The playoff clinching scenarios heading into Week 16

The NFL has wrapped up Thursday Night Football for the 2020 season, but we get one last week of early week action in Week 16. The schedule opens with a Christmas game, Friday afternoon featuring the Vikings and Saints. That’s followed by a Saturday tripleheader before the usual Sunday action and a Monday Night Football finale.

The NFL released playoff clinching scenarios for Week 16 and we have a lot of new possibilities this weekend. New additions to the list include the Browns, Colts, Titans, Cardinals, and Washington, with Titans and Washington able to clinch their respective division titles this weekend. Pittsburgh, Seattle, and New Orleans have all clinched a playoff berth and can add a division title. Finally, Kansas City and Green Bay can clinch the No. 1 seed in their respective conferences.

Clinched division title: Kansas City Chiefs, Green Bay Packers, Buffalo Bills
Clinched wild card berth: New Orleans Saints, Pittsburgh Steelers, Seattle Seahawks
Eliminated from playoff contention: New York Jets, Jacksonville Jaguars, Cincinnati Bengals, Los Angeles Chargers, Houston Texans, Atlanta Falcons, New England Patriots, Denver Broncos, Detroit Lions, San Francisco 49ers, Carolina Panthers

Cleveland Browns

Playoff berth

1. CLE win + BAL loss or tie OR
2. CLE win + MIA loss or tie OR
3. CLE win + IND loss OR
4. CLE tie + BAL loss OR
5. CLE tie + MIA loss

Indianapolis Colts

Playoff berth

1. IND win + BAL loss or tie OR
2. IND win + MIA loss or tie OR
3. IND tie + BAL loss OR
4. IND tie + MIA loss

Kansas City Chiefs

First round bye

1. KC win or tie OR
2. PIT loss or tie OR
3. BUF loss or tie OR
4. KC clinches strength of victory tiebreaker over PIT or BUF AND clinches at least a tie in strength of victory tiebreaker over the other club

Pittsburgh Steelers

Division title

1. PIT win OR
2. CLE loss OR
3. PIT tie + CLE tie

Tennessee Titans

Division title

1. TEN win + IND loss​

Playoff berth

1. TEN win OR
2. MIA loss OR
3. BAL loss OR
4. TEN tie + BAL tie

Arizona Cardinals

Playoff berth

1. ARI win + CHI loss or tie OR
2. ARI tie + CHI loss

Green Bay Packers

First round bye

1. GB win + SEA loss or tie OR
2. GB tie + NO loss or tie + SEA loss or tie, as long as both NO and SEA don’t tie

Los Angeles Rams

Playoff berth

1. LAR win or tie OR
2. CHI loss or tie OR
3. ARI win or tie

New Orleans Saints

Division title

1. NO win OR
2. TB loss OR
3. NO tie + TB tie

Seattle Seahawks

Division title

1. SEA win

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Playoff berth

1. TB win or tie OR
2. CHI loss or tie

Washington Football Team

Division title

1. WAS win + NYG loss or tie OR
2. WAS tie + NYG loss + PHI-DAL tie