The NFL playoffs are right around the corner and the AFC and NFC wild card spots are still up for grabs heading into the Week 17 Sunday schedule and on top of that, 13 of 16 NFL games has playoff implications for scenarios, seeds and home field advantage, meaning teams like the Seattle Seahawks, Denver Broncos, New England Patriots and Carolina Panthers have no time to rest.
The final week of the NFL season is shaping up to be a great one and there are a number of things at stake on Sunday on the schedule, as there are still playoff spots to be clinched and nothing is fully set in either conference for seeding, including at number one for home field advantage. The Seattle Seahawks look like they are the best team in the NFL and while they have had a lock on the number one seed for most of the season in the NFC, the play by the Arizona Cardinals and the Niners, including the first home loss for the Hawks on Sunday by the Cardinals, puts Seattle in a situation where they must win to clinch the spot.
The Seahawks can win to snag the number one seed and the NFC West division or with a San Francisco 49ers loss, but amazingly they can end up in the number five seed with a loss and a 49ers win and if the Seahawks and Panthers lose and the 49ers, win, they will sneak into the spot. It's easy for the Seahawks though, the team wins and they get the number one seed and home field advantage in the playoffs and that is the spot they really would like to get, as they have lost just one game at CenturyLink Field in two regular seasons under Russell Wilson.
The number two seed has the Panthers in position and they can win the NFC South with a victory on Sunday over the Falcons and that would put the Saints in the sixth spot if they win on Sunday as well. The team can also end up in the wild card if they lose and the Saints win. The Eagles and the Cowboys are in the mix for the NFC East and the Eagles will get the number three with a win on Sunday, but if the Cowboys win, the Bears would get the three seed if they win, but the Cowboys would end up three if they win and the Packers win as well. Yeah, get all that?
The four seed will be determined by whoever wins out on the NFC East and North between the Eagles, Cowboys, Bears and Packers and the fifth seed looks like it will be the San Francisco 49ers in that spot, but they can also end up in one of the top seeds if things fall a certain way. The 49ers are in the playoffs and have clinched a spot and it really is just about seeding in the NFC, as the Saints and the number six spot is the area that is not clinched yet, with the Cardinals the other team that can snag it. The Saints get in with a win, but if they lose the Cardinals can get in and the NFC has a very interesting amount of scenarios on Sunday.