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http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/n...-set-with-steelers-chiefs-winning-in-week-16/
If the Ravens were going to win the AFC North, beating the Steelers on Sunday was a must. After Kyle Juszczyk ran in a touchdown with just 85 seconds left to take the lead, it sure looked like they had done exactly what they needed to do.
And then the Steelers proved exactly why so many people consider them the most dangerous team in the AFC. With 1:18 to move the length of the field, Ben Roethlisberger did what he does best, marching the Steelers down the field on a 10-play, 75-yard, game-winning touchdown drive that sent the Steelers to the playoffs and clinched the AFC North.
With the win, the Steelers joined the Falcons and Texans as teams clinching their divisions in Week 16.
The AFC is a madhouse, but it's probably Pittsburgh or New England coming out. The good news is that we know all six teams on the AFC side after the Chiefs beat up the Broncos on Sunday night by a score of 33-10. Denver's loss not only eliminated the Broncos from the postseason hunt but, along with Baltimore's loss to Pittsburgh, sealed Miami's ticket to the playoffs, the Dolphins' first postseason trip since 2008. While the AFC West champion still needs to be decided, we know that one of the Chiefs, Raiders, Dolphins, Texans, Steelers or Pats will represent the AFC in Super Bowl 51.
The NFC is much more wide open, especially with respect to teams who will actually be in the playoffs. We have several teams that clinched -- the Cowboys, Seahawks, Falcons and Giants. But there is plenty of drama over the next several days (and hours) that will determine how things unfold.
The team to watch is Atlanta. After a dominant performance against the Panthers, who looked good the previous week, Atlanta eliminated a rival and put itself in position to steal a first-round bye. Atlanta, at 10-5, has a leg up on Seattle for the race to the No. 2 seed with the Seahawks losing to the Cardinals on Saturday.
Saturday was a busy day for the Falcons' playoff aspirations. First, they clinched a playoff spot based on the strength-of-schedule tiebreaker when the Raiders beat the Colts. Then, a Bucs loss to the Saints wrapped up the NFC South for Atlanta. And now, they're in the driver's seat for a first-round bye.
No one is talking about the Falcons, but everyone should be looking out for them.
Check out the Playoff Picture page, complete with tiebreaker explanation and rules. Here's how things look after Saturday's slate:
AFC: Who's in
1. (z) New England Patriots (13-2)
The Patriots are very close to securing home-field advantage throughout after taking the Jets to the woodshed. The Pats-Dolphins matchup in Week 17 suddenly has pretty large AFC implications with Oakland winning Saturday.
2. (x) Oakland Raiders (12-3)
The Raiders beat the Colts on Saturday but lost quarterback Derek Carr to a broken leg. The Raiders will try and lock up the AFC West and a first-round bye in Denver in Week 17.
3. (y') Pittsburgh Steelers (10-5)
The Steelers' thrilling win puts them back in the playoffs for a third straight year. However, they have no shot at grabbing a first-round bye in Week 17.
4. (y') Houston Texans (9-6)
Thanks to Tennessee losing and Houston winning over Cincy 12-10, the Texans clinched the AFC South title. While the Titans could tie the Texans in the standings by beating them in Week 17, Houston would own the tiebreaker.
5. (x) Kansas City Chiefs (11-4)
The Chiefs clinched a playoff berth before their Christmas night game against Denver by virtue of the Ravens losing, and they stayed alive in the AFC West race by taking care of the Broncos.
6. (x) Miami Dolphins (10-5)
Miami won in overtime over the Bills on Saturday, and then clinched a playoff spot once Baltimore and Denver lost on Sunday What a story for a team that was dead in the water to start the season.
Eliminated
Denver Broncos (8-7): The Broncos fall out of the playoff race with their loss to the Chiefs.
Baltimore Ravens (8-7): With the loss to the Steelers, the Ravens are also eliminated from the wild-card race.
Tennessee Titans (8-7): Tennessee gets eliminated with the Texans winning and locking up the AFC South.
Indianapolis Colts (7-8): With the Colts' loss to the Raiders, they are eliminated.
Buffalo Bills (7-8): The Bills losing to Miami in overtime snuffed out their long-shot chance of making the playoffs.
Cincinnati Bengals (5-9-1): The Bengals lost an ugly game to the Texans on Saturday night.
San Diego Chargers (5-10): Congrats on giving the Browns their first win, San Diego.
New York Jets (4-11): Humiliating effort against the Patriots on Saturday.
Jacksonville Jaguars (3-12): Blake Bortles caught a touchdown!
Cleveland Browns (1-14): That "1" looks pretty sweet.
NFC: Who's in
1. (*) Dallas Cowboys (12-2)
Dallas plays Detroit on Monday night but already has home-field advantage clinched courtesy of Philly beating the Giants on Thursday.
2. (y') Atlanta Falcons (10-5)
Atlanta manhandled the Panthers in Charlotte, and with the Saints beating the Bucs on Saturday, the Falcons clinch the NFC South.
3. Detroit Lions (9-5)
Detroit plays Dallas on Monday night but regardless of that outcome, the Jan. 1 matchup against the Packers will be for the NFC North title. The Lions can clinch a playoff spot by winning in Dallas.
4. (y') Seattle Seahawks (9-5-1)
Seattle already clinched the NFC West, but the Seahawks are now behind the 8-ball in their quest for a first-round bye with their loss to the Cardinals. They'll need to win next week and get help.
5. (x) New York Giants (10-5)
The Giants lost a horrible game to Philly on Thursday but got some big help Saturday and clinched a playoff berth thanks to the Bucs losing.
6. Green Bay Packers (9-6)
The Packers hammered the Vikings and would clinch a playoff berth and the NFC North with a win over Detroit on Jan. 1.
In the hunt
Washington Redskins (8-6-1): Washington trashed the Bears on Sunday, keeping their playoff hopes alive.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers (8-7): The Bucs' playoff chances took a serious blow with that loss to the Saints on Saturday.
Eliminated
New Orleans Saints (7-8): Eliminated before their game against Tampa kicked off.
Minnesota Vikings (7-8): Minnesota's loss means it cannot make the playoffs.
Arizona Cardinals (6-8-1): The Cardinals played spoiler against division-rival Seattle on Saturday.
Carolina Panthers (6-9): Eliminated after losing to the Falcons on Saturday.
Philadelphia Eagles (6-9): But they beat the Giants so they have that going for them!
Los Angeles Rams (4-11): They're now 0-2 against the 49ers, who are 0-13 against everyone else.
Chicago Bears (3-12): Matt Barkley's stock took a hit with five interceptions Saturday.
San Francisco 49ers (2-13): Briefly had the inside track for the draft's top pick before winning.
Legend: (x) - clinched playoff berth; (y') - denotes division winner; (z) - denotes first-round bye; ( * ) - clinched home-field advantage
If the Ravens were going to win the AFC North, beating the Steelers on Sunday was a must. After Kyle Juszczyk ran in a touchdown with just 85 seconds left to take the lead, it sure looked like they had done exactly what they needed to do.
And then the Steelers proved exactly why so many people consider them the most dangerous team in the AFC. With 1:18 to move the length of the field, Ben Roethlisberger did what he does best, marching the Steelers down the field on a 10-play, 75-yard, game-winning touchdown drive that sent the Steelers to the playoffs and clinched the AFC North.
With the win, the Steelers joined the Falcons and Texans as teams clinching their divisions in Week 16.
The AFC is a madhouse, but it's probably Pittsburgh or New England coming out. The good news is that we know all six teams on the AFC side after the Chiefs beat up the Broncos on Sunday night by a score of 33-10. Denver's loss not only eliminated the Broncos from the postseason hunt but, along with Baltimore's loss to Pittsburgh, sealed Miami's ticket to the playoffs, the Dolphins' first postseason trip since 2008. While the AFC West champion still needs to be decided, we know that one of the Chiefs, Raiders, Dolphins, Texans, Steelers or Pats will represent the AFC in Super Bowl 51.
The NFC is much more wide open, especially with respect to teams who will actually be in the playoffs. We have several teams that clinched -- the Cowboys, Seahawks, Falcons and Giants. But there is plenty of drama over the next several days (and hours) that will determine how things unfold.
The team to watch is Atlanta. After a dominant performance against the Panthers, who looked good the previous week, Atlanta eliminated a rival and put itself in position to steal a first-round bye. Atlanta, at 10-5, has a leg up on Seattle for the race to the No. 2 seed with the Seahawks losing to the Cardinals on Saturday.
Saturday was a busy day for the Falcons' playoff aspirations. First, they clinched a playoff spot based on the strength-of-schedule tiebreaker when the Raiders beat the Colts. Then, a Bucs loss to the Saints wrapped up the NFC South for Atlanta. And now, they're in the driver's seat for a first-round bye.
No one is talking about the Falcons, but everyone should be looking out for them.
Check out the Playoff Picture page, complete with tiebreaker explanation and rules. Here's how things look after Saturday's slate:
AFC: Who's in
The Patriots are very close to securing home-field advantage throughout after taking the Jets to the woodshed. The Pats-Dolphins matchup in Week 17 suddenly has pretty large AFC implications with Oakland winning Saturday.
The Raiders beat the Colts on Saturday but lost quarterback Derek Carr to a broken leg. The Raiders will try and lock up the AFC West and a first-round bye in Denver in Week 17.
The Steelers' thrilling win puts them back in the playoffs for a third straight year. However, they have no shot at grabbing a first-round bye in Week 17.
Thanks to Tennessee losing and Houston winning over Cincy 12-10, the Texans clinched the AFC South title. While the Titans could tie the Texans in the standings by beating them in Week 17, Houston would own the tiebreaker.
The Chiefs clinched a playoff berth before their Christmas night game against Denver by virtue of the Ravens losing, and they stayed alive in the AFC West race by taking care of the Broncos.
Miami won in overtime over the Bills on Saturday, and then clinched a playoff spot once Baltimore and Denver lost on Sunday What a story for a team that was dead in the water to start the season.
Eliminated
Denver Broncos (8-7): The Broncos fall out of the playoff race with their loss to the Chiefs.
Baltimore Ravens (8-7): With the loss to the Steelers, the Ravens are also eliminated from the wild-card race.
Tennessee Titans (8-7): Tennessee gets eliminated with the Texans winning and locking up the AFC South.
Indianapolis Colts (7-8): With the Colts' loss to the Raiders, they are eliminated.
Buffalo Bills (7-8): The Bills losing to Miami in overtime snuffed out their long-shot chance of making the playoffs.
Cincinnati Bengals (5-9-1): The Bengals lost an ugly game to the Texans on Saturday night.
San Diego Chargers (5-10): Congrats on giving the Browns their first win, San Diego.
New York Jets (4-11): Humiliating effort against the Patriots on Saturday.
Jacksonville Jaguars (3-12): Blake Bortles caught a touchdown!
Cleveland Browns (1-14): That "1" looks pretty sweet.
NFC: Who's in
Dallas plays Detroit on Monday night but already has home-field advantage clinched courtesy of Philly beating the Giants on Thursday.
Atlanta manhandled the Panthers in Charlotte, and with the Saints beating the Bucs on Saturday, the Falcons clinch the NFC South.
Detroit plays Dallas on Monday night but regardless of that outcome, the Jan. 1 matchup against the Packers will be for the NFC North title. The Lions can clinch a playoff spot by winning in Dallas.
Seattle already clinched the NFC West, but the Seahawks are now behind the 8-ball in their quest for a first-round bye with their loss to the Cardinals. They'll need to win next week and get help.
The Giants lost a horrible game to Philly on Thursday but got some big help Saturday and clinched a playoff berth thanks to the Bucs losing.
The Packers hammered the Vikings and would clinch a playoff berth and the NFC North with a win over Detroit on Jan. 1.
In the hunt
Washington Redskins (8-6-1): Washington trashed the Bears on Sunday, keeping their playoff hopes alive.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers (8-7): The Bucs' playoff chances took a serious blow with that loss to the Saints on Saturday.
Eliminated
New Orleans Saints (7-8): Eliminated before their game against Tampa kicked off.
Minnesota Vikings (7-8): Minnesota's loss means it cannot make the playoffs.
Arizona Cardinals (6-8-1): The Cardinals played spoiler against division-rival Seattle on Saturday.
Carolina Panthers (6-9): Eliminated after losing to the Falcons on Saturday.
Philadelphia Eagles (6-9): But they beat the Giants so they have that going for them!
Los Angeles Rams (4-11): They're now 0-2 against the 49ers, who are 0-13 against everyone else.
Chicago Bears (3-12): Matt Barkley's stock took a hit with five interceptions Saturday.
San Francisco 49ers (2-13): Briefly had the inside track for the draft's top pick before winning.
Legend: (x) - clinched playoff berth; (y') - denotes division winner; (z) - denotes first-round bye; ( * ) - clinched home-field advantage
