NFL Playoff Scenarios -- Week 15

Playoffs? Playoffs?! I kid. I'm a fan of Jim Mora. Sad that his accomplishments -- in the tune of a career 125-106 record, though 0-6 in the playoffs (irony: ain't it great?) -- will be depreciated from that one moment in NFL press conference history. We're waiting for the Jim Mora Coors Light commercial. Dennis Green added to the long line feisty men, true men, that go far and above coach speak. They're a rare bread -- those that do not follow the talking points. The one's that are featured on SportsCenter six hundred times setting aside 60 full seconds of "debate" on shtick shows like PTI and Around The Horn. You know what and whom I'm talking about. Those guys that defend their college players until their cherry faces are exploding..

Back to playoffs. In the NFC
... Dallas, Green Bay and Seattle already clinched their division.
... if Tampa Bay wins or New Orleans loses, the Buccaneers win the South.
... if Dallas wins and Green Bay loses, the Cowboys win homefield advantage throughout the NFC playoffs.
... if Dallas wins or Seattle loses, the Cowboys clinch a first-round bye.
... Green Bay's chance at a first-round bye comes only if the Packers win and Seattle loses.
... if the New York Giants win or Minnesota loses, the Giants clinch a playoff berth.

Easy enough, right?

In the AFC.
... the Patriots win and they clinch homefield advantage throughout the AFC Playoffs.
... in the unlikely hood that they lose -- same odds as the moon crashing into the Earth because Michael Jackson willed it to happen -- but the Colts lose, the Patriots clinch anyway.
... the Colts, still needing to clinch the South, take their division with a win or Jacksonville loss.
... if the Colts win and the Steelers lose, Indianapolis wins the #2 seed and a first-round bye.
... the Steelers can win their division with a win and Browns loss. They will win a playoff berth regardless with a win.
... if the San Diego Chargers win and the Denver Broncos lose, San Diego wins the AFC West.
... if Jacksonville wins and the Tennessee Titans lose, then Jacksonville clinches a playoff berth.
... the Browns clinch a playoff spot with a win, a Tennessee loss and Denver loss.

I love the multiple scenarios the closer we get to the playoffs. It's what drives anticipation in the NFL.