The Giants blew their opportunity to earn at least a wild card by losing in Philadelphia on Thursday night. That allowed the Cowboys to clinch the NFC East and top seed with home-field advantage throughout the playoffs. New York did, however, clinch a playoff berth when Tampa Bay lost.
The Dolphins, whose playoff hopes plunged when Ryan Tannehill got hurt, clinched a playoff berth with their win and the Broncos’ loss. The Packers, who can win the NFC North with a win over the Lions in Week 17, also can get in as a wild card.
MORE: Full playoff picture | Week 16 picks
The Steelers, Chiefs, Texans and Falcons also have clinched playoff berths in Week 16.
Here are all the playoff scenarios for Week 16.
LIVE: Week 16 NFL scoreboard
AFC
CLINCHED:
New England — AFC East title and first-round bye
Pittsburgh — AFC North title
Houston — AFC South title
Oakland — playoff berth
Kansas City — playoff berth
Miami — playoff berth
What, how New England Patriots can clinch in Week 16
New England clinches home-field advantage throughout AFC playoffs with:
— NE win + OAK loss or tie OR
— NE tie + OAK loss
UPDATE: Oakland’s win means New England can’t clinch home-field advantage in Week 16.
What, how Oakland Raiders can clinch in Week 16
Oakland clinches AFC West title and a first-round bye with:
— OAK win + KC loss or tie OR
— OAK tie + KC loss
Update: Kansas City’s win means Oakland can’t clinch AFC West in Week 16.
MORE: Raiders here to stay as contenders
What, how Pittsburgh Steelers can clinch in Week 16
Pittsburgh clinches AFC North title with:
— PIT win
UPDATE: Pittsburgh’s win over Baltimore clinched the division.
MORE: Steelers most dangerous threat to Pats
What, how Kansas City Chiefs can clinch in Week 16
Kansas City clinches a playoff berth with:
— KC win or tie OR
— BAL loss or tie
UPDATE: Baltimore’s loss means Kansas City is in the playoffs. The Chiefs beat the Broncos, too, anyway.
What, how Houston Texans can clinch in Week 16
Houston clinches AFC South title with:
— HOU win + TEN loss
UPDATE: The Texans won the AFC South with their win over the Bengals and the Titans’ loss to the Jaguars.
IYER: The true cost of Osweiler whiff
What, how Miami Dolphins can clinch in Week 16
Miami clinches a playoff berth with:
— MIA win + DEN loss or tie OR
— MIA tie + BAL loss + DEN loss + HOU loss or tie OR
— MIA tie + BAL loss + DEN loss + TEN loss or tie
UPDATE: Miami clinched a playoff berth with its win coupled with Denver’s loss.
MORE: Week 16 picks against the spread
NFC
CLINCHED:
Dallas — NFC East title, No. 1 seed
Falcons — NFC South title
Seattle — NFC West title
New York — playoff berth
MOCK DRAFT: Cowboys get greedy at RB
What, how Seattle Seahawks can clinch in Week 16
Seattle clinches a first-round bye with:
— SEA win + DET loss + ATL loss or tie
UPDATE: Atlanta’s win means Seattle can’t clinch first-round bye in Week 16.
What, how New York Giants can clinch in Week 16
New York clinches a playoff berth with:
— DET loss or tie OR
— GB loss or tie OR
— TB loss or tie OR
UPDATE: Tampa Bay’s loss means New York is in the playoffs.
— ATL loss
MORE: Giants most dangerous wild-card team?
What, how Detroit Lions can clinch in Week 16
Detroit clinches NFC North title with:
— DET win + GB loss or tie OR
— DET tie + GB loss
UPDATE: Green Bay’s win means Lions can’t clinch NFC North in Week 16.
Detroit clinches a playoff berth with:
— DET win + TB loss or tie OR
— DET tie + TB loss OR
— DET tie + TB tie + ATL win OR
— WAS loss or tie + TB loss + ATL win or tie
What, how Atlanta Falcons can clinch in Week 16
Atlanta clinches NFC South title with:
— ATL win + TB loss or tie OR
— ATL tie + TB loss
Atlanta clinches a playoff berth with:
— ATL win + ATL clinches strength of victory tiebreaker over DET OR
UPDATE: Oakland’s win means Atlanta has the tiebreaker over Detroit. The Falcons are in the playoffs. They are also NFC South champions thanks to the Buccaneers’ loss.
— ATL win or tie + GB loss or tie OR
— ATL win + DET loss or tie OR
— ATL tie + DET tie OR
— WAS loss or tie + GB loss OR
— WAS loss or tie + GB tie + DET loss
MORE: Why the Falcons are “that team”
What, how Green Bay Packers can clinch in Week 16
Green Bay clinches a playoff berth with:
— GB win + WAS loss or tie + TB loss + ATL win or tie + GB clinches strength of victory tiebreaker over TB
UPDATE: Washington’s win means Green Bay can’t clinch playoff berth in Week 16.
MORE: Aaron Rodgers for MVP?
What, how Tampa Bay Buccaneers can clinch in Week 16
Tampa Bay clinches a playoff berth with:
— TB win + GB loss + DET loss + WAS loss OR
— TB win + GB loss + DET loss + WAS tie + TB clinches strength of victory tiebreaker over DET
UPDATE: Green Bay and Washington wins mean Tampa Bay can’t clinch playoff berth in Week 16. The Buccaneers’ loss made it hard for them to clinch anything in Week 17.
