NFL Playoff Projection: Bears vs. Packers highlights some huge Week 16 divisional showdowns
There are three weeks to go in the season, but for the most part we can already figure out the 14 teams that will be in the playoffs.
There are only nine teams alive for seven spots in the AFC, and for the moment that includes the loser of the AFC North race between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens. The Steelers and Ravens have a combined 0.1% chance to get a wild-card spot, according to DVOA. The other team on the outside looking in with a shot at a wild-card spot is the Indianapolis Colts, who face a tough challenge with Philip Rivers at quarterback.
In the NFC, there are 10 teams alive but the Dallas Cowboys are down to about a 1% chance. The loser of the Carolina Panthers/Tampa Bay Buccaneers NFC South race has a 0% shot a wild-card spot, DVOA says. The Detroit Lions, currently the No. 8 seed, still has a chance to get a wild-card spot, so there's some intrigue at the bottom of the NFC picture. There just aren't many spots still realistically open, even if the Los Angeles Rams and Denver Broncos are the only teams to clinch.
Just because we can make a good guess on which teams are in the field doesn't mean there isn't plenty at stake over the final three weeks. Week 16 has a few games that are critical to division races.
One of them is one of the NFL's oldest and best rivalries. The NFL picked out a winner for Saturday night, as the Green Bay Packers face the Chicago Bears. The 9-4-1 Packers fell a half-game behind the 10-4 Bears when they lost to the Broncos, and while Green Bay wouldn't be dead in the NFC North race with a loss on Saturday, they'd be 1.5 behind with two to go. Of course, getting that win becomes tougher without defensive star Micah Parsons, who is out for the rest of the season with a torn ACL.
It should feel like a playoff game on Saturday night. It feels like a division title showdown, and it's not the only one this week.
Source: “AOL Sports”