Steelers

NFL playoff picture: Live updates, seeding

Hunter Homistek
Posted on

The NFL playoff picture received a facelift in Week 17 thanks to some early upsets and shuffling.

Most significantly, Ryan Fitzpatrick marched his Dolphins into Foxboro, Mass., and upset Tom Brady and the Patriots, 27-24, with a late touchdown strike to Mike Gesicki.

Even though this seems impossible since only Mike Tomlin and the Steelers lose crucial games against inferior opponents, it happened, and it had significant consequences for the Patriots, who fell to the No. 3 seed because of the loss.

With the loss, the Patriots win the AFC East at 12-4, but it wasn't enough to take the No. 2 seed over the Chiefs, who defeated the Chargers, 31-21, also moving to 12-4 in the process. The Chiefs beat the Patriots in head-to-head play, though, so they take the No. 2 seed and the bye that comes with it.

AFC PLAYOFF PICTURE

  1. Ravens (14-2, won AFC North, first-round bye)
  2. Chiefs (12-4, won AFC West, first-round bye)
  3. Patriots (12-4, won AFC East)
  4. Texans (10-6, won AFC South)
  5. Bills (10-6, will face Texans in Houston Saturday at 4:35 p.m.)
  6. Titans (9-7, will face Patriots in Foxboro Saturday at 8:15 p.m.)

NFC Playoff Picture

On the other side, the Packers overcame a two-touchdown deficit vs. the Lions to win on a last-second Mason Crosby field goal, 23-20, moving to 13-3 and locking down a first-round bye in the process.

The Saints also moved to 13-3 with a blowout 42-10 victory over the Panthers. For now, they hold the No. 2 seed and the other first-round bye, but that's in serious jeopardy. If the 49ers win on Sunday Night Football vs. the Seahawks, they'll move from the No. 3 seed all the way to No. 1, pushing the Saints into third.

The current NFC playoff picture is as follows:

  1. 49ers (13-3, won NFC West, first-round bye)
  2. Packers (13-3, won NFC North, first-round bye)
  3. Saints (13-3, won NFC South)
  4. Eagles (9-7, won NFC East)
  5. Seahawks (11-5, will face Eagles in Philadelphia Sunday at 4:40 p.m.)
  6. Vikings (10-6, will face Saints in New Orleans Sunday at 1:05 p.m.)

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