NFL playoff scenarios, Week 17: Ravens, Falcons must win

We are finally down to the last week of the NFL’s regular season. This campaign, more than any in recent memory, has been insane.

We have seen the Kansas City Chiefs go from Super Bowl favorites to one of the worst teams in the league, only to now look like a potential Super Bowl contender again. The New York Giants, Oakland Raiders and Dallas Cowboys were all popular picks to go to January and cause some serious trouble in their respective conferences, only to stink up the joint all year long. Finally, Blake Bortes is going to the playoffs and Aaron Rodgers is not. This is somehow, some way, real life.

Going into Week 17, there are five NFC playoff spots already clinched. In the AFC, the four divisions have been wrapped up, but both wild card slots remain for sale.

So, what has to happen for contending teams to make the playoffs? Let’s run down some of the scenarios.

In the NFC, the New Orleans Saints and Carolina Panthers are both secure in the postseason. If the Saints win on Sunday over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, they win the NFC South. If the Saints should lose at home and the Panthers beat the Atlanta Falcons, the Panthers would be the third seed and the Saints would drop to the fifth slot.

Speaking of the Falcons, they are in the postseason if they beat the Panthers at home. However, a loss and they likely lose the sixth seed to the Seattle Seahawks, who are hosting the lowly Arizona Cardinals at CenturyLink Field. Seattle has to win and get an Atlanta loss, although that doesn’t seem like an outlandish ask.

In the AFC, things are a bit more complicated.

The Baltimore Ravens and Tennessee Titans would both be in the playoffs if they beat the Cincinnati Bengals and Jacksonville Jaguars, respectively. In that case, Baltimore would be the fifth seed and take on the Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium in the Wild Card round.

However, if the Ravens lose and the Buffalo Bills beat the Miami Dolphins down in Florida, the Bills would make the playoffs as the fifth seed. Buffalo could also get in by beating the Dolphins and seeing losses from both the Titans and Los Angeles Chargers, who host the Oakland Raiders.

Los Angeles can make the playoffs by beating the Raiders and seeing the Titans lose on the road to Jacksonville, along with a Ravens victory over the Bengals. If that exact scenario does not play out, Philip Rivers and Co. will be watching the playoffs with you and me.

By the way, all of the games with playoff implications start t 4:25 ET on Sunday, so buckle in.