Playoff Picture Still Not in Complete Focus

Going into the last week of the season, the Titans, Steelers and Colts don't need to play a single starter. There's nothing more they can do with a win, and nothing they will give up with a loss. That being said, there are four other games (maybe only three) that will determine the other three teams that will be accompanying them in the AFC. 

For starters, the winner of the Broncos/Chargers game in San Diego will represent the terrible, terrible AFC West and be the number 4 seed in the AFC playoffs. It's a travesty that the Chargers may get into the playoffs at 8-8 while the Patriots stand a good shot at being left out at 11-5, but I digress. The San Diego/Denver winner will be the sacrificial lamb of the Indianapolis Mannings in the Wild Card Round. 

The number three seed is the Dolphins' to lose. If they go up to the Meadowlands and beat the reeling Jets, the Dolphins will be the third seed in the playoffs, no matter what happens. 

If the Dolphins lose, that opens the door first and foremost to the New England Patriots, who would become the number three seed with a Dolphins' loss and a Pats' win at Buffalo.

The only way the Jets are playoff-bound is if they win and the Bills beat the Patriots. 

The Ravens, therefore, secure the number 6 seed with a win over Jacksonville. If they don't get that, they can still become the wild card team with a New England loss.

In the NFC, meanwhile, after a week where everyone just decided to give each other a second chance, so much is clear:

The Giants don't have to play anyone next week. They locked up the number one seed with that great win against the Panthers. 

The second seed belongs to the Carolina Panthers - provided they can win in New Orleans next week. If they can't, that opens the door to the Atlanta Falcons to sneak in and grab the NFC South, making the Panthers a wild card. 

The third seed is the Vikings' to lose. They have to beat a Giants team next week that isn't playing anybody to obtain their ticket to postseason play. The Bears can only win their next two games and hope.

The fourth seed is the Cardinals. I would say they can rest their starters, but the starters have been resting while playing the past couple weeks, so putting them on the bench won't really be a difference. 

The Atlanta Falcons will most certainly obtain the fifth seed - at least. All they have to do is beat the awful St. Louis Rams for that to happen. If the Panthers, however, lose at New Orleans, and the Falcons get their win, Atlanta could take a first round bye as the victor of the NFC South. 

The sixth seed - somehow - is still the Cowboys' to lose. If the Cowboys do lose, it would belong to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. If the Cowboys and the Bucs lose, it would belong to the Bears, provided they win their next two. If the Bears lose one of their next two, next in line would be the Eagles.