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

AFC Contenders & Pretenders

As noted earlier, the Browns are the only AFC team mathematically eliminated from the NFL postseason.

Here are the standings, including those in the hunt:

Provided by Pro-Football-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 12/6/2017.

We can all but cross off the Indianapolis Colts and the Denver Broncos from the list of contenders. Either team winning out would get them to seven wins, but that would mean the Baltimore Ravens, Los Angeles Chargers, Buffalo Bills and Oakland Raiders would have to lose out — not likely. And the 4-8 Houston Texans should be considered in the same boat.

Remember, it’s often harder to climb over teams in the standings rather than just win games.

Contenders

We can pretty much assume the New England Patriots aren’t going anywhere from the top. They have only one game remaining that’s of moderate interest, Week 15 visiting the also-10-2 Pittsburgh Steelers.

As for the rest of the Pats schedule, well, the Bills, Miami Dolphins and New York Jets don’t figure to offer much competition. It wouldn’t be a shock to see New England win out.

The Steelers schedule is a bit tricker, though, as they host the defensively strong Ravens this week. AFC North games are always interesting (don’t we know now), followed by a visit from New England.

Like the Ravens, the Houston Texans defense could offer a challenge on the road in Week 16. Still, that’s probably not enough to suggest a 2-2 finish from the Steelers. They go 3-1.

The Tennessee Titans and Jacksonville Jaguars are vying for control of the AFC South. Tennessee has the tie-breaker after beating Jacksonville back in Week 2. But the Jags have since figured out how to let their defense and running game control games, letting quarterback Blake Bortles be little more than a game manager.

It seems to be working in Jacksonville, and that should be the difference when these two teams square off for a likely division-determining showdown in Week 17.

Pretenders

Sell now, why you can, on the free-falling Kansas City Chiefs winning the AFC West. They’re 6-6 now and still hold the division. But as losers of four straight, and six out of seven NFL games, they’ve gotten cold at precisely the wrong time.

The good news, though, is K.C. is home for three of its final four games, with a remaining road contest against those lowly Broncos.

Two games to watch here are in Weeks 14 and 15 against the Raiders and Chargers, respectively.

Oakland versus Kansas City is usually a fun contest to watch. And while the Raiders could still eek out a divisional title, they’d have to win on the road in Kansas City, host the Dallas Cowboys, visit the high-flying Philadelphia Eagles before traveling to take on those same Chargers to round out the NFL season.

Can you find two, preferably three wins, remaining on Oakland’s schedule? Neither can we.

The Bills, Jets and Dolphins should be expected to be eliminated over the next couple of weeks.

Chargers and Ravens on the Bubble

The Ravens have a fairly easy schedule and could potentially finish 10-6 after a predicted loss to the Steelers in Week 14. After that, Baltimore visits the lowly Browns before hosting the Colts and Cincinnati Bengals to wrap up the year.

The AFC North is probably out of the question for the Ravens, but a top Wild Card spot isn’t.

Even more interesting are the Chargers who, after starting 0-4, have won six of their last eight games and suddenly look like a legitimate playoff contender.

Their schedule isn’t easy, though, as they visit the Washington Redskins in Week 14, followed by a two-game road trip to the Chiefs and Jets, respectively, before wrapping up the year at home versus the Raiders.

Those two AFC West contests could easily decide the division, which has been oh-so weird in 2017.