No. 1 seed still in play for Saints entering Week 17

Green Bay’s win over Minnesota Monday night made the road to a possible No. 1 seed for the Saints more difficult, but it didn’t turn into a dead end either.

Here’s how things shape up for the Saints entering Sunday’s season finale at Carolina:

*If the Saints defeat the Panthers to finish 11-3, it would earn a first-round playoff bye with either a Detroit win at home over Green Bay or a Seattle win at home over San Francisco. If the Saints win and both the Lions and Seahawks win, the Saints are the No. 1 seed; if the Saints win and either Detroit or Seattle (but not both) win, the Saints are the No. 2 seed.

*If the Packers and 49ers win, no matter what the Saints do against the Panthers, they will be the No. 3 seed.

*If the Saints lose to the Panthers, the No. 1 seed is out of play, but a chance of a bye still exists. That would take wins by Seattle and Green Bay, which would put the Packers at 13-3 and the Seahawks in a tie with the Saints at 12-4 (the only tiebreaker the Saints win is head-to-head with Seattle by virtue of their win over the Seahawks in Week 3). A loss to the Panthers and wins by either the 49ers or Lions would make the Saints the No. 3 seed.

If the Saints are the No. 1 or 2 seed, they will get a first-round bye and host an NFC Divisional Playoff game, most likely on Saturday, Jan. 11, as the Mercedes-Benz Superdome is also hosting the College Football Playoff National Championship on Monday night, Jan. 13. Games on divisional weekend are at 3:35 and 7:15 p.m. on Jan. 11, and 2:05 and 5:40 p.m. on Jan. 12.

If the Saints are the third seed, they would host the No. 6 seed Minnesota Vikings – the only one of the six NFC playoff teams locked into its seed entering Week 17 – on either Saturday, Jan. 4 (game time either 3:35 or 7:15 p.m.) or Sunday, Jan. 5 (game time either 12:05 or 3:40 p.m.).

Courtesy of the NFL, here’s a full graphic of the possibility of seed combinations heading into Week 17:

2019 NFL PLAYOFF SCENARIOS FOR WEEK 17

AFC

CLINCHED:
Baltimore Ravens – AFC North division and homefield advantage throughout AFC playoffs
Houston Texans – AFC South division
Kansas City Chiefs – AFC West division
New England Patriots – AFC East division
Buffalo Bills – playoff berth

KANSAS CITY CHIEFS (11-4) (vs. L.A. Chargers (5-10), 1:00 PM ET, CBS)
Kansas City clinches a first-round bye with:
1. KC win + NE loss

NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS (12-3) (vs. Miami (4-11); 1:00 PM ET, CBS)
New England clinches a first-round bye with:
1. NE win or tie OR
2. KC loss or tie

OAKLAND RAIDERS (7-8) (at Denver (6-9); 4:25 PM ET, CBS)
Oakland clinches a playoff berth with:
1. OAK win + PIT loss + TEN loss + IND win + OAK clinches strength-of-victory tiebreaker over PIT*

*OAK clinches strength-of-victory tiebreaker over PIT if ONE of the following teams win or tie:
CHI, DET, LAC OR NE

PITTSBURGH STEELERS (8-7) (at Baltimore (13-2); 4:25 PM ET, CBS)
Pittsburgh clinches a playoff berth with:
1. PIT win + TEN loss or tie OR
2. PIT tie + TEN loss OR
3. TEN loss + IND win + OAK loss or tie OR
4. TEN loss + IND win + PIT ties OAK in strength-of-victory tiebreaker*

*PIT ties OAK in strength-of-victory tiebreaker if ALL of the following teams win:
MIN, GB, KC AND MIA

TENNESSEE TITANS (8-7) (at Houston (10-5); 4:25 PM ET, CBS)
Tennessee clinches a playoff berth with:
1. TEN win OR
2. TEN tie + PIT loss or tie OR
3. PIT loss + IND loss or tie

—

NFC

CLINCHED:
Green Bay – NFC North division
New Orleans – NFC South division
Minnesota — playoff berth
San Francisco — playoff berth
Seattle — playoff berth

DALLAS COWBOYS (7-8) (vs. Washington (3-12); 4:25 PM ET, FOX)
Dallas clinches NFC East division with:
1. DAL win + PHI loss

GREEN BAY PACKERS (12-3) (at Detroit (3-11-1); 1:00 PM ET, FOX)
Green Bay clinches a first-round bye with:
1. GB win OR
2. NO loss OR
3. GB tie + SF loss OR
4. GB tie + NO tie

Green Bay clinches homefield advantage throughout NFC playoffs with:
1. GB win + SF loss or tie OR
2. GB tie + SF loss + NO loss or tie

NEW ORLEANS SAINTS (12-3) (at Carolina (5-10); 1:00 PM ET, FOX)
New Orleans clinches a first-round bye with:
1. NO win + GB loss or tie OR
2. NO win + SF loss or tie OR
3. NO tie + GB loss OR
4. NO tie + SF loss OR
5. SF loss + GB win or tie

New Orleans clinches homefield advantage throughout NFC playoffs with:
1. NO win + GB loss or tie + SF loss or tie OR
2. NO tie + GB loss + SF loss

PHILADELPHIA EAGLES (8-7) (at N.Y. Giants (4-11); 4:25 PM ET, FOX)
Philadelphia clinches NFC East division with:
1. PHI win or tie OR
2. DAL loss or tie

SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS (12-3) (at Seattle (11-4); 8:20 PM ET, NBC)
San Francisco clinches NFC West division title with:
1. SF win or tie
San Francisco clinches a first-round bye with:
1. SF win OR
2. SF tie + GB loss or tie OR
3. SF tie + NO loss or tie

San Francisco clinches homefield advantage throughout NFC playoffs with:
1. SF win OR
2. SF tie + GB loss or tie + NO loss or tie

SEATTLE SEAHAWKS (11-4) (vs. San Francisco (12-3); 8:20 ET, NBC)
Seattle clinches NFC West division with:
1. SEA win

Seattle clinches a first-round bye with:
1. SEA win + GB loss

Seattle clinches homefield advantage throughout NFC playoffs with:
1. SEA win + GB loss + NO loss
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