BY: MCADOO
There are three weeks left in the NFL regular season and we still have teams jockeying for position. Forty-eight games left to decide who gets in and who will be left out in the cold until the next season. We have already seen six teams be eliminated (cough Jets cough) and now it is tank season to get a better draft position. Here are my predictions for the 14 playoff spots
AFC
The Kansas City Chiefs will run away with the number one seed and the goodbye for the AFC. They play the Saints, Falcons, and Chargers; They are winning out. Pittsburgh has a chance to stumble against the Colts in week 16. They get the Bengals next week and end against the Browns, so it is not out of the woods for Buffalo to pass them for the No. 2 seed. I don’t see it happening, but I have been wrong before. Tennessee will be the No. 4 seed as the last division winner in the AFC. Baltimore showed they are still good with their win on Monday night, and I think they win out to get the No. 5 seed over the Browns. Cleveland will break their playoff drought as they will be the No. 6 seed in the playoffs, with Indianapolis getting the final spot. That would make the Wild Card matchups Baltimore @ Tennessee, Cleveland @ Buffalo, and Indianapolis @ Pittsburgh.
NFC
The NFC is not as clear cut and dry when it comes to seeding and two of the divisions. Green Bay has won the North, and New Orleans has all but won the South. The two are both 10-3 at the moment, with Green Bay having the tiebreaker because of their Week 3 matchup. Unfortunately for New Orleans, I don’t see Green Bay losing to Carolina, Tennessee, or Chicago, so Green Bay will be the one seed in the NFC. They aren’t confirmed to be the two seed, though, as the Rams and Seahawks are a game behind them. I have the Rams winning against the Seahawks in Week 16 to win the NFC West, but the Saints only lose to KC and own the Rams’ tiebreaker.
Then we have the NFC East. I have been riding with Washington to win since like Week 12. Jalen Hurts starting for the Eagles and beating the Saints has me wondering if the Eagles can make a run. The Eagles will beat Arizona and Dallas while Washington will lose to the Seahawks. The Week 17 game between the two would decide the division winner. Based on what I saw last Sunday, I have to give the nod to Philly. At the wildcard positions, I have Tampa Bay owning the tiebreaker over Seattle for the No. 5 seed, and a sad thing for me as Arizona gets left out by one tiebreaking game to Minnesota. The Wild Card matchups would be Tampa Bay at Philadelphia, Seattle at LAR, and Minnesota at New Orleans. On paper, the latter two should be good games.
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