Starting next week, I promise to include this in my larger playoff threads, but I thought it might be of interest to see who controls their own playoff destinies (and for which seed) and who needs help. Note that multiple teams may control their own destiny for the same seed (usually means they play each other).
NFC South
Carolina
12-0 (8-0 conf)
Tampa 6-6 (5-3 conf)
Atlanta 6-6 (4-5 conf)
New Orleans 4-8 (3-6 conf)
Carolina: Controls it's own destiny for home field advantage. Would have to lose more than once to avoid HFA [edit clarified meaning].
Tampa, Atlanta, New Orleans: Can only qualify for wildcard and only with help (a LOT of help in the case of New Orleans)
NFC East
Washington 5-7 (5-4 conf)
Philly 5-7 (3-6 conf)
NY Giants 5-7 (4-5 conf)
Dallas 4-8 (3-7 conf)
Washington and Philly both control their own destiny for the NFCE Crown and #4 seed. Because Minny and GB both have 8 wins and play each other AND Arizona has 10 wins and Carolina 12, the NFCE Champ is locked into the #4 seed (unless GB and Minny tie in their final game). The highest possible record for the NFCE Champ is 9-7.
NY Giants can finish 9-7 and not win the division. They need help, specifically any single Washington loss.
Dallas can also win the NFCE Crown, but needs the winner of the final game between Philly and the NY Giants to lose at least one game.
All four teams can finish tied at 6-10 and Dallas will win that tiebreak.
All four teams are technically alive for the wildcard but need a lot of help.
NFC North
Green Bay 8-4 (6-3 conf)
Minny 8-4 (5-3 conf)
Chicago 5-7 (2-6 conf)
Detroit 4-8 (3-5 conf)
Both Green Bay and Minny control their own destiny for both the NFCN Crown and a wildcard spot. Chicago can still get an NFCN title but only if pigs fly (Green Bay and Minny both lose out until the final game and then they TIE while Chicago wins out). Detroit and Chicago are alive for a wildcard spot but only barely and both need help.
NFC West
Arizona 10-2 (7-1 conf)
Seattle 7-5 (6-4 conf)
St Louis 4-8 (3-5 conf)
San Fran 4-8 (3-7 conf)
Arizona controls it's own destiny for the NFCW Crown and the #2 seed. Carolina must lose at least once for full HFA. Arizona also controls it's own destiny for any wildcard spot if it fails to get the NFCW crown. Arizona CAN NOT get worse than the #3 seed if it wins the division.
Seattle controls it's own destiny for the playoffs and the #6 seed. Seattle needs (very) modest help to win the #5 seed and a great deal of help to win the NFCW. If both Green Bay and Seattle were to win out (for example), Seattle would be assured of no worse than the #5 seed.
St Louis and San Fran can still hypothetically get a wildcard at 8-8 but they would both need an immense amount of help (San Fran more than St Louis).
There. I'll try to include what destinies are controlled or not in the future along with the rest of my playoff info.
To quickly recap: Carolina, Washington, Philly, Green Bay, Minny, Arizona, and Seattle all control their own destinies for at least one playoff spot. All other NFC teams need help of some sort.
NFC South
Carolina
12-0 (8-0 conf)Tampa 6-6 (5-3 conf)
Atlanta 6-6 (4-5 conf)
New Orleans 4-8 (3-6 conf)
Carolina: Controls it's own destiny for home field advantage. Would have to lose more than once to avoid HFA [edit clarified meaning].
Tampa, Atlanta, New Orleans: Can only qualify for wildcard and only with help (a LOT of help in the case of New Orleans)
NFC East
Washington 5-7 (5-4 conf)
Philly 5-7 (3-6 conf)
NY Giants 5-7 (4-5 conf)
Dallas 4-8 (3-7 conf)
Washington and Philly both control their own destiny for the NFCE Crown and #4 seed. Because Minny and GB both have 8 wins and play each other AND Arizona has 10 wins and Carolina 12, the NFCE Champ is locked into the #4 seed (unless GB and Minny tie in their final game). The highest possible record for the NFCE Champ is 9-7.
NY Giants can finish 9-7 and not win the division. They need help, specifically any single Washington loss.
Dallas can also win the NFCE Crown, but needs the winner of the final game between Philly and the NY Giants to lose at least one game.
All four teams can finish tied at 6-10 and Dallas will win that tiebreak.
All four teams are technically alive for the wildcard but need a lot of help.
NFC North
Green Bay 8-4 (6-3 conf)
Minny 8-4 (5-3 conf)
Chicago 5-7 (2-6 conf)
Detroit 4-8 (3-5 conf)
Both Green Bay and Minny control their own destiny for both the NFCN Crown and a wildcard spot. Chicago can still get an NFCN title but only if pigs fly (Green Bay and Minny both lose out until the final game and then they TIE while Chicago wins out). Detroit and Chicago are alive for a wildcard spot but only barely and both need help.
NFC West
Arizona 10-2 (7-1 conf)
Seattle 7-5 (6-4 conf)
St Louis 4-8 (3-5 conf)
San Fran 4-8 (3-7 conf)
Arizona controls it's own destiny for the NFCW Crown and the #2 seed. Carolina must lose at least once for full HFA. Arizona also controls it's own destiny for any wildcard spot if it fails to get the NFCW crown. Arizona CAN NOT get worse than the #3 seed if it wins the division.
Seattle controls it's own destiny for the playoffs and the #6 seed. Seattle needs (very) modest help to win the #5 seed and a great deal of help to win the NFCW. If both Green Bay and Seattle were to win out (for example), Seattle would be assured of no worse than the #5 seed.
St Louis and San Fran can still hypothetically get a wildcard at 8-8 but they would both need an immense amount of help (San Fran more than St Louis).
There. I'll try to include what destinies are controlled or not in the future along with the rest of my playoff info.
To quickly recap: Carolina, Washington, Philly, Green Bay, Minny, Arizona, and Seattle all control their own destinies for at least one playoff spot. All other NFC teams need help of some sort.
