With only three weeks left to play in the regular season, there are still 27 teams in playoff contention, which I’m just pointing out, because this is the most tie of all time late in the season.
Even a 4-9-1 Colts team can still make the playoffs if everything goes its way over the next three weeks, and I mean EVERYTHING.
The only team that will not make the playoffs is the Rams. With their loss to the Packers on Monday, the Rams are officially eliminated, tying them with the 1999 Broncos for the first time the Super Bowl champions have been eliminated.
Right now, there are eight games left in the playoffs, but all 14 seeds — seven in the AFC and seven in the NFC — are still to be decided.
With that in mind, we’ll chart the 14 teams that will make the playoffs along with their jerseys. The projections are based on data from number cruncher Stephen Oh of SportsLine.com. I plugged some numbers into his SportsLine computer and simulated the rest of the NFL season, and with those numbers, not only could we figure out each team’s playoff chances, but we would also project the entire playoff stadium.
Well, let’s move on to this week’s playoff predictions. Actually, before you do that, here’s a mock draft (click here) that fans of the Texans, Bears, Rams, Cardinals and Broncos might want to read. These five teams are officially eliminated, and if you’re a fan of one of those three teams, reading about the mock draft is probably even more interesting than this drop.
For everyone else, let’s get down to projection.
Noticeable: Remember, this projection is based on how we think the rest of the regular season will play out. If you want to see the current qualifying standings, Make sure to click here. For a breakdown of the current match picture, Make sure to click here.
AFC playoffs drop
The following is a list of the qualifying chances for all other AFC teams (their percentage of chances to participate in the playoffs is shown next to them in brackets): Jaguars (41%), Patriots (27.2%), Jets (19.6%), Raiders (2.4%), Browns (0.5%), Colt (0.3%), Steelers (0.3%), Broncos (excluded), Texas (done) exclude it))
Note: The 6-8 Jaguars have a higher chance of getting into the playoffs than the other competitors mentioned here because Jacksonville still has a real shot at winning the AFC South title.
Drop NFC
Here is a list of playoff opportunities for all other NFC teams (the percentage of playoff chances is listed next to them in parentheses): Leaders (31.5%), Lions (30.8%), Panthers (16.3%), Packers (12.7%), Saints (4.9%), Falcons (4.8%), Cardinals (excluded), Rams (excluded), Bears (excluded)
Drop the wild card round
Asian Football Confederation
(7) dolphins in (2) heads
(6) chargers in (3) Bengals
(5) Crows in (4) Titans
Goodbye: Invoices
NFC
(7) Seahawks at (2) Vikings
(6) Giants at (3) 49ers
(5) Cowboys (4) Pirates
Goodbye: the Eagles
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