With three weeks left in the regular season, the NFL playoff picture is slowly becoming visible. There are the wild card races in both conferences that look interesting but there are also a few divisions battling for sole possession of first place. Some of these teams were expected to be in the place they are now while there are a few that are surprising football fans.

In the AFC, or American Football Conference, the playoff race is getting more tense as each week gets closer to week seventeen. In the east, the division has been dominated by the New England Patriots since the 1990’s. This year is no different. As of December 12, 2016 they’re 3 games ahead of the Miami Dolphins, who are 8-5. The only way the Patriots would lose their first place ticket for the playoffs is losing all three games against the struggling Broncos in Denver, the miserable Jets in New England, and the team that is a small threat, The Miami Dolphins. Not only would the Patriots have to lose all of their remaining games with Tom Brady leading the way, but Miami would have to win every game, playing the Jets, Bills, and Patriots, all while using backup quarterback Matt Moore, as Ryan Tannehill tore his ACL on December 11^th.  The Dolphin’s probability of winning all three is possible, but the Patriots losing all three of theirs has almost zero percent chance of happening.

AFC East Prediction: Patriots take the East for the 8^th straight year.

The west, possibly the best division in football, consists of the reigning champions Denver Broncos, San Diego Chargers, Kansas City Chiefs, and Oakland Raiders. As of now, the Chiefs with Alex Smith and Justin Houston have the top spot with a 10-3 record, tying the Raiders’ record but only leading line back powerhouse Khalil Mack’s Oakland because of their recent victory over them. Pushing hard to keep up with those power houses are the offensively struggling Broncos. Arguably having the best defense lead by Von Miller, the defense can be given credit to the majority of their eight victories. While first year starter Trevor Siemian has shown great potential, the running game hasn’t been seen since running back CJ Andersons season ending injury back in week seven. If the Broncos are to get into first place, they have to win against the three best AFC teams in the Patriots at Denver, Chiefs at Kansas City, and the Raiders at Denver. Playing against the odds may not even pay off as the Raiders and Chiefs would have to lose two of their remaining three games. With the Raiders playing the 5-8 Chargers and the 6-7 Colts along with the Broncos and Chiefs playing the 7-6 Titans along with the Chargers and Broncos, it’s safe to say the west race for first place is between Oakland and Kansas City. That being said, the second and third place teams in the west can take both AFC wildcard spots.

Prediction: Oakland strips Denver of being AFC West Champions and goes to the playoffs for the first time since 2002.

In the North, are the Ravens, Steelers, Bengals, and the winless Browns. The Steelers and Ravens are fighting for the first place slot but being one game behind, the Ravens are going to have to be clutch and win at least two of their three games playing the flightless Eagles, the subpar Bengals, and possibly being the decision decisive game, the Steelers on Christmas Day. While the Ravens are worrying about taking the AFC North throne, the Steelers who are on a roll, especially with Le’Veon Bell, are heaving a sigh of relief because they play the still winless Browns, the Bengals, and Ravens, which is the game they are most likely focused on.  The Ravens, with an average quarterback in Joe Flacco, have no room for mistakes while the Steelers have more leeway and less pressure on their backs.

Prediction: Ravens give the Steelers a Christmas present by losing and giving Pittsburgh the AFC North title.

The AFC South consists of the Houston Texans, Tennessee Titans, Indianapolis Colts, and Jacksonville Jaguars. The division title is going to the one who wants it most. Both the Texans and Titans have huge games remaining for them. Houston has been slacking in the past 5 games with a 2-3 record, plays the 2-11 Jaguars, 5-7-1 Bengals, and the Titans on New Year’s Day. For the Titans, they have had a better form with a 3-2 record in their last five games, playing the Chiefs, Jaguars, and Texans. The Texans, with maybe the most struggling quarterback in the league, Brock Osweiler, definitely have the advantage when looking at the schedule compared to the Titans. Marcos Mariota and Demarco Murray have had great seasons, but that’s all they will have in 2016.

Prediction: Texans take the South by one game over the Titans.

With the NFC East, the Cowboys have been dominating headlines with the rookie heroics of Dak Prescott and Ezekiel Elliot and their unbelievable offensive line. The only team who has given them both losses are the second place Giants lead by the superstar Odell Beckham, who’s having another great season. Hanging on for dear life are the Redskins with Kirk Cousins having third most passing yards in the whole league and could only make the playoffs by getting a wild card ticket. Dallas has a potentially difficult upcoming schedule, playing the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Detroit Lions, and the Philadelphia Eagles. The Giants have what looks to be an easier schedule on paper, facing the Redskins, Eagles, and Lions. That won’t stop the Cowboys.

Prediction: Dallas wins the NFC East thanks to their stellar rookies.

In the sad NFC West, the Seahawks are one win away from clinching the NFC South title, and playing the Rams, Cardinals, and 49ers who are all struggling to pick up a win lately. Having Russell Wilson and the Legion of Boom have and will continue to help Seattle. The Cardinals, being three games behind and having injuries with Tyron Mathieu and Patrick Peterson, must know their chances of picking up a playoff spot is almost nonexistent.

Prediction: Seattle take the West with no problem

Up in the North resides the Detroit Lions, Minnesota Vikings, Green Bay Packers, and Chicago Bears. In first, the Lion’s chances of clinching the North are becoming better week after week. The Packers and Vikings are both two games behind Detroit and have a daunting remaining schedule respectively. Green Bay, just off their best game of the season with a 38-10 win over the Seahawks, have the momentum over the Vikings. In order to clinch the North, Aaron Rodgers would have to lead his team to three wins in three games (The Bears 3-10, Vikings 7-6, and Lions 9-5) while also relying on the Lions to lose at least two of their three games that include the outstanding Cowboys, the Giants, and the Packers. With one of the most difficult remaining schedules, the Lions will have to play for their life in order to stop Green Bay or Minnesota from stealing their spot. The Vikings also will want to steal the opportunity to be NFC North champions and will have to play the Colts, Packers, and Bears. While looking from afar, Detroit may be seen by many at as the clinching team in the north but with the strength of their schedule and the weakness of Green Bay’s, the Packers are going to come back and take the division.

Prediction: Green Bay clinches by winning the remaining three games including the final regular season game against the Lions

Finally, the NFC, which possesses the most surprises this year. One being the struggling Panthers, who dominated the NFL all last year with a 17-2 record including playoffs. The other surprise is how well the Tampa Bay Buccaneers who are known to struggle are doing with a solid 8-5 record. Tied with the Bucs, who are technically in first place, are the offensively dominant Atlanta Falcons, led by quarterback Matt Ryan and wide out Julio Jones. Lastly, the Saints, have had a subpar even with the incredible numbers quarterback Drew Brees has been putting up with being first in passing yards, second in touchdowns, and first in completion percentage this year. Considering how well the Falcons have played this year, their record doesn’t fully display how well they’ve played this year. Luckily for the Falcons, they have an easy list of games left, with the 49ers, Saints, and Panthers. On Atlanta’s tails are the Bucs. They have a chance of taking the division by having more wins than Atlanta in the final stretch of the season. The team standing in Tampa Bay’s way is Dallas (11-2), who they play week 15 and is many people’s Super Bowl winner prediction. The fact is, Tampa Bay will not be able to hold off Dallas and Atlanta wants to clinch a lot, as they haven’t been to the playoffs for four years, which is hard to swallow for a team with a good handful of talent.

Prediction: Atlanta takes the North thanks to Tampa Bay losing two of their last three

Total Predictions:

AFC: Patriots (1^st seed), Oakland (2^nd seed), Steelers (3^rd seed), Texans (4^th seed), Chiefs (1^st Wild Card), Dolphins (2^nd Wild Card)

NFC: Cowboys (1^st seed), Seahawks (2^nd seed), Falcons (3^rd seed), Packers (4^th seed), Giants (1^st Wild Card), Lions (2^nd Wild Card)

This year in football has been strange, from the establishment of new rules, to getting used to big roster changes for many teams. Regardless of the strangeness, 2016 has given us some amazing football. Hopefully the playoffs will bring us more thrills to the game so many of us love.