NFL Playoff Picture: Week 16 Standings & Wild Card Matchups

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The top of the NFL playoffs may be nearly set, but it’s still chaos at the bottom.

In the NFC, the Cowboys are locked in at the top spot. Seattle currently holds the second seed, and can clinch a bye with a win and losses from both Detroit and Atlanta. The top of the AFC is run by the Patriots and Raiders, with New England having a one-game lead for the top seed with two games remaining.

The Steelers and Texans look like division champions, but losses in the next two weeks could see them outside of the playoffs. The Giants stumbled in Philadelphia on Thursday, but can still clinch a playoff birth if either the Lions, Packers, Bucs or Falcons lose.

With tight divisions and a crowded wild card race, five teams still control their destiny in the AFC. The Texans, Dolphins, Ravens, Steelers and Titans can all make the playoffs by winning their final two games, thanks to some high-stakes head-to-head matchups to end the season.

For a full list of NFL tiebreaking procedures, click here.

Here’s how the playoff standings look right now:

AFC Seeding

The Division Leaders:

1. New England Patriots — 13-2
2. Oakland Raiders — 12-3
3. Pittsburgh Steelers — 10-5
4. Houston Texans — 9-6

The Wild Card Contenders:

5. Kansas City Chiefs — 11-4
6. Miami Dolphins — 10-5
7. Baltimore Ravens — 8-7
8. Tennessee Titans — 8-7
9. Denver Broncos — 8-7

**The Patriots have clinched the AFC East and a first-round bye
**The Texans have clinched the AFC South
**The Steelers have clinched the AFC North
*The Chiefs have clinched a playoff berth
*The Raiders have clinched a playoff berth
*The Dolphins have clinched a playoff berth

Potential Wild Card Matchups:

Dolphins at Steelers

Chiefs at Texans

NFC Seeding

The Division Leaders:

1. Dallas Cowboys — 12-2
2. Atlanta Falcons — 10-5
3. Seattle Seahawks — 9-5-1
4. Detroit Lions — 9-5

The Wild Card Contenders:

5. New York Giants — 10-5
6. Green Bay Packers — 9-6
7. Washington Redskins — 8-6-1
8. Tampa Bay Buccaneers — 8-7
9. Minnesota Vikings — 7-8

***The Cowboys have clinched home-field advantage
**The Seahawks have clinched the NFC West
**The Falcons have clinched the NFC South
*The Giants have clinched a Wild Card spot

Potential Wild Card Matchups:

Packers at Seahawks

Giants at Lions