The road to the playoffs in the AFC will go through New England. That’s one thing we know for sure.
But other than the Patriots, who have clinched home-field advantage, and the Colts, who have clinched the No. 4 seed in the AFC, all of the other teams in the playoff race have something to play for on Sunday. Here’s the full playoff scenario announcement put out by the NFL today:
AFC
CLINCHED:
New England - AFC East and home-field advantage throughout the AFC playoffs
Denver - AFC West
Indianapolis - AFC South
Cincinnati - playoff berth
Pittsburgh - playoff berth
DENVER BRONCOS (vs. Oakland)
Denver clinches a first-round bye with:
1) DEN win OR
2) DEN tie + CIN loss or tie OR
3) CIN loss OR
4) CIN tie + IND win
CINCINNATI BENGALS (at Pittsburgh)
Cincinnati clinches AFC North with:
1) CIN win or tie
Cincinnati clinches a first-round bye with:
1) CIN win + DEN loss OR
2) CIN tie + DEN loss + IND loss or tie
PITTSBURGH STEELERS (vs. Cincinnati)
Pittsburgh clinches AFC North with:
1) PIT win
SAN DIEGO CHARGERS (at Kansas City)
San Diego clinches a playoff spot with:
1) SD win OR
2) SD tie + BAL loss or tie
BALTIMORE RAVENS (vs. Cleveland)
Baltimore clinches a playoff spot with:
1) BAL win + SD loss or tie OR
2) BAL tie + SD loss
KANSAS CITY CHIEFS (vs. San Diego)
Kansas City clinches a playoff spot with:
1) KC win + BAL loss + HOU loss or tie
HOUSTON TEXANS (vs. Jacksonville)
Houston clinches a playoff spot with:
1) HOU win + BAL loss + SD loss
NFC
CLINCHED:
Arizona Cardinals - playoff berth
Seattle Seahawks - playoff berth
Detroit Lions - playoff berth
Green Bay Packers - playoff berth
Dallas Cowboys - NFC East
DALLAS COWBOYS (at Washington)
Dallas clinches home-field advantage throughout NFC playoffs with:
1) DAL win + ARI loss or tie + DET/GB tie
Dallas clinches a first-round bye with:
1) DAL win + SEA loss or tie + ARI loss or tie OR
2) DAL win + DET/GB tie OR
3) SEA loss + ARI loss OR
4) DAL tie + SEA tie + ARI loss or tie + DET/GB does not end in a tie
DETROIT LIONS (at Green Bay)
Detroit clinches NFC North with:
1) DET win or tie
Detroit clinches home-field advantage throughout NFC playoffs with:
1) DET win + SEA loss or tie + ARI loss or tie OR
2) DET tie + SEA loss + ARI loss + DAL loss or tie
Detroit clinches a first-round bye with:
1) DET win OR
2) DET tie + DAL loss or tie OR
3) DET tie + SEA loss + ARI loss
GREEN BAY PACKERS (vs. Detroit)
Green Bay clinches NFC North and a first-round bye with:
1) GB win
Green Bay clinches home-field advantage throughout NFC playoffs with:
1) GB win + SEA loss or tie
SEATTLE SEAHAWKS (vs. St. Louis)
Seattle clinches NFC West with:
1) SEA win OR
2) SEA tie + ARI loss or tie OR
3) ARI loss
Seattle clinches home-field advantage throughout NFC playoffs with:
1) SEA win + DET/GB game does not end in a tie OR
2) SEA win + DAL loss or tie OR
3) SEA tie + ARI loss or tie + DAL loss or tie + GB/DET tie
Seattle clinches a first-round bye with:
1) SEA win OR
2) SEA tie + ARI loss or tie + DAL loss OR
3) SEA tie + ARI loss or tie + GB/DET tie
ARIZONA CARDINALS (at San Francisco)
Arizona clinches NFC West with:
1) ARI win + SEA loss or tie OR
2) ARI tie + SEA loss
Arizona clinches home-field advantage throughout NFC playoffs with:
1) ARI win + SEA loss or tie + GB loss or tie OR
2) ARI tie + SEA loss + DAL loss or tie + GB/DET tie
Arizona clinches a first-round bye with:
1) ARI win + SEA loss or tie OR
2) ARI tie + SEA loss + DAL loss or tie OR
3) ARI tie + SEA loss + GB/DET tie
CAROLINA PANTHERS (at Atlanta)
Carolina clinches NFC South with:
1) CAR win or tie
ATLANTA FALCONS (vs. Carolina)
Atlanta clinches NFC South with:
1) ATL win
