The 2021 NFL season is winding down, with only two weeks of football left until the playoffs begin.
Those games will be a little more condensed than usual beginning in Week 17, as Thursday Night Football has finished for the year. The league prefers to avoid short turnarounds during the height of the postseason race, pushing 15 games to Sunday and leaving one for Monday Night Football.
With the most action-packed day of season so far coming up, it’s time to look at the current playoff picture and some of the games that will impact it most.
You can also find information on how to watch these contests, updated odds for each and an overview of the playoff scenarios heading into Week 17.
Week 17 Schedule And Odds
Sunday, Jan. 2
Raiders at Colts (-6.5), 1 p.m. ET, CBS
Giants at Bears (-6), 1 p.m. ET, CBS
Buccaneers at Jets (+13.5), 1 p.m. ET, Fox
Falcons at Bills (-14.5), 1 p.m. ET, Fox
Eagles at Washington Football Team (-3.5), 1 p.m. ET, Fox
Chiefs at Bengals (+5), 1 p.m. ET, CBS
Jaguars at Patriots (-15.5), 1 p.m. ET, CBS
Dolphins at Titans (-3.5), 1 p.m. ET, CBS
Rams at Ravens (+3.5), 1 p.m. ET, Fox
Broncos at Chargers (-6.5), 4:05 p.m. ET, CBS
Texans at 49ers (-12), 4:05 p.m. ET, CBS
Cardinals at Cowboys (-5.5), 4:25 p.m. ET, Fox
Panthers at Saints (-6.5), 4:25 p.m. ET, Fox
Lions at Seahawks (-6.5), 4:25 p.m. ET, Fox
Vikings at Packers (-6.5), 8:20 p.m. ET, NBC
Monday, Jan. 3
Browns at Steelers (+3.5), 8:15 p.m. ET, ESPN
NFL Playoff Picture and Standings
* Clinched Playoff Berth
** Clinched Division
AFC Playoff Bracket
- No. 1 Kansas City Chiefs (11-4)**
- No. 2 Tennessee Titans (10-5)
- No. 3 Cincinnati Bengals (9-6)
- No. 4 Buffalo Bills (9-6)
- No. 5 Indianapolis Colts (9-6)
- No. 6 New England Patriots (9-6)
- No. 7 Miami Dolphins (8-7)
In the Hunt
- No. 8 Baltimore Ravens (8-7)
- No. 9 Los Angeles Chargers (8-7)
- No. 10 Las Vegas Raiders (8-7)
- No. 11 Pittsburgh Steelers (7-7-1)
- No. 12 Cleveland Browns (7-8)
- No. 13 Denver Broncos (7-8)
Eliminated: New York Jets, Houston Texans, Jacksonville Jaguars
NFC Playoff Bracket
- No. 1 Green Bay Packers (12-3)**
- No. 2 Dallas Cowboys (11-4)**
- No. 3 Los Angeles Rams (11-4)*
- No. 4 Tampa Bay Buccaneers (11-4)**
- No. 5 Arizona Cardinals (10-5)*
- No. 6 San Francisco 49ers (8-7)
- No. 7 Philadelphia Eagles (8-7)
In the Hunt
- No. 8 Minnesota Vikings (7-8)
- No. 9 Atlanta Falcons (7-8)
- No. 10 New Orleans Saints (7-8)
- No. 11 Washington Football Team (6-9)
Eliminated: Carolina Panthers, Chicago Bears, Seattle Seahawks, New York Giants, Detroit Lions
NFL Playoff Scenarios
A full list of playoff-clinching scenarios for Week 17 can be found at NFL.com
It’s rather surprising that just six of the 14 spots on the 2021 NFL Playoff bracket have been secured at this juncture. Only eight teams are officially eliminated with 32 games left, setting up the first 17-game campaign to conclude with one of the league’s most exciting finishes ever.
The AFC race is shaping up to be a good one, even if the Chiefs seem destined to secure the No. 1 seed for the second consecutive year. Kansas City has a one-game edge over the Titans and a two-game lead over four 9-6 teams near the top of the standings, a buffer that will make it difficult for anyone else to earn the conference’s bye.
The 9-6 Bengals will get their chance to dethrone the Chiefs in Week 17. The current AFC North leaders play host to the conference’s reigning Super Bowl representative on Sunday afternoon, a game that has a good shot at being one of this action-packed schedule’s most thrilling clashes.
Cincinnati may be getting five points at home, but the squad has outright won four of the seven games it has been an underdog for in 2021. Kansas City has been upset twice on the road this season as well, dropping games against the Ravens—a team that the Bengals just beat last week—and Titans earlier in the year.
An upset here would not only give Cincy and the other AFC contenders hope of usurping the top seed from Kansas City, but also lock in Cincinnati’s first playoff berth and AFC North crown since 2015.
Tennessee will surely be rooting for the Bengals, as the current AFC South leaders are not only one game back in the standings, but also hold the head-to-head tiebreaker after beating the Chiefs earlier in the year.
The Titans have managed to overcome the loss of Derrick Henry for a significant chunk of the season thanks to improvements on the defensive end following the superstar back’s injury. The team went 4-3 without Henry in the lineup, an impressive feat considering their banged-up receiving corps saw both Julio Jones and A.J. Brown miss time.
With both receivers finally healthy—the Titans are 6-1 with Brown and Jones in the lineup—and Henry set to return, the team has a real shot to hold off the charging Colts in the division and even overtake the Chiefs in the conference.
The Titans are far from a lock to win this week though, as they will be facing a red-hot Dolphins program. Miami has the second-longest active win streak in football right now, shaking off a 1-7 start to the year to rip off seven consecutive victories.
That surge, which includes an impressive 20-3 victory over the Saints last week, has launched the ‘Phins from the league’s basement into the final Wild Card spot with two weeks to play.
Surprisingly, Miami—which now controls its own postseason fate—can still win the AFC East. The loaded division is currently topped by the 9-6 Bills, who recently overtook the 9-6 Patriots by virtue of a head-to-head victory in Week 16.
While a three-way tie for first-place would result in a Bills title by virtue of their 3-1 record against the Pats and ‘Phins, the surging squad could take control by besting Tennessee and New England over the next fortnight and watching Buffalo lose back-to-back games.
That isn’t likely to happen, however, as the Bills have one of the league’s softest schedules down the stretch.
Buffalo is one of the largest favorites on the board in Week 17, opening as 14.5-point chalk over the Falcons. The Bills close the 2021 season with a home matchup with the Jets, a game that Buffalo is almost certain to be a double-digit favorite in.
The NFC playoff picture is a bit more tame, although the top-heavy conference still has four viable candidates competing for a bye.
The Packers control their destiny after securing a narrow Christmas Day victory over the Browns. Green Bay—which secured its fourth consecutive NFC North title earlier in the month—moved to 12-3 with the holiday win, putting the organization a full game ahead of the three other division leaders.
With only the slumping Vikings and lowly Lions left to vanquish, it will be tough for anyone to pry away the No. 1 seed from the Pack.
The Cowboys will certainly try, however, but it won’t come easy with the Cardinals coming to town this weekend. Dallas—which is back in the playoffs after a two-year hiatus by locking up the NFC East crown—is a 5.5-point favorite against this foe, but Arizona will be desperate to get off the schneid during its trip to Arlington.
The Cardinals lost control of the NFC West during their current three-game skid. The season-ending injury to top wideout DeAndre Hopkins a few weeks back clearly hurt this club, but the Kyler Murray-led offense still puts up over 375 yards and 26 points per game.
With Dallas’ defense opportunistic but beatable, an upset could be brewing in Arlington that would shake up the playoff picture.
The Rams certainly won’t want to see Arizona beat the Cowboys. The current NFC West leaders—the only division still up for grabs in the conference—are only one game ahead of the Cardinals in the standings, but would have to settle for a Wild Card spot if they finish the year tied due to an inferior record in divisional play.
Los Angeles will be traveling across the country to take on the Ravens on Sunday in a game both sides will be desperate to win. Baltimore would be the last team out in the AFC if the postseason began today, but could get back in contention with an upset—the Ravens are 3.5-point home ‘dogs in Week 17—over the Rams.
The defending Super Bowl champions could also move up over the next few weeks. Tampa Bay is currently the No. 4 seed despite clinching the NFC South title and boasting an 11-4 record.
The Bucs are behind both the Cowboys and Rams right now due to tiebreakers, but shouldn’t have much trouble finishing the year at 13-4. Tampa is laying nearly two touchdowns to the Jets in Week 17 and will likely be a massive favorite in a season-ending matchup with the rival Panthers.
Nothing is certain in the NFL though, especially not at this time of year. Upsets are bound to happen and the standings will be shaken up plenty by them. The playoff picture has crystallized a bit, but little is locked in heading into Week 17.
Check back later in the week for a closer look at some of the most important games on the schedule, picks against the spread and predictions on the final scores.