Week 16 of the 2017 season comes to an end with a pair of games on Christmas and both of them have implications for how the playoff teams will stack up in each conference.
The Steelers and Eagles both know they are in the playoffs and no teams can be eliminated from contention on Monday, but seeds will be impacted by the results. Here’s a look at all the playoff scenarios for Week 17 as announced by the NFL on Monday.
New England clinches the No. 1 seed in the AFC if the Steelers lose either of their remaining games or if they beat the Jets in Week 17. The Steelers would get homefield throughout the AFC playoffs with two wins and a Patriots loss.
If they should stumble on Monday, they can still clinch a bye in Week 17 with a win against the Browns or if the Jaguars lose to the Titans. If Jacksonville wins and Pittsburgh loses out, the Jags will be No. 2 and they can’t drop below the Chiefs into the No. 4 spot under any circumstances. There’s a bit more going on for the two Wild Card spots.
Ravens - In with a win or if both the Titans and Bills lose.
Titans - In with a win or if the Bills and Chargers also lose.
Chargers - In with a win, a Titans loss and either a Ravens win or a Bills loss.
Bills - In with a win and a Ravens loss OR with a win and losses by both the Chargers and Titans.
In the NFC, the Eagles are the No. 1 seed if they beat the Raiders on Monday night. They can also clinch it by beating the Cowboys in Week 17 or if the Vikings lose. The Vikings get it with a win and two Eagles losses.
The No. 2 seed would belong to Minnesota with a win over the Bears. If they, the Saints and Rams lose while the Panthers win, the Panthers would win the NFC South and take the No. 2 seed. The Rams are in there for tie-breaking purposes, but can’t earn a bye for themselves.
The Saints also can’t move up to No. 2, but they win the division with a win or a Panthers loss.
The final playoff spot comes down to the Falcons and Seahawks. It goes to Atlanta with a win or Seahawks loss while the Seahawks would take it with a win and a Falcons loss.