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FootballNFLNFL TiebreakersNFC tiebreakers entering Week 17

NFC tiebreakers entering Week 17

The following charts seek to answer the following question: If these two (or more) teams finish with the same record, who wins the tiebreaker?

Notes and assumptions:

  1. No possibility of future tie games.
  2. Tiebreaker winners are as they would be if the teams were tied at the end of the season, NOT as if the season ended right now.
  3. Tiebreakers that don’t affect playoff berths or seeding are ignored.  (Example: If DET and GB both finish 8-8, DET finishes in front of GB in the NFC North.)
  4. Division ties are broken first.
  5. If three or more teams are tied, apply that tiebreaker, not the two-team tiebreaker.
  6. Strength of victory is the combined winning percentage (essentially, the number of wins) of the teams a team has beaten. It has nothing to do with point totals.
  7. The #6 seed will be at least 9-7.  Any tie at 9-7 for the #6 seed must include ATL and SEA.
  8. Clinched division and #1 seed: PHI.
  9. Clinched division: MIN, LAR.
  10. Clinched playoff berth: NO, CAR.
  11. Eliminated: NYG, WAS, DAL, CHI, DET, GB, TB, SF, ARI.
  12. Alive for #6 seed, but eliminated from division: ATL, SEA.
  13. The complete tiebreaker rules are here.

NFC East

PHI clinched division and #1 seed.  NYG, WAS, and DAL eliminated from playoffs.

NFC North

MIN clinched division.  CHI, GB, and DET eliminated from playoffs.

NFC South

TB eliminated from playoffs.  ATL eliminated from division.

If these teams tie tie goes to based on
NO-CAR NO head-to-head

NFC West

LAR clinched division.  SF and ARI eliminated from playoffs.

Conference tiebreakers

2-team ties

If these teams tie at tie goes to based on
PHI-MIN 13-3 PHI common opponents
MIN-NO 12-4 MIN head-to-head
MIN-CAR 12-4 CAR head-to-head
MIN-LAR 12-4 MIN head-to-head
NO-LAR LAR head-to-head
CAR-LAR 12-4 LAR common opponents
ATL-SEA ATL head-to-head

3-team ties

If these teams tie at tie goes to based on
DAL-DET-ATL 9-7 ATL head-to-head
DAL-ATL-SEA 9-7 ATL head-to-head
MIN-NO-LAR 12-4 MIN head-to-head
MIN-CAR-LAR 12-4 MIN conference record
DET-ATL-SEA 9-7 ATL head-to-head

4-team ties

If these teams tie at tie goes to based on
DAL-DET-ATL-SEA 9-7 ATL head-to-head

 

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