Playoff picture almost complete
Even though they’ve had a postseason berth clinched for two weeks, no team goes into the final week of the NFL regular season with more uncertainty than the Seattle Seahawks, who have three potential opponents for the opening weekend of the playoffs.
That’s fine by them. After back-toback trips to the Super Bowl, they already know what lies ahead.
“I don’t really care,” Seattle defensive end Cliff Avril said. “Regardless, it’s going to be somewhere cold and it’s going to be on the road.”
Seattle’s status is one of the few unknowns going into the final day. Homefield advantage has yet to be clinched in both conferences.
The NFC North is up for grabs with Green Bay hosting Minnesota. Rex Ryan and Buffalo could knock the New York Jets out of the playoffs, a result the Steelers are hoping for to sneak in. And the AFC South could go the way of Indianapolis. All the Colts need is a win with a fourth-string quarterback, a Houston loss and just eight other results to go their way.
Here’s a look at the breakdowns in each conference:
AFC
BREAK TIME: New England is already assured of having the first weekend off. The Patriots can wrap up home-field advantage with a win over Miami or a Denver loss to San Diego. Denver needs just a win over the Chargers to get a bye, while Cincinnati needs a win over the Ravens and a Broncos loss to earn a No. 2 seed.
WILD WILD CARD: Pittsburgh’s flop in Week 16, losing to Baltimore, left the Steelers needing some help. The Jets are in with a win in Buffalo, but if they lose the Steelers can swoop in and claim the No. 6 seed with a victory over the Browns.
DON’T FORGET US: Anyone talking at all about Kansas City? The Chiefs have won nine straight and still have an outside shot of winning the AFC West. Kansas City must beat Oakland and have the Broncos lose to the Chargers. While that would get Kansas City the division title, it won’t get them a first-round bye.
SOUTH BY DEFAULT: OK. Can the Texans simply just win? That is the cleanest, easiest route to figuring out the AFC South champion. If Houston wins, it hosts the No. 5 seed in the wild-card round. But if the Texans lose and Indianapolis can beat Tennessee, then it gets really messy. The Colts would then need Atlanta, Baltimore, Buffalo, Denver and Miami to win, and Oakland and Pittsburgh to win or tie — but both not tie — to edge out the Texans on the strength-of-schedule tiebreaker.
NFC
REST TIME: Carolina and Arizona have already earned byes. But the Panthers’ loss last week at Atlanta left open the chance of Arizona earning homefield advantage. The Cardinals need to beat Seattle and have the Panthers lose to Tampa Bay, and then the path to the Super Bowl would go through Glendale.
NFC FROZEN: The NFC North will be decided late tonight, when the temperatures in Green Bay are expected to dip into the teens for the Packers and Vikings. The winner gets the No. 3 seed in the conference. The loser will be a wild card and face a road-heavy slate to get through the postseason. After starting 6-0, the Packers are 4-5 down the stretch.
FILING A FLIGHT PLAN: Seattle has the chance of ending up in Minnesota, Green Bay or Washington to start the playoffs. The Seahawks were in line for the No. 5 seed before stumbling last week at home against St. Louis. Beating Arizona won’t guarantee Seattle the No. 5 seed, though, because if Minnesota beats Green Bay, the Packers have the tiebreaker over the Seahawks. No matter the Seahawks’ outcome in Arizona, they’ll likely be back in Seattle late tonight before knowing where they’re headed next.