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With a few upsets and a last-second win, Week 15 had a major impact on the playoff picture. That could be the case again this week with a handful of teams facing must-win situations. Divisions, playoff spots and home-field advantage can be clinched this week.
Nine of the 16 games on the schedule have playoff implications. In the NFC South, the Panthers and Saints will play in Carolina with the winner taking a one-game lead in the division with one game to play. Whichever team wins the NFC South will secure the No. 2 seed and a first-round bye. The loser could drop all the way out of the playoffs. Four of SB Nation's six NFL experts picked Carolina to take control of the division with Joel Thorman and Matt Ufford predicting the Saints to win on the road.
The Bears can clinch the NFC North if they win out, but to do so Chicago will have to travel to Philadelphia and beat the Eagles. Only Thorman and Stephen White predicted Chicago to pull off the road win. A Chicago loss would give Green Bay control of the NFC North and five of the six picked the Packers to beat Pittsburgh. Detroit is a unanimous pick to win, which would mean the three-way race for the NFC North would come down to Chicago playing Green Bay in Week 17.
In the AFC, four of the six experts picked New England to knock off Baltimore on the road. The win would clinch the AFC East for the Patriots. If that happened -- and Miami wins as four of the experts predict -- the Dolphins would temporarily take control of the No. 6 seed. The Bengals are a unanimous pick to beat Minnesota and would clinch the AFC North with a win and a Ravens loss.
Based on the majority predictions from the SB Nation experts, Seattle will clinch the NFC West and the No. 1 seed in the NFC while the Panthers and 49ers will clinch playoff spots. Arizona would be eliminated in the NFC West and the NFC East would come down to Week 17. In the AFC, the Broncos would clinch the AFC West and a first-round bye. The Patriots would clinch the AFC East with the Bengals clinching the AFC North. San Diego would be eliminated from the postseason and the final wild-card spot would come down to Miami and Baltimore.
Here are all of the Week 16 picks:
| Game | Ryan Van Bibber | Joel Thorman | Jason Chilton | Stephen White | David Fucillo | Matt Ufford |
| Giants at Lions | Lions | Lions | Lions | Lions | Lions | Lions |
| Dolphins at Bills | Dolphins | Dolphins | Dolphins | Bills | Bills | Dolphins |
| Vikings at Bengals | Bengals | Bengals | Bengals | Bengals | Bengals | Bengals |
| Colts at Chiefs | Chiefs | Chiefs | Chiefs | Chiefs | Chiefs | Chiefs |
| Buccaneers at Rams | Rams | Rams | Rams | Rams | Rams | Rams |
| Browns at Jets | Jets | Jets | Jets | Browns | Browns | Browns |
| Bears at Eagles | Eagles | Bears | Eagles | Bears | Eagles | Eagles |
| Cowboys at Redskins | Cowboys | Cowboys | Redskins | Cowboys | Cowboys | Cowboys |
| Saints at Panthers | Panthers | Saints | Panthers | Panthers | Panthers | Saints |
| Titans at Jaguars | Titans | Titans | Titans | Titans | Jaguars | Jaguars |
| Broncos at Texans | Broncos | Broncos | Broncos | Broncos | Broncos | Broncos |
| Cardinals at Seahawks | Seahawks | Seahawks | Seahawks | Seahawks | Seahawks | Seahawks |
| Steelers at Packers | Steelers | Packers | Packers | Packers | Packers | Packers |
| Raiders at Chargers | Chargers | Chargers | Chargers | Raiders | Chargers | Chargers |
| Patriots at Ravens | Patriots | Ravens | Patriots | Patriots | Ravens | Patriots |
| Falcons at 49ers | 49ers | 49ers | 49ers | 49ers | 49ers | 49ers |
Our panel consists of: David Fucillo, SB Nation's fantasy guru; Stephen White, retired NFL defensive end and SB Nation NFL contributor; Jason Chilton, SB Nation NFL contributor; Joel Thorman, manager of SB Nation NFL blogs; Ryan Van Bibber, SB Nation's NFL editor; and Matt Ufford, editorial producer, SB Nation studios.
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