While the NFC playoff picture is not so clear-cut, five of the six AFC playoff spots have been clinched in the NFL this week. But even with most of the AFC playoff picture determined, there are a few AFC playoff scenarios that need to be decided in week 17.

Before we look at those playoff scenarios, let’s recap the AFC action in week 16. The Patriots walloped the Bills 34-3, clinching home field advantage throughout the playoffs. The Steelers clinched a playoff spot on Thursday with a 27-3 win over the Panthers. The Ravens beat the Browns 20-10, also clinching a playoff spot. The Steelers and Ravens are both fighting for the same playoff scenario - the AFC North championship and a first-round bye in the playoffs. If both remain tied next week, Pittsburgh wins with the tiebreaker. The Jets lost to the Bears 38-34 but clinched an AFC wildcard spot with a Jaguar loss.  The Chiefs clinched the AFC West with a 34-14 win over Broncos.

Going into this week, the Colts and Jaguars were both in the AFC playoff picture, tied for the AFC South division lead. But a Colts win and Jaguars loss gives the Colts the playoff edge. The Colts beat the Raiders 31-26, eliminating  them the AFC playoff picture while the Jaguars lost to the Redskins in OT 20-17.  A Colts win or Jaguars loss next week gives the Colts the AFC South championship. The Chargers 34-20 loss to the Bengals eliminates them from playoff contention.

Here is what the NFL playoff picture looks like in the AFC going into the last week of the NFL regular season:

• New England Patriots (13-2) have clinched the AFC East and home field advantage throughout the AFC playoffs.
• Pittsburgh Steelers (11-4) have clinched a playoff spot and can clinch the AFC North championship and a first-round bye with a win against the Browns next week in Cleveland.
• Kansas City Chiefs (10-5) have clinched the AFC West.
• Indianapolis Colts (9-6) holds the edge for grabbing the last AFC playoff spot. A Colts win or Jacksonville Jaguars (8-7) loss next week gets them in the playoffs as the AFC South champions.
• Baltimore Ravens (11-4) have clinched a playoff spot and, at best, could end up with a first-round bye and the AFC North championship with a win and Steelers loss next week.
• New York Jets (10-5) have clinched an AFC wildcard spot.

So, who plays who in the first week of the AFC playoffs?
Well, assuming the Steelers beat the Browns next week and win the AFC North championship, the AFC playoff scenario would look like this…

• New England Patriots (AFC Playoff Seed 1) and Pittsburgh Steelers (AFC Playoff Seed 2) earn byes.
• New York Jets (AFC Playoff Seed 6) would play at Kansas City Chiefs (AFC Playoff Seed 3).
• Baltimore Ravens (AFC Playoff Seed 5) would play at Indianapolis Colts (AFC Playoff Seed 4).

What happens if the Steelers lose and the Jets and Ravens win next week?
In this AFC playoff scenario, the Steelers get a wildcard berth and get the 6th seed. The Jets, who hold the tiebreaker against the Steelers, would move up to the 5th seed. The Ravens would get the 2nd seed as the AFC North champion and receive a first round bye.

What is the playoff scenario if the Colts lose and the Jaguars win?
The Jaguars get the 4th seed and the Colts are eliminated.

The NFL playoff picture will be realized next week and all but one AFC playoff scenario will remain.

Sources: nfl.com, cbs.com, espn,com

The New York Jets hope of taking over sole possession in the AFC East were crashed after their devastating loss the New England Patriots (45-3) Monday night in Foxboro.

You could almost hear Dandy Don Meredith singing “Turn out the lights …”, after the Patriots took a 17-0 first quarter lead. By half time it was 24-3.

But this is NFL football, and most of us expected to see the Jets come out of the locker room, hell-bent on kicking Patriot butt – but who would have “thunk” it. The Jets never got over their shell-shock from the first half!

While Tom Brady and the Patriot offense added 21 more points, the Patriot defense, ranked 31st in the NFL, shutout (and shut up) the Jets in the second half. The final score 45-3.

Why did the Jets lose so badly? Are the Patriots that good? Is the Jets Bark bigger than it’s Bite?

The answer is both, plus another factor – Tom Brady! Here are some tidbits to back it up:

• With Tom Brady at QB, the New England Patriots have won last 25 consecutive games at home.
• Brady hasn’t thrown an interception in his last 228 passes.
• Brady has thrown at least one TD pass in all 12 of the Patriots games in 2010.
• Brady followed up a 4 touchdown, perfect 158.3 QB rating against Detroit last week with a 4 TD passes and 148.9 QB rating against the Jets.
• 8 different receivers caught Brady passes against the Jets.
• An ex-Jet, Danny Woodhead, had 4 receptions for 104 yards. Wes Welker had 7 catches for 80 yards and 1 TD. Deion Branch, Aaron Hernandez and Brandon Tate were each on the receiving end of a Brady TD pass.
• Brady is the NFL MVP
• The Patriots have the #1 ranked offense in the NFL.
• The Jets allow an average of 19 points per game – 6th worse in the NFL.
• The Jets score on average 22 points per game – 14th in the NFL.
• The Jets average 356 yards per game – 12th in the NFL.
• The Patriots have beaten Baltimore, San Diego, Indianapolis, Pittsburgh and the Jets.
• The Jets record of 9-3 comes against teams with a combined record of just 39-68, with only one of those teams being over .500 (the Patriots in Week 2, who were 1-0).

The Jets can take one consolation from the game; it only counts as one loss. If they can come to terms with this loss and play better football, they may still have a chance to snatch first place in the AFC East division title from the the Patriots. But it won’t be easy and they’ll need some help!

The Jets play the Miami Dolphins (6-6) at home, travel to take on the Steelers (9-3) and the Bears (9-3), and return home for the season finale against the Bills (2-10).

The rest of the Patriots schedule is away at Chicago (9-3), home at Green Bay (8-4), away in Buffalo (2-10). They finish at home against the Dolphins (6-6).

But one question remains:  Will the Jets get out of their seats after their near-fatal crash in Foxboro?

We’ll have to wait a week!

Sources: new york daily news, sportsillustrated.com

The AFC East Division champion New England Patriots (10-6) host the AFC wild card winner Baltimore Ravens (9-7) in the second AFC matchup of Wildcard Weekend. If you’re a betting man, you can bet on the Patriots winning this one and moving on to the second week of the AFC playoffs.

The Patriots certainly aren’t the same team they were in their Superbowl seasons of 2001, 2003 and 2004. But they still have arguably the best active coach in the NFL - Bill Belichick. They also have future hall-of-famer Tom Brady leading the offense. One impressive stat that stands out is the Belichick-Brady combo have a 14-3 playoff record.

The Baltimore Ravens are lead by sophomore coach-QB combo of John Harbaugh and Joe Flacco. In 2008, the Ravens stunned the masses by not only making the playoffs but advancing to the 2008 AFC Championship game. However, in 2009 they barely beat the Oakland Raiders to win one of the two wildcard spots. And since the departure of defensive coordinator Rex Ryan (Now the Jets coach), the Ravens defense just isn’t the same.

The New England Patriots offense does have one big issue to overcome. They will operate without their star WR Wes Welker (placed on injured reserve). But Thenflthisweek.com believes that the combination of Patriots future hall-of-fame WR Randy Moss and rookie WR Julian Edelman should be able to pickup most of the slack left by Welker’s absence. The Pats also have a multitude of running backs in Kevin Faulk, Laurence Maroney and Sammy Morris available to carry the ball.

Don’t be misled by the Ravens offense. QB Joe Flacco has a complement of talent to help move the ball in RB Ray Rice, WR Derrick Mason and TE Todd Heap. But based on his 2009 regular season statistics, QB Flacco is not as effective on the road as he is at home.

The Patriots are favored by 3.5 points with the under/over is 43 points.

The combination and playoff history of Bill Belichick and Tom Brady is the determining factor in our prediction.

Thenflthisweek.com AFC playoff prediction

Patriots 21 Ravens 17