NFL Playoff Race After Saturday Games: Vikings Clinch Berth, Patriots and Texans Win Divisions
There were only three NFL games on Saturday, but they went a long way to help determine who's in the playoffs, who is out and which teams clinched division titles to host a first round game.
First off, here are the scores and immediate effects from Saturday:
Houston 23, Tampa Bay 20
New England 24, Buffalo 17
San Francisco 34, LA Rams 31
- New England Patriots win the AFC East (11th-consecutive year)
- Houston Texans win the AFC South (4th time in six years)
- Minnesota Vikings clinch playoff berth with Rams loss
- Los Angeles Rams are eliminated from playoff contention
The Sunday games and one Monday game could perhaps determine the playoff scenario for both the AFC and NFC, should outcomes work accordingly. But, it's the NFL, and things don't always go as planned. Here is the schedule for Sunday and Monday with times and networks.
Sunday, December 22
Jacksonville Jaguars at Atlanta Falcons, 1 p.m., FOX
Baltimore Ravens at Cleveland Browns, 1 p.m., CBS
New Orleans Saints at Tennessee Titans, 1 p.m., FOX
Carolina Panthers at Indianapolis Colts, 1 p.m., FOX
Cincinnati Bengals at Miami Dolphins, 1 p.m., CBS
Pittsburgh Steelers at New York Jets, 1 p.m., CBS
New York Giants at Washington Redskins, 1 p.m., FOX
Detroit Lions at Denver Broncos, 4:05 p.m., CBS
Oakland Raiders at Los Angeles Chargers, 4:05 p.m., CBS
Dallas Cowboys at Philadelphia Eagles, 4:25 p.m., FOX
Arizona Cardinals at Seattle Seahawks, 4:25 p.m., FOX
Kansas City Chiefs at Chicago Bears, 8:20 p.m., NBC
Monday, December 23
Green Bay Packers at Minnesota Vikings, 8:15 p.m. ESPN
Here are the Week 17 games:
Sunday, December 29
New York Jets at Buffalo Bills, 1 p.m., CBS
Cleveland Browns at Cincinnati Bengals, 1 p.m., CBS
Washington Redskins at Dallas Cowboys, 1 p.m., FOX
Green Bay Packers at Detroit Lions, 1 p.m., FOX
Los Angeles Chargers at Kansas City Chiefs, 1 p.m., CBS
Chicago Bears at Minnesota Vikings, 1 p.m., FOX
Miami Dolphins at New England Patriots, 1 p.m., CBS
Philadelphia Eagles at New York Giants, 1 p.m., FOX
Atlanta Falcons at Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 1 p.m., FOX
New Orleans Saints at Carolina Panthers, 1 p.m., FOX
Indianapolis Colts at Jacksonville Jaguars, 1 p.m., CBS
Pittsburgh Steelers at Baltimore Ravens, 1 p.m., CBS
Tennessee Titans at Houston Texans, 1 p.m., CBS
Oakland Raiders at Denver Broncos, 4:25 p.m., CBS
Arizona Cardinals at Los Angeles Rams, 4:25 p.m., FOX
San Francisco 49ers at Seattle Seahawks, 4:25 p.m., FOX
The NFL Wild Card Playoff games will be January 4 and 5 with the third and fourth seeds in each conference hosting games against wild ards.
The full NFL playoff schedule will be released once the full slate of teams qualify for the playoffs.
