NFL Power Rankings Week 17: Predicting Standings After Season Finales

We’re now staring the final week of the 2016 NFL season right in the face. All 32 teams will be in action next Sunday, and once Week 17 comes to an end so will the regular season.

For some teams, there will be a lot at stake in Week 17. There could be a playoff slot up for grabs in the NFC, while seeding shuffling can occur in the AFC. For other teams, though, there will be little to play for other than pride.

The Pittsburgh Steelers, for example, are locked into the No. 3 seed in the AFC. The Dallas Cowboys have clinched the top seed in the NFC. There are a plethora of teams with no shot at making the postseason at all.

So what will the playoff picture look like once the dust settles next week? That’s what we’re going to try to determine. We’ll be making our best guess for the final standings, using factors like past performances, Week 17 matchups and team health as guidelines. We’ll also take a look at some of the most important games of Week 17.

Matchups to Watch

New England Patriots at Miami Dolphins

The Patriots and Dolphins are both going to be in the postseason this year. The outcome of next Sunday’s game between the two isn’t going to affect this. However, the Patriots still have a lot to play for here.

New England currently holds the No. 1 seed in the AFC, but if it loses to Miami it’ll also risk losing home-field advantage throughout the playoffs. If the 12-3 Oakland Raiders win in Week 17 while the Patriots lose, the Raiders would earn the top seed based on tiebreakers.

Oakland win means home-field advantage in AFC won’t be decided until Week 17. Raiders would win a 13-3 tie with the Patriots and take #1.

— Andrew Siciliano (@AndrewSiciliano) December 25, 2016

This means the Patriots absolutely must treat their final game as an important one. New England failed to finish strong last year and ended up giving away the top seed. Had it hosted the Denver Broncos in the AFC title game instead of playing in Denver, it might have survived to reach Super Bowl 50.

“We need to keep playing well down the stretch,” Patriots quarterback Tom Brady said, via the Boston …

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