After Week 15, the Atlanta Falcons and the Detroit Lions control their own destiny when it comes to earning a spot in the NFC playoffs. With both teams sitting at 9-5, all they have to do is win one game each and they are in. The Falcons own a head-to-head tiebreaker over the Lions, so if they have the same record the Falcons will be the higher seed.
NFL Playoff Picture: NFC Wildcard Under The Control Of Falcons And Lions
Teams like the Seattle Seahawks, Chicago Bears and New York Giants need quite a bit of help to make the dance, but are still mathematically alive. In essence they would need either the Lions or Falcons to lose out, combined with their own 2-0 run to round out the season to even have a chance. All any of those teams could do is put tie-breaker scenarios into play, so hopefully that gives you an idea of just how well things would have to break. Seattle owns head-to-head tie-breakers over the Bears and Giants.
If there is a tie between two teams for a Wildcard berth, here is the tie-breaker procedure (via NFL.com):
- Head-to-head, if applicable.
- Best won-lost-tied percentage in games played within the conference.
- Best won-lost-tied percentage in common games, minimum of four.
- Strength of victory.
- Strength of schedule.
If there is a tie between three or more teams for a Wildcard spot, it is the same process as above except head-to-head and division record are used to eliminate teams within the same division before moving on to the listed tie-breakers.
| CONF RK | NFC | W | L | DIV | CONF |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | *Green Bay | 13 | 1 | 4-0 | 10-0 |
| 2 | *New Orleans | 11 | 3 | 3-1 | 7-3 |
| 3 | *San Francisco | 10 | 3 | 3-1 | 8-2 |
| 4 | Dallas | 8 | 6 | 2-2 | 6-4 |
| 5 | Atlanta | 9 | 5 | 2-2 | 6-4 |
| 6 | Detroit | 9 | 5 | 3-2 | 6-5 |
| Outside Looking In | |||||
| 7 | Seattle | 7 | 7 | 3-1 | 6-4 |
| 8 | Chicago | 7 | 7 | 2-2 | 6-4 |
| 9 | NY Giants | 7 | 7 | 2-3 | 4-7 |
For more on the 2011 NFL playoffs, visit the SB Nation NFL Playoff Race Stream.
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