y-1. Carolina Panthers (12-0, South champion; W 41-38 at Saints)
? Clinched the South with the Falcons' loss at the Buccaneers.
? Would clinch a first-round bye with a win/tie next week
or or Vikings loss/tie.<!-- {NO. 2 SEED} -->
2. Arizona Cardinals (10-2, West leader; W 27-3 at Rams)
? Would clinch the West with a win next week against the Vikings
and a Seahawks loss at the Ravens.
? Would clinch the West regardless of the next three weeks with a Week 17 win against the Seahawks.<!-- {NO. 3 SEED} -->
3. Green Bay Packers (8-4, North leader; W 27-23 at Lions)
? Lead the Vikings in the North because of a head-to-head win in Week 11.
? Have beaten the Seahawks and Vikings and still face the Cardinals and Vikings again.<!-- {NO. 4 SEED} -->
4. Washington Redskins (5-7, East leader; L 16-19 vs. Cowboys)
? Lead the Giants and Eagles in the East because they have a better head-to-head record (2-1) than the Eagles (1-1) and Giants (1-2).<!-- {NFC WILD CARD LEADERS BAR} -->
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<!-- {NO. 5 SEED} -->
5. Minnesota Vikings (8-4, top wild card; L 7-38 vs. Seahawks)
? Lead the Seahawks for the No. 5 seed by a game.
? The Vikings-Packers game in Week 17 will determine who wins the tiebreaker, if applicable.<!-- {NO. 6 SEED} -->
6. Seattle Seahawks (7-5, bottom wild card; W 38-7 at Vikings)
? Lead the Falcons and Buccaneers for the No. 6 position by a game.
? Would have a better record in common games (4-1 to 3-2) than the Falcons if the teams finish with the same conference record.<!-- {NFC IN THE HUNT BAR} -->
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<!-- {NO. 7 SEED} -->
7. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (6-6; W 23-19 vs. Falcons)
? Hold the No. 7 position because of a head-to-head sweep of the Falcons.
? Have a better conference record than the Seahawks (5-3 to 6-4).<!-- {NO. 8 SEED} -->
8. Atlanta Falcons (6-6; L 19-23 at Buccaneers)
? Lead the Giants and Bears for the No. 8 position by a game.
? Would clinch the South with five wins and five Panthers losses because of a head-to-head sweep.<!-- {NO. 9 SEED} -->
9. Philadelphia Eagles (5-7; W 35-28 at Patriots)
? Lead the Giants for the No. 9 position because of a head-to-head win in Week 6.
? Lead the Bears for the No. 9 position because of conference record (3-6 to 2-6).<!-- {NO. 10 SEED} -->
10. New York Giants (5-7; L 20-23 [OT] vs. Jets)
? Lead the Bears for the No. 10 position because of conference record (4-5 to 2-6).
? Unlike the Eagles, need help from the Redskins to win the East.<!-- {NO. 11 SEED} -->
11. Chicago Bears (5-7; L 20-26 [OT] vs. 49ers)
? Lead the Rams, Lions, Saints and 49ers by a game for the No. 11 position.<!-- {NO. 16 SEED} -->
16.* Dallas Cowboys (4-8; W 19-16 vs. Redskins)
* Unlike the Rams, Lions, Saints and 49ers, the No. 16 Cowboys are within a game of playoff position (the NFC East leader is 5-7; the bottom wild card is 7-5).
? Would pass the Redskins in the East with four more wins because of a head-to-head sweep (face the Redskins one more time).
Carolina 
