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.
- 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 NO and ATL wind up with the same record at the end of the season is if ATL beats NO Week 18.)
- Tiebreakers that don’t affect playoff berths or seeding are ignored (examples: any tie at fewer than 8 wins, or any tie between 11-6 non-division winner PHI and 11-6 NFC North winner DET).
- Division ties are broken first. If NO, ATL, and SEA all finish 8-9, break the NFC South tie between NO and ATL first, then break the tie between the NO-ATL winner and LAR.
- 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.
- SF has clinched the NFC West and the #1 seed.
- DET has clinched the NFC North.
- PHI, DAL, and LAR have clinched playoff berths.
- CAR, ARI, WAS, NYG, and CHI have been eliminated. CHI appears in some scenarios but can not advance.
The complete tiebreaker rules are here.
Jump to East | North | South | West | Interdivisional ties 2-way • 3-way
NFC East
| If these teams tie |
at |
tie goes to |
based on |
| PHI-DAL |
|
DAL |
conference record |
NFC North
| If these teams tie |
at |
tie goes to |
based on |
| MIN-GB |
8-9 |
MIN |
conference record |
| MIN-CHI |
8-9 |
MIN |
common opponents |
| GB-CHI |
8-9 |
GB |
common opponents |
| MIN-GB-CHI |
8-9 |
MIN |
- CHI eliminated on common opponents
- conference record
|
NFC South
| If these teams tie |
at |
tie goes to |
based on |
| NO-ATL |
8-9 |
ATL |
head-to-head |
| NO-TB |
|
TB |
common opponents |
| ATL-TB |
8-9 |
ATL |
division record |
| NO-ATL-TB |
8-9 |
ATL |
head-to-head |
NFC West
| If these teams tie |
at |
tie goes to |
based on |
| SEA-LAR |
9-8 |
LAR |
head-to-head |
Interdivisional ties
2-way ties
| If these teams tie |
at |
tie goes to |
based on |
| PHI-DET |
12-5 |
PHI |
strength of victory |
| PHI-SF |
12-5 |
SF |
head-to-head |
| DAL-DET |
|
DAL |
head-to-head |
| DAL-SF |
12-5 |
SF |
head-to-head |
| GB-NO |
9-8 |
GB |
head-to-head |
| GB-SEA |
9-8 |
GB |
strength of victory |
| GB-LAR |
9-8 |
GB |
head-to-head |
| NO-SEA |
9-8 |
SEA |
conference record |
| NO-LAR |
9-8 |
LAR |
head-to-head |
3-way ties
| If these teams tie |
at |
tie goes to |
based on |
| PHI-DET-SF |
12-5 |
SF |
conference record |
| DAL-DET-SF |
12-5 |
SF |
conference record |
| MIN-NO-SEA |
8-9 |
MIN |
conference record |
| MIN-TB-SEA |
8-9 |
MIN |
conference record |
| MIN-ATL-SEA |
8-9 |
MIN |
conference record |
| GB-NO-LAR |
9-8 |
GB |
head-to-head |
| GB-NO-SEA |
|
GB |
- NO eliminated on conference record
- strength of victory
|
| GB-TB-SEA |
8-9 |
GB |
strength of victory |
| GB-ATL-SEA |
8-9 |
GB |
- ATL eliminated on conference record
- strength of victory
|
