NFC Playoff Scenarios: 6 Wins For the East Champ?
The NFL’s first year with seven playoff teams per conference has not disappointed. But even with the expansion, it’s still possible that the NFC’s final seed will hold a better record than the NFC East champion. I guess some things never change. Here’s how Week 17 will affect the NFC Playoff Picture.
Current Playoff Picture:
1. Green Bay Packers (12-3) - Clinched NFC North
2. New Orleans Saints (11-4) - Clinched NFC South
3. Seattle Seahawks (11-4) - Clinched NFC West
4. Washington Football Team (6-9)
5. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (10-5) - Clinched Wildcard
6. Los Angeles Rams (9-6)
7. Chicago Bears (8-7)
In the Hunt: Dallas Cowboys (6-9), New York Giants (5-10), Arizona Cardinals (8-7)
NFC East
After seeing Philadelphia get eliminated this past Sunday, the NFC East will come down to the final game of Week 17. The formula is simple: The winner of DAL-NYG (Sunday 1:00) snags the fourth seed if Washington falls to Philadelphia on SNF. If Washington prevails, they will win the division title. With Dwayne Haskins no longer on the team, the Football Team’s season will rest on the shoulders of Alex Smith or Taylor Heinicke.
#1 Seed/First-Round Bye
The Packers currently hold the top seed in the conference with a 12-3 record and they face Chicago this Sunday with a chance to lock it up. They’ve bested their rivals in eight of the last nine matchups. If they can make it 9/10, they’ll get themselves a first-round bye.
Thanks to complicated tiebreaker scenarios, the Saints will need a victory over the Panthers, a Packers loss to the Bears, and a Seattle victory over SF to capture the top seed. As for Seattle, they’ll need GB and NO to fall (a tie for NO also works) while handling their own business against San Fran.
Rams vs. Cardinals (& Bears)
After suffering some very difficult losses in the past couple of weeks, the Cardinals and the Rams will duke it out with a playoff berth on the line. The Rams could go as high as the 5th seed (win + TB loss) or drop out of the playoffs entirely (loss + CHI victory). The Cardinals have no choice but to prevail here or they will see their season end prematurely.
Chicago also controls their own destiny. A win over Green Bay puts them in the postseason, but a loss would put them at the mercy of Los Angeles.
The Rams bested the Cardinals by a final score of 38-28 in their last matchup.
My predicted playoff picture:
1. Green Bay Packers (13-3, W @ CHI)
2. New Orleans Saints (12-4, W @ CAR)
3. Seattle Seahawks (12-4, W @ SF)
4. Dallas Cowboys (7-9, W @ NYG + WAS L @ PHI)
5. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (11-5, W vs. ATL)
6. Arizona Cardinals (9-7, W @ LAR)
7. Los Angeles Rams (9-7, L vs. ARI)
Writer
-By: Micah Jimoh