2021 Week 18 Playoff Picture

• Standings entering week 18
• Standard-Style Clinching Scenarios
  • NFC
  • AFC
• Seed Possibilities
• NFC Scenarios by seed
• AFC Scenarios by seed

Standings entering week 18

• Conference Standings
• Division Standings

	NFC	Record	Conf. Rec.	Explanation
1	GBxyz	13-3	9-2
2	LARx	12-4	8-3	LAR wins the tiebreak over TB on Head-to-Head.
3	TBxy	12-4	7-4
4	DALxy	11-5	9-2
5	ARIx	11-5	7-4
6	SFk	9-7	6-5	SF wins the tiebreak over PHI on Head-to-Head.
7	PHIkx	9-7	7-4
8	NOk	8-8	6-5
9	MINke	7-9	5-6	MIN wins the tiebreak over ATL on Conference Record (5-6 vs 4-7).
10	ATLke	7-9	4-7
11	WASke	6-10	5-6	SEA drops out of the tiebreak with WAS/CHI on Head-to-Head Sweep. WAS wins the tiebreak over CHI on Conference Record (5-6 vs 4-7).
12	CHIke	6-10	4-7	CHI wins the tiebreak over SEA on Head-to-Head.
13	SEAke	6-10	3-8
14	CARke	5-11	3-8
15	NYGke	4-12	3-8
16	DETke	2-13-1	2-9
	AFC	Record	Conf. Rec.	Explanation
1	TENxy	11-5	7-4	TEN wins the tiebreak over KC on Head-to-Head.
2	KCxy	11-5	6-5
3	CINxy	10-6	8-3	BUF wins the tiebreak over NE on Division Record (4-1 vs 3-2). CIN wins the tiebreak over BUF on Conference Record (8-3 vs 6-5).
4	BUFx	10-6	6-5	BUF wins the tiebreak over NE on Division Record (4-1 vs 3-2).
5	NEx	10-6	8-3
6	INDk	9-7	7-4	LAC wins the tiebreak over LV on Head-to-Head (1-0). IND wins the tiebreak over LAC on Conference Record (7-4 vs 6-5).
7	LACk	9-7	6-5	LAC wins the tiebreak over LV on Head-to-Head (1-0).
8	LVk	9-7	7-4
9	PITk	8-7-1	6-5
10	MIAke	8-8	5-6	MIA wins the tiebreak over BAL on Head-to-Head.
11	BALk	8-8	5-6
12	CLEke	7-9	4-7	CLE wins the tiebreak over DEN on Head-to-Head.
13	DENke	7-9	3-8
14	NYJke	4-12	4-7	NYJ wins the tiebreak over HOU on Head-to-Head.
15	HOUke	4-12	4-7
16	JAXke	2-14	2-9

NFC	East	Record	Div. Rec.	Explanation
1	DALxy	11-5	5-0
2	PHIkx	9-7	3-2
3	WASke	6-10	1-4
4	NYGke	4-12	1-4
NFC	North	Record	Div. Rec.	Explanation
1	GBxyz	13-3	4-1
2	MINke	7-9	3-2
3	CHIke	6-10	2-3
4	DETke	2-13-1	1-4
NFC	South	Record	Div. Rec.	Explanation
1	TBxy	12-4	3-2
2	NOk	8-8	3-2
3	ATLke	7-9	2-3
4	CARke	5-11	2-3
NFC	West	Record	Div. Rec.	Explanation
1	LARx	12-4	3-2
2	ARIx	11-5	4-1
3	SFk	9-7	1-4
4	SEAke	6-10	2-3
AFC	East	Record	Div. Rec.	Explanation
1	BUFx	10-6	4-1	BUF wins the tiebreak over NE on Division Record (4-1 vs 3-2).
2	NEx	10-6	3-2
3	MIAke	8-8	3-2
4	NYJke	4-12	0-5
AFC	North	Record	Div. Rec.	Explanation
1	CINxy	10-6	4-1
2	PITk	8-7-1	3-2
3	BALk	8-8	1-4
4	CLEke	7-9	2-3
AFC	South	Record	Div. Rec.	Explanation
1	TENxy	11-5	4-1
2	INDk	9-7	3-2
3	HOUke	4-12	3-2
4	JAXke	2-14	0-5
AFC	West	Record	Div. Rec.	Explanation
1	KCxy	11-5	4-1
2	LACk	9-7	3-2	LAC wins the tiebreak over LV on Head-to-Head (1-0).
3	LVk	9-7	2-3
4	DENke	7-9	1-4

^x Team has clinched a playoff berth.
^y Team has clinched their division title.
^z Team has clinched a first-round bye and home-field advantage.
^e Team has been eliminated from playoff contention.
^k Team has been knocked out of division title contention.

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Standard-Style Clinching Scenarios

This is the standard style scenarios that just involve clinching a playoff berth/division without any concern for seed line. To see the correlated elimination scenarios, check out the elimination section under the seed-specific scenarios.

NFC

LAR clinches the NFC West division title with:

	1)	LAR win/tie
OR	2)	ARI loss/tie

 

ARI clinches the NFC West division title with:

1)

ARI win + LAR loss

 

SF clinches a playoff berth with:

	1)	SF win/tie
OR	2)	NO loss/tie

 

NO clinches a playoff berth with:

1)

NO win + SF loss

 

AFC

TEN clinches a first-round bye and home-field advantage with:

	1)	TEN win
OR	2)	TEN tie + KC loss/tie
OR	3)	KC loss + CIN loss/tie + NE loss/tie
OR	4)	KC loss + CIN loss/tie + BUF win

 

KC clinches a first-round bye and home-field advantage with:

	1)	KC win + TEN loss/tie
OR	2)	KC tie + TEN loss

 

CIN clinches a first-round bye and home-field advantage with:

	1)	CIN win + TEN loss + KC loss + NE loss/tie
OR	2)	CIN win + TEN loss + KC loss + BUF win

 

NE clinches the AFC East division title with:

	1)	NE win + BUF loss/tie
OR	2)	NE tie + BUF loss

 

NE clinches a first-round bye and home-field advantage with:

1)

NE win + BUF loss/tie + TEN loss + KC loss

 

BUF clinches the AFC East division title with:

	1)	BUF win
OR	2)	BUF tie + NE tie
OR	3)	NE loss

 

IND clinches a playoff berth with:

	1)	IND win/tie
OR	2)	LAC loss + PIT loss + MIA win
OR	3)	LAC loss + PIT tie

 

LAC clinches a playoff berth with:

1)

LAC win/tie

 

LV clinches a playoff berth with:

	1)	LV win
OR	2)	LV tie + IND loss
OR	3)	IND loss + PIT loss/tie

 

PIT clinches a playoff berth with:

	1)	PIT win + IND loss + LV loss
OR	2)	PIT win + IND loss + LAC loss

 

BAL clinches a playoff berth with:

1)

BAL win + IND loss + LAC loss + MIA loss/tie

 

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Seed Possibilities

	NFC
1	GB
2	LAR TB DAL ARI
3	TB LAR DAL ARI
4	DAL LAR TB
5	ARI LAR
6	SF PHI
7	PHI SF NO

	AFC
1	TEN KC CIN NE
2	KC TEN CIN BUF NE
3	CIN TEN KC BUF NE
4	BUF TEN KC CIN NE
5	NE BUF IND LAC LV
6	IND BUF NE LAC LV
7	LAC BUF NE IND LV BAL PIT

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NFC Scenarios by seed

See also: Ivan Urena’s tie-free NFC seeding chart

1 seed

GB is locked into the 1 seed

 

2 seed

LAR obtains the 2 seed with:

	1)	LAR win
OR	2)	LAR tie + TB loss/tie
OR	3)	ARI loss/tie + TB loss + DAL loss/tie

TB obtains the 2 seed with:

	1)	TB win + LAR loss/tie
OR	2)	TB tie + LAR loss

DAL obtains the 2 seed with:

1)

DAL win + TB loss + LAR loss + ARI loss/tie

ARI obtains the 2 seed with:

1)

ARI win + LAR loss + TB loss

 

3 seed

LAR obtains the 3 seed with:

	1)	LAR tie + TB win
OR	2)	LAR loss + ARI loss/tie + TB win/tie + DAL loss/tie
OR	3)	LAR loss + ARI loss/tie + TB loss + DAL win

TB obtains the 3 seed with:

	1)	LAR win
OR	2)	TB loss/tie + LAR tie
OR	3)	TB loss + ARI win
OR	4)	TB loss + DAL loss/tie

DAL obtains the 3 seed with:

1)

DAL win + TB win/tie + LAR loss + ARI loss/tie

ARI obtains the 3 seed with:

1)

ARI win + LAR loss + TB win/tie

 

4 seed

LAR obtains the 4 seed with:

1)

LAR loss + ARI loss/tie + TB win/tie + DAL win

TB obtains the 4 seed with:

1)

TB loss + LAR loss + ARI loss/tie + DAL win

DAL obtains the 4 seed with:

	1)	DAL loss/tie
OR	2)	LAR win/tie
OR	3)	ARI win

 

5 seed

LAR obtains the 5 seed with:

1)

LAR loss + ARI win

ARI obtains the 5 seed with:

	1)	ARI loss/tie
OR	2)	LAR win/tie

 

6 seed

SF obtains the 6 seed with:

	1)	SF win
OR	2)	SF tie + PHI loss/tie
OR	3)	PHI loss + NO loss/tie

PHI obtains the 6 seed with:

	1)	PHI win + SF loss/tie
OR	2)	PHI tie + SF loss
OR	3)	SF loss + NO win

 

7 seed

SF obtains the 7 seed with:

	1)	PHI win + SF tie
OR	2)	PHI win/tie + SF loss + NO loss/tie

PHI obtains the 7 seed with:

	1)	SF win
OR	2)	PHI loss/tie + SF tie
OR	3)	PHI loss + NO loss/tie

NO obtains the 7 seed with:

1)

NO win + SF loss

 

Elimination

SF is eliminated from playoff contention with:

1)

SF loss + NO win

NO is eliminated from playoff contention with:

	1)	NO loss/tie
OR	2)	SF win/tie

 

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AFC Scenarios by seed

See also: Ivan Urena’s tie-free AFC seeding chart

1 seed

TEN obtains the 1 seed with:

	1)	TEN win
OR	2)	TEN tie + KC loss/tie
OR	3)	KC loss + CIN loss/tie + NE loss/tie
OR	4)	KC loss + CIN loss/tie + BUF win

KC obtains the 1 seed with:

	1)	KC win + TEN loss/tie
OR	2)	KC tie + TEN loss

CIN obtains the 1 seed with:

	1)	CIN win + TEN loss + KC loss + NE loss/tie
OR	2)	CIN win + TEN loss + KC loss + BUF win

NE obtains the 1 seed with:

1)

NE win + BUF loss/tie + TEN loss + KC loss

 

2 seed

TEN obtains the 2 seed with:

	1)	TEN tie + KC win
OR	2)	TEN loss + KC win/tie + CIN loss/tie + BUF win
OR	3)	TEN loss + KC win/tie + CIN loss/tie + NE loss/tie
OR	4)	TEN loss + KC loss + CIN win + BUF win
OR	5)	TEN loss + KC loss + CIN win + NE loss/tie
OR	6)	TEN loss + KC loss + CIN loss/tie + BUF loss/tie + NE win

KC obtains the 2 seed with:

	1)	KC win + TEN win
OR	2)	KC tie + TEN win/tie
OR	3)	KC loss + CIN loss/tie + BUF loss/tie + NE loss/tie

CIN obtains the 2 seed with:

	1)	CIN win + TEN win/tie + KC loss + NE loss/tie
OR	2)	CIN win + TEN win/tie + KC loss + BUF win
OR	3)	CIN win + TEN loss + KC win/tie + NE loss/tie
OR	4)	CIN win + TEN loss + KC win/tie + BUF win
OR	5)	CIN win + TEN loss + KC loss + BUF loss/tie + NE win

BUF obtains the 2 seed with:

1)

BUF win + KC loss + CIN loss/tie

NE obtains the 2 seed with:

	1)	NE win + BUF loss/tie + TEN win/tie + KC loss
OR	2)	NE win + BUF loss/tie + TEN loss + KC win/tie

 

3 seed

TEN obtains the 3 seed with:

	1)	TEN loss + KC win/tie + CIN win + BUF win
OR	2)	TEN loss + KC win/tie + CIN win + NE loss/tie
OR	3)	TEN loss + KC win/tie + CIN loss/tie + BUF loss/tie + NE win
OR	4)	TEN loss + KC loss + CIN win + BUF loss/tie + NE win

KC obtains the 3 seed with:

	1)	KC loss + CIN win + BUF loss/tie + NE loss/tie
OR	2)	KC loss + CIN loss/tie + BUF win
OR	3)	KC loss + CIN loss/tie + NE win

CIN obtains the 3 seed with:

	1)	CIN win + TEN win/tie + KC win/tie + NE loss/tie
OR	2)	CIN win + TEN win/tie + KC win/tie + BUF win
OR	3)	CIN win + TEN win/tie + KC loss + BUF loss/tie + NE win
OR	4)	CIN win + TEN loss + KC win/tie + BUF loss/tie + NE win
OR	5)	CIN tie + BUF tie + NE loss/tie
OR	6)	CIN loss/tie + BUF loss + NE loss

BUF obtains the 3 seed with:

	1)	BUF win + KC win/tie + CIN loss/tie
OR	2)	BUF win + KC loss + CIN win
OR	3)	BUF tie + NE loss/tie + CIN loss

NE obtains the 3 seed with:

	1)	NE win + BUF loss/tie + TEN win/tie + KC win/tie
OR	2)	NE tie + BUF loss + CIN loss/tie

 

4 seed

TEN obtains the 4 seed with:

1)

TEN loss + KC win/tie + CIN win + BUF loss/tie + NE win

KC obtains the 4 seed with:

	1)	KC loss + CIN win + BUF win
OR	2)	KC loss + CIN win + NE win

CIN obtains the 4 seed with:

	1)	CIN win + TEN win/tie + KC win/tie + BUF loss/tie + NE win
OR	2)	CIN tie + BUF win
OR	3)	CIN tie + NE win
OR	4)	CIN tie + BUF loss + NE tie
OR	5)	CIN loss + BUF win/tie
OR	6)	CIN loss + NE win/tie

BUF obtains the 4 seed with:

	1)	BUF win + KC win/tie + CIN win
OR	2)	BUF tie + NE loss/tie + CIN win/tie
OR	3)	BUF loss + NE loss

NE obtains the 4 seed with:

1)

NE tie + BUF loss + CIN win

 

5 seed

BUF obtains the 5 seed with:

	1)	BUF tie + NE win
OR	2)	BUF loss + NE win/tie + IND loss/tie + LV tie

NE obtains the 5 seed with:

	1)	NE win/tie + BUF win
OR	2)	NE tie + BUF tie
OR	3)	NE loss + IND loss/tie + LV loss/tie

IND obtains the 5 seed with:

	1)	IND win + NE loss + LV loss/tie
OR	2)	IND win + BUF loss + LV loss/tie

LAC obtains the 5 seed with:

1)

LAC win + BUF loss + NE win/tie + IND loss/tie

LV obtains the 5 seed with:

	1)	LV win + NE loss
OR	2)	LV win + BUF loss

 

6 seed

BUF obtains the 6 seed with:

	1)	BUF loss + NE win/tie + IND loss/tie + LV win
OR	2)	BUF loss + NE win/tie + IND loss/tie + LAC win
OR	3)	BUF loss + NE win/tie + IND win + LV tie

NE obtains the 6 seed with:

	1)	NE loss + IND win + LV loss/tie
OR	2)	NE loss + IND loss/tie + LV win

IND obtains the 6 seed with:

	1)	IND win + NE win/tie + BUF win/tie + LV loss/tie
OR	2)	IND win + NE loss + LV win
OR	3)	IND win + BUF loss + LV win
OR	4)	IND tie + LV tie

LAC obtains the 6 seed with:

	1)	LAC win + NE loss + IND loss/tie
OR	2)	LAC win + BUF win/tie + IND loss/tie
OR	3)	LAC win + BUF loss + NE win/tie + IND win
OR	4)	LAC tie + IND loss

LV obtains the 6 seed with:

1)

LV win + NE win/tie + BUF win/tie

 

7 seed

BUF obtains the 7 seed with:

	1)	BUF loss + NE win/tie + IND win + LV win
OR	2)	BUF loss + NE win/tie + IND win + LAC win

NE obtains the 7 seed with:

1)

NE loss + IND win + LV win

IND obtains the 7 seed with:

	1)	IND win + NE win/tie + BUF win/tie + LV win
OR	2)	IND tie + LV win
OR	3)	IND tie + LAC win
OR	4)	IND loss + PIT tie + LV win
OR	5)	IND loss + PIT loss + LV win + MIA win

LAC obtains the 7 seed with:

	1)	LAC win + NE loss + IND win
OR	2)	LAC win + BUF win/tie + IND win
OR	3)	LAC tie + IND win/tie

LV obtains the 7 seed with:

	1)	LV tie + IND loss
OR	2)	LV loss + IND loss + PIT loss/tie

BAL obtains the 7 seed with:

1)

BAL win + LAC loss + IND loss + MIA loss/tie

PIT obtains the 7 seed with:

	1)	PIT win + IND loss + LV loss
OR	2)	PIT win + IND loss + LAC loss

 

Elimination

IND is eliminated from playoff contention with:

	1)	IND loss + LAC win/tie
OR	2)	IND loss + PIT win
OR	3)	IND loss + BAL win + MIA loss/tie

LAC is eliminated from playoff contention with:

1)

LAC loss

LV is eliminated from playoff contention with:

	1)	LV loss/tie + IND win/tie
OR	2)	LV loss + PIT win

BAL is eliminated from playoff contention with:

	1)	BAL loss/tie
OR	2)	LAC win/tie
OR	3)	IND win/tie
OR	4)	MIA win

PIT is eliminated from playoff contention with:

	1)	PIT loss/tie
OR	2)	IND win/tie
OR	3)	LV tie

 

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