The Denver Broncos and Los Angeles Rams became this season\u2019s first two teams to clinch a playoff berth with their Week 15 victories, and both teams have plenty more at stake in their Week 16 matchups.<\/p>\n
The Rams\u2019 clash with the Seattle Seahawks on \u201cThursday Night Football\u201d will have significant implications in the NFC West and for determining the top seed in the conference. However, the Rams can\u2019t clinch either \u2014 the division or the top seed \u2014 with a win.<\/p>\n
The Broncos, on the other hand, can come out of the weekend with the AFC West locked up, and could even secure the top seed in the AFC with the right outcomes.<\/p>\n
Throughout the NFL, here are all of the clinching scenarios in play in Week 16.<\/p>\n
AFCDenver Broncos<\/p>\n
Denver can clinch the AFC West with a win at home over the Jacksonville Jaguars and a Los Angeles Chargers loss or tie. The Chargers play at the Dallas Cowboys in the early afternoon slate, while the Broncos play in the late afternoon slot, meaning the Broncos could know by kickoff if a win will earn them the division crown.<\/p>\n
Denver can also clinch the AFC West with a tie and a Chargers loss.<\/p>\n
The Buffalo Bills\u2019 comeback in Week 15 to beat the Patriots was a big boost to the Broncos\u2019 hopes for the top seed in the AFC. The Broncos can clinch the top seed in the conference in Week 16, but they will need to beat the Jaguars and then get a lot of help. That includes needing the Patriots to lose, as well as a loss or tie by the Chargers and Bills.<\/p>\n
Buffalo Bills<\/p>\n
The Bills can\u2019t clinch the AFC East with a Week 16 win over the Cleveland Browns, but Buffalo can clinch a playoff spot on Sunday. With a Bills win and a loss or tie by either the Indianapolis Colts or Houston Texans, Buffalo will punch its postseason ticket.<\/p>\n
The Bills play in the early afternoon slot, while the Texans host the Las Vegas Raiders in the late afternoon Sunday slot and the Colts host the San Francisco 49ers on \u201cMonday Night Football.\u201d<\/p>\n
If the Bills tie the Browns, they can still clinch a playoff berth with a Colts or Texans loss.<\/p>\n
New England Patriots<\/p>\n
The Patriots are the only team in the AFC that can control their own destiny of clinching a playoff spot. With a win or tie against the Baltimore Ravens, the Patriots will be postseason-bound for the first time since 2021.<\/p>\n
If the Patriots lose, they could still clinch a playoff berth if either the Colts or Texans lose or tie.<\/p>\n
Jacksonville Jaguars<\/p>\n
The Jaguars can clinch a playoff berth, but not the AFC South, in Week 16. If they win and either the Colts or Texans lose or tie, Jacksonville will return to the postseason for the first time since 2022.<\/p>\n
If the Jaguars tie their game, they can still clinch a spot with a Texans or Colts loss.<\/p>\n
Los Angeles Chargers<\/p>\n
The Chargers can punch their ticket to the playoffs if they beat the Cowboys and either the Colts or Texans lose or tie. If the Chargers tie the Cowboys, Los Angeles would need the Colts to lose, or the Colts to tie and the Texans to lose.<\/p>\n
The AFC West is still in play, but the Chargers will need some help. They need the Broncos to lose one of their next two games (against the Jaguars and the Kansas City Chiefs) to set up the Chargers to take the AFC West in Week 18 with a win over the Broncos. The Chargers beat the Broncos earlier in this season in the teams\u2019 first matchup.<\/p>\n
NFCPhiladelphia Eagles<\/p>\n
The Athletic\u2019s playoff simulator<\/a> has the Eagles\u2019 postseason chances at over 99 percent, and for good reason. The Eagles can become the first team this season to clinch a division, as they can wrap up the NFC East with a win over the Washington Commanders on Saturday.<\/p>\n If the Eagles lose, they can still clinch the division with a Cowboys\u2019 loss to the Chargers. If the Eagles tie, they would need the Cowboys to tie or lose.<\/p>\n Chicago Bears<\/p>\n The Bears entered December as the NFC\u2019s top seed but fell to the seventh seed with a loss. After their win on Sunday, the Bears are currently slotted as the No. 2 seed as the NFC North leaders. While Chicago can\u2019t clinch the division in Week 16, the Bears can secure a playoff spot with a win over the Green Bay Packers and a loss or tie by the Detroit Lions, who host the Pittsburgh Steelers.<\/p>\n If the Bears tie, they will need a Lions loss to clinch a playoff spot.<\/p>\n Green Bay Packers<\/p>\n The Micah Parsons-less Packers are currently the seventh seed in the NFC playoff picture. They can clinch a playoff spot with a win and a Lions loss or tie. If the Packers tie, they will need a loss by the Lions.<\/p>\n The Athletic\u2019s playoff simulator<\/a> has the Packers at a 90 percent chance to make the playoffs but just a 43 percent chance to win the division.<\/p>\n San Francisco 49ers<\/p>\n The 49ers could clinch a playoff spot before they even take the field Monday night against the Colts. If the Lions lose to the Steelers on Sunday, the 49ers are officially in. If the Lions tie on Sunday, the 49ers could get in with a tie.<\/p>\n However, the 49ers do control their own destiny in Week 16, regardless of any other results. San Francisco can earn its berth by defeating Indianapolis on the road Monday night.<\/p>\n Seattle Seahawks<\/p>\n The Seahawks can clinch a berth by defeating or tying against the Rams on Thursday. If the Seahawks don\u2019t win, they can still secure a playoff spot with a Lions loss or tie on Sunday.<\/p>\n While a playoff berth is all the Seahawks can officially clinch in Week 16, they are in the thick of the NFC West race and the top seed in the conference. Seattle is currently tied with Los Angeles at 11-3 for the best record in the conference. The Seahawks\u2019 chances to win the division currently stand at 30 percent but go up to 55 percent with a win on Thursday, according to The Athletic\u2019s simulator<\/a>.<\/p>\n Teams already eliminated from postseason contention<\/p>\n Kansas City Chiefs The Cowboys and Lions can be eliminated from postseason contention in Week 16. The Cowboys will be out if the Eagles win or the Cowboys lose, as well as if both teams tie their respective games. The Lions can be eliminated from the playoffs with a loss and if the Bears\u2019 game against the Packers ends in a tie.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Denver Broncos and Los Angeles Rams became this season\u2019s first two teams to clinch a playoff berth…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":349494,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[436],"tags":[1748,49,48,1735,1743,1730,1725,2210,1718,514,1747,948,1739,82],"class_list":["post-349493","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nfl","tag-buffalo-bills","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-chicago-bears","tag-denver-broncos","tag-green-bay-packers","tag-jacksonville-jaguars","tag-los-angeles-chargers","tag-new-england-patriots","tag-nfl","tag-philadelphia-eagles","tag-san-francisco-49ers","tag-seattle-seahawks","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/349493","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=349493"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/349493\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/349494"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=349493"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=349493"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=349493"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
Miami Dolphins
Cincinnati Bengals
New York Jets
Cleveland Browns
Las Vegas Raiders
Tennessee Titans
Minnesota Vikings
Atlanta Falcons
New Orleans Saints
Washington Commanders
Arizona Cardinals
New York Giants<\/p>\n