Niner Noise
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NFL postseason: Predicting the 2017 playoff picture and Super Bowl winner

By Peter Panacy

HOUSTON, TX - FEBRUARY 05: Tom Brady #12 of the New England Patriots raises the Vince Lombardi Trophy after defeating the Atlanta Falcons during Super Bowl 51 at NRG Stadium on February 5, 2017 in Houston, Texas. The Patriots defeated the Falcons 34-28. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
HOUSTON, TX - FEBRUARY 05: Tom Brady #12 of the New England Patriots raises the Vince Lombardi Trophy after defeating the Atlanta Falcons during Super Bowl 51 at NRG Stadium on February 5, 2017 in Houston, Texas. The Patriots defeated the Falcons 34-28. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) /
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FOXBORO, MA – SEPTEMBER 10: General view as fireworks go off as fans hold up cards to celebrate the New England Patriots Super Bowl championships at the start of the game against the Pittsburgh Steelers at Gillette Stadium on September 10, 2015 in Foxboro, Massachusetts. (Photo by Mike Lawrie/Getty Images)
FOXBORO, MA – SEPTEMBER 10: General view as fireworks go off as fans hold up cards to celebrate the New England Patriots Super Bowl championships at the start of the game against the Pittsburgh Steelers at Gillette Stadium on September 10, 2015 in Foxboro, Massachusetts. (Photo by Mike Lawrie/Getty Images) /

Niner Noise takes a look at the NFL postseason landscape and offers up predictions for the playoff picture and eventual winner in Super Bowl LII on Feb. 4 at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis.

The San Francisco 49ers are about as far from the NFL playoffs as possible, but that doesn’t mean we can’t have a little bit of fun looking at the upcoming postseason picture and play around with some predictions for who gets in and makes it all the way.

Heading into Week 14, only one AFC team — the Cleveland Browns — has been eliminated from contention. The 49ers, Chicago Bears and New York Giants are the only NFC teams no longer in the hunt.

Of course, there are a few bottom-dwelling teams with no realistic shot to make the playoffs. More on that in a second, but let’s look at how things stand right now if the NFL postseason was to start this weekend:

Playoffs
Playoffs /

Of course, there are a lot of games to play between now and the Wild Card round. And a number of teams on the outside, looking in, have a real shot to pull into one of those remaining spots.

With this in mind, let’s look at each conference and first determine who the contenders and pretenders are.