NFL Playoff Scenarios Heading into Week 16

There is a lot within the 2016 National Football League playoff standings that hasn’t been settled in the NFC.

On the flip side of the coin, if the Bengals win on Monday night, and the Broncos lose their final two games, the highest seed the Steelers could grab in that situation is the No. 5 seed, as the Bengals would win the division and be the No. 2 seed as the Kansas City Chiefs would then claim the No. 3 seed and the AFC West.

Most of that advantage can be found in either the divisional or conference championship games – the home team has won 57.7 percent of matchups during the wild-card round, close to the regular-season mark.

KUSA-Given the relatively weak opponents their AFC playoff competitors were playing Sunday, the Denver Broncos couldn’t have asked for much more. Pittsburgh now needs a Week 17 win in Cleveland and a Jets loss in Buffalo to sneak back in for a wild-card spot. The Browns, down 3-17 at the half, were only able to score 10 points in the final two quarters and the clock ran out on a low-scoring affair, 17-13. Six weeks into the season, at 1-5, they were left for dead.

In Baltimore, new-acquired Ryan Mallett started out under center and wasted little time driving down and throwing a touchdown pass to open the scoring.

With a Chiefs win and a Steelers loss, the Chiefs can clinch a playoff spot. And you have to admit that it would be hilarious if the Steelers were swept by a five win Ravens team. The Chiefs defeated the Chargers 10-3.

The road to the Super Bowl might no longer go through New England as the Patriots lost 26-20 in overtime to the division rival Jets. Another shocking upset in a span of just a few minutes.

With a Chiefs win and a Jets loss, the Chiefs can clinch a playoff spot. Their division title still isn’t clinched, but if they beat the Vikings in week 17, they can lose their week 16 game and still win the division. It’s gotten them this far, and that strategy is finally paying dividends. Despite the loss, the Steelers are still in the hunt.

If they were to win, the Arizona Cardinals (vs. Green Bay) would lock up no worse than a No. 2 seed, which comes with a bye. Of more importance is the possibility of losing the No. 1 seed throughout the playoffs to Arizona. In this scenario, the Patriots and Bengals would have the top two seeds. If the season ended today, here’s how it would look (before Sunday and Monday night games).

No. 1 seed: To get this coveted seed – which would mean not having to play in dreaded Foxbrorough, Mass.in the playoffs – the Broncos would have to win their final two games and New England would have to lose next week at 5-10 Miami. The Green Bay Packers (10-4) also need to keep winning to clinch the NFC North. The Packers are one game ahead of the Minnesota Vikings (9-5) heading into the later games on December 17.