Giants Among 5 Teams Battling For NFC Wild Card Berth
NEW YORK (AP) — Three division titles remain undecided heading into the final week of the NFL season: the AFC South, NFC South and NFC West.
Indianapolis wins the AFC South by beating visiting Tennessee on Sunday, or if Jacksonville loses at Houston. The winner of Sunday's game in Seattle between the Rams and Seahawks wins the NFC West.
While the AFC wild cards belong to the Jets and either the Ravens or Steelers — whichever doesn't take the AFC North — five teams have shots at NFC wild cards: Atlanta, New Orleans, Green Bay, Tampa Bay and the New York Giants.
So the AFC is not very complicated, with New England the East winner, Kansas City champion of the West, and either Baltimore or Pittsburgh taking the North. The Steelers hold the tiebreaker over the Ravens and are at Cleveland on Sunday. Baltimore hosts Cincinnati.
The Chiefs and the AFC South winner will host a wild-card round playoff game.
Things are more unsettled in the NFC, where Chicago (North) and Philadelphia (East) own division titles. Seattle (6-9) could become the first division winner in NFL history with a losing record if it beats St. Louis (7-8) in their finale, which has been flexed to a Sunday night game.
New Orleans defeated Atlanta 17-14 on Monday night to clinch a playoff spot. The Falcons can still wrap up their first division crown since 2004 and home field through the NFC playoffs by knocking off two-win Carolina at home in the final week of the season.
The Packers (9-6) have the inside track for a wild card — win and they are in. The Giants and Bucs must win Sunday to have a shot at a wild card. Tampa Bay travels to New Orleans, Green Bay hosts archrival Chicago, while New York is at Washington to close out the regular season.
No first-round byes have been clinched in the NFC.
AFC
CLINCHED: New England, AFC East and homefield advantage; Kansas City, AFC West; Baltimore, playoff spot; N.Y. Jets, playoff spot; Pittsburgh, playoff spot.
ELIMINATED: Buffalo, Cincinnati, Denver, Cleveland, Houston, Miami, Oakland, San Diego, Tennessee.
PITTSBURGH
— Clinches AFC North and a first-round bye with:
1) Win OR
2) Tie and Baltimore loss or tie OR
3) Baltimore loss
BALTIMORE
— Clinches AFC North and a first-round bye with:
1) Win and Pittsburgh loss or tie OR
2) Tie and Pittsburgh loss
INDIANAPOLIS
— Clinches AFC South with:
1) Win or tie OR
2) Jacksonvile loss or tie
JACKSONVILLE
— Clinches AFC South with:
1) Win and Indianapolis loss
NFC
CLINCHED: Chicago, NFC North; Philadelphia, NFC East; Atlanta, playoff spot; New Orleans, playoff spot.
ELIMINATED: Arizona, Carolina, Dallas, Detroit, Minnesota, San Francisco, Washington.
ATLANTA
— Clinches NFC South with:
1) Win or tie OR
2) New Orleans loss or tie
— Clinches a first-round bye with:
1) New Orleans loss or tie and Chicago loss or tie OR
2) New Orleans loss or tie and one Philadelphia loss or tie
— Clinches homefield advantage with:
1) Win or tie OR
2) New Orleans loss or tie and Chicago loss or tie and one Philadelphia loss or tie OR
3) New Orleans loss or tie and Chicago win and two Philadelphia wins and Falcons clinch strength of victory tiebreaker over Eagles
CHICAGO
— Clinched the NFC North and clinches a first-round bye with:
1) one Philadelphia loss OR
2) Win OR
3) Tie and one Philadelphia tie
— Clinches homefield advantage with:
1) Win and Atlanta loss and New Orleans loss or tie and one Philadelphia loss or tie
PHILADELPHIA
— Clinched the NFC East and clinches a first-round bye with:
1) Two wins and Chicago loss or tie
— Clinches homefield advantage with:
1) Two wins and Chicago loss or tie and Atlanta loss and New Orleans loss or tie OR
2) Two wins and Atlanta loss and New Orleans loss or tie and Eagles clinch at least a tie in strength of victory tiebreaker over Falcons
NEW ORLEANS
— Clinches the NFC South and homefield advantage with:
1) Win and Atlanta loss
GREEN BAY
— Clinches a playoff spot with:
1) Win OR
2) Tie and N.Y. Giants loss or tie and Tampa Bay loss or tie OR
3) N.Y. Giants loss and Tampa Bay loss
NEW YORK GIANTS
— Clinch a playoff spot with:
1) Win and Green Bay loss or tie OR
3) Tie and Green Bay loss and Tampa Bay loss or tie
TAMPA BAY
— Clinches a playoff spot with:
3) Win and N.Y. Giants loss or tie and Green Bay loss or tie OR
4) Tie and N.Y. Giants loss and Green Bay loss
ST. LOUIS
— Clinches NFC West with:
1) Win or tie
SEATTLE
— Clinches NFC West with:
1) Win
Copyright 2010 The Associated Press.
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