimore clinches AFC North division title and a first-round bye with:
BAL win + NE loss + HOU loss + IND-TEN does not end in a tie OR
BAL win + NE loss + HOU loss + BAL clinches at least a tie in strength of victory tiebreaker over HOU
Baltimore clinches AFC North division title with:
BAL win OR
PIT loss OR
BAL tie + PIT tie
Baltimore clinches a playoff berth with:
BAL tie + IND-TEN tie
LOS ANGELES CHARGERS (11-4) (at Denver (6-9), Sunday, 4:25 PM ET, CBS)
Los Angeles clinches AFC West division title and home-field advantage throughout AFC playoffs with:
LAC win + KC loss or tie OR
LAC tie + KC loss
INDIANAPOLIS COLTS (9-6) (at Tennessee (9-6), Sunday night, 8:20 PM ET, NBC)
Indianapolis clinches AFC South division title with:
IND win + HOU loss
Indianapolis clinches a playoff berth with:
IND win OR
IND tie + PIT loss or tie OR
IND tie + BAL loss
TENNESSEE TITANS (9-6) (vs. Indianapolis (9-6), Sunday night, 8:20 PM ET, NBC)
Tennessee clinches AFC South division title and first-round bye with:
TEN win + HOU loss + NE loss + BAL loss or tie
Tennessee clinches AFC South division title with:
TEN win + HOU loss
Tennessee clinches a playoff berth with:
TEN win
PITTSBURGH STEELERS (8-6-1) (vs. Cincinnati (6-9), Sunday, 4:25 PM ET, CBS)
Pittsburgh clinches AFC North division title with:
PIT win + BAL loss or tie OR
PIT tie + BAL loss
Pittsburgh clinches a playoff berth with:
PIT win + IND-TEN tie
