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- NFL Playoff Scenarios
- NFL Week 18 Preview
Contributors
Santiago Leon – @sleon
Ryan Christa – @maddawgreport
NFL Playoff Scenarios
AFC
Baltimore Ravens (8-8) (vs. Pittsburgh (8-7-1), Sunday, 1:00 p.m. ET, CBS)
Baltimore clinches playoff berth with:
BAL win + LAC loss + IND loss + MIA loss or tie
Buffalo clinches AFC East division title with:
BUF win OR
NE loss OR
BUF tie + NE tie
Cincinnati Bengals (10-6) (at Cleveland (7-9), Sunday, 1:00 p.m. ET, FOX)
Cincinnati clinches AFC’s No. 1 seed, only first-round bye and home-field advantage with:
CIN win + TEN loss + KC loss + NE loss or tie OR
CIN win + TEN loss + KC loss + BUF win
Indianapolis Colts (9-7) (at Jacksonville (2-14), Sunday, 1:00 p.m. ET, CBS)
Indianapolis clinches playoff berth with:
IND win or tie OR
LAC loss + BAL-PIT tie OR
LAC loss + PIT loss + MIA win
Kansas City Chiefs (11-5) (at Denver (7-9), Saturday, 4:30 p.m. ET, ESPN/ABC)
Kansas City clinches AFC’s No. 1 seed, only first-round bye and home-field advantage with:
KC win + TEN loss or tie OR
KC tie + TEN loss
Las Vegas Raiders (9-7) (vs. Los Angeles Chargers (9-7), Sunday, 8:20 p.m. ET, NBC)
Las Vegas clinches playoff berth with:
LV win OR
LV tie + IND loss OR
IND loss + PIT loss or tie
Los Angeles Chargers (9-7) (at Las Vegas (9-7), Sunday night, 8:20 PM ET, NBC)
Los Angeles Chargers clinch playoff berth with:
- LAC win or tie
New England Patriots (10-6) (at Miami (8-8), Sunday, 4:25 p.m. ET, CBS)
New England clinches AFC’s No. 1 seed, only first-round bye and home-field advantage with:
NE win + BUF loss or tie + KC loss + TEN loss
New England clinches AFC East division title with:
NE win + BUF loss or tie OR
NE tie + BUF loss
Pittsburgh Steelers (8-7-1) (at Baltimore (8-8), Sunday, 1:00 p.m. ET, CBS)
Pittsburgh clinches playoff berth with:
PIT win + IND loss + LV-LAC game does not end in a tie
Tennessee Titans (11-5) (at Houston (4-12), Sunday, 1:00 p.m. ET, CBS)
Tennessee clinches AFC’s No. 1 seed, only first-round bye and home-field advantage with:
TEN win OR
TEN tie + KC loss or tie OR
KC loss + CIN loss or tie + NE loss or tie OR
KC loss + CIN loss or tie + BUF win
NFC
CLINCHED:
Green Bay Packers — NFC North division title, No. 1 seed, only first-round bye and home-field advantage
Dallas Cowboys — NFC East division title
Tampa Bay Buccaneers — NFC South division title
Arizona Cardinals — playoff berth
Los Angeles Rams — playoff berth
Philadelphia Eagles — playoff berth
Arizona Cardinals (11-5) (vs. Seattle (6-10), Sunday, 4:25 p.m. ET, FOX)
Arizona clinches NFC West division title with:
ARI win + LAR loss
Los Angeles Rams (12-4) (vs. San Francisco (9-7), Sunday, 4:25 p.m. ET, FOX)
Los Angeles Rams clinch NFC West division title with:
LAR win or tie OR
ARI loss or tie
New Orleans Saints (8-8) (at Atlanta (7-9), Sunday, 4:25 p.m. ET, FOX)
New Orleans clinches playoff berth with:
NO win + SF loss
Los Angeles Rams — playoff berth
Philadelphia Eagles — playoff berth
San Francisco 49ers (9-7) (at Los Angeles Rams (12-4), Sunday, 4:25 p.m. ET, FOX)
San Francisco clinches playoff berth with:
SF win or tie OR
NO loss or tie
Predictions
Saturday
KC-DEN
RC: KC
DAL-PHI
RC: PHI
——————————————
WAS-NYG
RC: WAS
CIN-CLE
RC: CLE
PIT-BAL
RC: PIT
GB-DET
RC: DET
IND-JAX
RC: IND
CHI-MIN
RC: MIN
TEN-HOU
RC: TEN
NO-ATL
RC: NO
SEA-AZ
RC: AZ
NYJ-BUF
RC: BUF
CAR-TB
RC: TB
NE-MIA
RC: NE
SF-LAR
RC: SF
LAC-LV
RC: LV
Santiago Leon is the Founder and CEO of the Sports Cast. He covers NFL, NBA, and world soccer. He’s also founder of sleon productions, which he specializes in technology and serves clients with solutions to make their business grow.