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:
- No possibility of future tie games except for CAR-NO.
- 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. (Example: the only way TB and CAR wind up with the same record at the end of the season is if CAR beats TB in Week 17.)
- Tiebreakers that don’t affect playoff berths or seeding are ignored (Example: any non-South tiebreaker with a record worse than 8-9).
- Division ties are broken first. If DET, GB, and SEA all finish 8-9, break the North tie between DET and GB first, then break the tie between the DET-GB winner and SEA.
- If three or more teams are tied, apply that tiebreaker, not the two-team tiebreaker.
- 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.
- MIN has clinched the NFC North and SF has clinched the NFC West.
- PHI and DAL have clinched playoff berths.
- CHI, ATL, ARI, and LAR have been eliminated.
The complete tiebreaker rules are here.
Jump to East | North | South | Interdivisional ties 2-way • 3-way
NFC East
| If these teams tie | at | tie goes to | based on |
|---|---|---|---|
| PHI-DAL | 13-4 | DAL | division record |
| NYG-WAS | NYG | head-to-head |
NFC North
| If these teams tie | at | with these things happening | tie goes to | based on |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DET-GB | 8-9 | DET beats GB | DET | head-to-head |
| DET-GB | 8-9 | GB beats DET, MIN | DET | common opponents |
| DET-GB | 8-9 | GB beats DET; loses to MIN | DET | division record |
NFC South
| If these teams tie | at | tie goes to | based on |
|---|---|---|---|
| TB-ATL | 7-10 | TB | division record |
| TB-CAR | CAR | head-to-head | |
| TB-NO | TB | head-to-head | |
| CAR-NO | 7-9-1 | CAR | head-to-head |
| TB-CAR-NO | 7-10 | CAR | head-to-head |
| TB-ATL-CAR-NO | 7-10 | CAR | head-to-head/division record |
Interdivisional ties
2-way ties
| If these teams tie | at | with these things happening | tie goes to | based on |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PHI-MIN | PHI | head-to-head | ||
| PHI-MIN | PHI | head-to-head | ||
| PHI-SF | 13-4 | SF | conference record | |
| DAL-MIN | 13-4 | DAL | head-to-head | |
| DAL-SF | 13-4 | SF | conference record | |
| MIN-SF | SF | conference record | ||
| DET-TB | 8-9 | TB | conference record | |
| DET-NO | 8-9 | NO | common opponents | |
| DET-SEA | SEA | head-to-head | ||
| GB-TB | 8-9 | GB | head-to-head | |
| GB-NO | 8-9 | ? | strength of victory | |
| GB-SEA | 8-9 | GB | conference record | |
| GB-SEA | SEA beats NYJ | GB | conference record | |
| GB-SEA | 8-9 | SEA loses to NYJ | SEA | common opponents |
| TB-SEA | 8-9 | TB | head-to-head | |
| NO-SEA | 8-9 | NO | head-to-head |
3-way ties
| If these teams tie | at | with these things happening | tie goes to | based on |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PHI-MIN-SF | 13-4 | SF | conference record | |
| DAL-MIN-SF | 13-4 | SF | conference record | |
| DET-TB-SEA | 8-9 | TB | conference record | |
| DET-NO-SEA | 8-9 | SEA beats NYJ | NO |
|
| DET-NO-SEA | 8-9 | SEA loses to NYJ | ? | strength of victory |
| GB-TB-SEA | 8-9 | TB | conference record | |
| GB-NO-SEA | 8-9 | SEA beats NYJ | GB or NO |
|
| GB-NO-SEA | 8-9 | SEA loses to NYJ | ? | strength of victory |
