The NFL playoff picture is becoming clearer with each passing week with four teams already clinching playoff spots. As usual, we've got some huge Week 16 games. Some teams are fighting off elimination while others are trying to clinch a playoff spot. You can read about the NFL playoff scenarios that involve clinching a playoff spot here.
Here are six games in Week 16 that will go a long way to figuring out who's in and who's out:
49ers vs. Rams: Yeah a 5-9 team playing a 6-8 team is important to the NFL playoff picture. That's life in the NFC West. A 49ers victory and they'd be tied with the Rams in the division. If the Seahawks lose as well, then San Francisco has a serious shot to win this thing. They would own the head to head tiebreaker with the Rams and the division tiebreaker with the Seahawks.
Giants vs. Packers: The 9-5 Giants will travel to Green Bay to play the 8-6 Packers. The Giants own the wildcard if it ended today so a victory would strengthen that while a victory for the Packers would make things a lot more interesting in the NFC.
Seahawks vs. Buccaneers: Seattle's in the NFC West so you can't count them out even with a loss. The 8-6 Bucs on the other hand are fighting for the final wildcard spot, currently held by the Giants. The Giants-Packers game on Sunday will clear a few things up but obviously the Bucs need to win out.
Titans vs. Chiefs: The 6-8 Titans aren't in the playoff hunt but the 9-5 Chiefs are. KC is one game ahead of the Chargers, who are on fire right now, so they'll probably need to win out to secure the division.
Chargers vs. Bengals: San Diego, like the Chiefs, needs to win out. Unlike the Chiefs, they need some help. San Diego owns multiple tiebreakers over the Chiefs and, depending on how things work out, would probably win the division with two more wins and a Chiefs loss. They're currently one game behind KC.
Saints vs. Falcons: A Saints victory would make things a little interesting. The 12-2 Falcons hold a two-game lead over the 10-4 Saints in the AFC South but a New Orleans victory would bring them to within one game and tie them up in both division and conference record. Looking ahead, two Falcons losses and two Saints wins would make for some tiebreaker fun. The way the Falcons have played all year, they're not likely to lose two consecutive games.