The 49ers, Ravens, Eagles and Cowboys have clinched playoff berths, and 10 more playoff spots are up for grabs. Here’s what the NFC and AFC playoffs look like heading into Week 16:
NFC playoff picture
Department leaders
1. 49 (11-3): Won the NFC West.
2. Cowboys (10-4): Clinched a playoff berth, and owns the tiebreaker over both the Lions and Eagles.
3. Black (10-4): Big lead in the NFC North.
4. Pirates (7-7): Own the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Saints in the NFC South.
Wild cards
5. Eagles (10-4): Clinched a playoff berth.
6. Vikings (7-7): Owned the conference record tiebreaker over the Rams and Saints.
7. Rams (7-7): Owned a conference record tiebreaker over the Saints and a division record tiebreaker over the Seahawks.
Looking outside
8. Seahawks (7-7): Own the conference record tiebreaker over the Saints.
9. Saints (7-7): He is still in contention after the win over the Giants.
10. Falcons (6-8): Losing the hapless Panthers is painful.
11. Packers (6-8): Just when they got back into the playoff picture, the Packers lost back-to-back games against the Giants and Bucs.
12. Giants (5-9): Out of the competition after losing to the Saints.
13. Bears (5-9): The heartbreaking loss to the Browns ends any notion of a playoff run.
14. Leaders (4-10): He was mathematically eliminated.
15. Cardinals (3-11): He was mathematically eliminated.
16. Panthers (2-12): Beating the Falcons means it’s not a certainty that they’ll give the Bears the first overall pick.
AFC playoff picture
Department leaders
1. Crows (11-3): Clinched a playoff berth.
2. Dolphins (10-4): The AFC East could come down to the final game of the season with the Bills.
3. Presidents (9-5): Leading the way in West Asia.
4. Jaguars (8-6): Own a head-to-head tiebreaker over the Colts and Texans in the AFC South.
Wild cards
5. Brown (9-5): Joe Flacco could lead them to the playoffs.
6. Bengal (8-6): Win a head-to-head tiebreaker over the Colts and Bills.
7. Colts (6-8): Win a conference record tiebreaker over the Bills and a head-to-head tiebreaker over the Texans.
Looking outside
8. Texas (8-6): Conference-record tiebreaker win over the Bills.
9. Bills (8-6): They are one of the top seven teams in the conference, but that does not guarantee they will qualify for the playoffs.
10. Steelers (7-7): The loss to the Colts knocked the Steelers out of the playoff position.
11. Broncos (7-7): The loss to the Lions eliminated any playoff hopes.
12. Raiders (6-8): Antonio Pierce had his team ready to play on Thursday night.
13. Chargers (5-9): A season that started with playoff hopes turned into a disaster.
14. Titans (5-9): He was mathematically eliminated.
15. Airplanes (5-9): He was mathematically eliminated.
16. Patriots (3-11): He was mathematically eliminated.
Scenarios for the fifteenth week
The 49ers clinched the NFC West and the Ravens, Cowboys and Eagles clinched a playoff berth.
The 49ers will clinch the No. 1 seed in the NFC and home-court advantage if they win this week and the Lions, Cowboys and Eagles all lose.
The Lions will clinch the NFC North championship if they win or tie against the Vikings on Sunday. Even if they lose to the Vikings, the Lions would clinch a playoff berth if the Rams or Seahawks lose.
The Ravens will clinch the AFC North title if they win and the Browns lose.
The Chiefs will clinch the AFC West championship if they win.
The Dolphins will clinch a playoff berth if they win. The Dolphins will clinch the AFC East championship if they win and the Bills lose.
The Browns will clinch a playoff berth if they win and a group of four other AFC wildcard contenders lose.
The full official NFL playoff scenarios will be published this week.
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