The Hunt for the NFL Playoffs

Week 15 of the NFL proved to its viewers why it is by far the most entertaining sports league in the United States, if not the world. With only two weeks to go in the regular season, the playoff picture remains unclear. In only four divisions are the divisional leaders already decided (the Arizona Cardinals,  the Tennessee Titans, the Pittsburgh Steelers, and the New York Giants), leaving four divisions yet to be decided. In the NFC South, Carolina (11-5) has a two game lead over Tampa Bay and Atlanta (both 9-5) and in the AFC West, San Diego (8-6) has a two game lead over the Denver Broncos (6-8). However, in the AFC East, where three teams, the New England Patriots, New York Jets, and Miami Dolphins (all sitting at 9-5), and in the NFC North, where Minnesota (9-5)  has a mere one game lead over the Chicago Bears (8-6), anything appears to be possible, and this is excluding the even more muddled wild-card scenarios. The situation brewing in the NFC South between the Atlanta Falcons and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers acts as a microcosm of this year's drama. By current calculations, if both teams win their two remaining games, the tie-break between the, what would be, 11-5 Tampa Bay Buccaneers and 11-5 Atlanta Falcons would go to the sixth tiebreaker; strength of schedule. In this situation, if, assuming both the Falcons and Buccaneers win out, Philadelphia has a better record than the Dallas Cowboys, then the Falcons advance to the playoffs. If, however, the Cowboys have a better record than the Eagles, then the Buccaneers advance. It is fair to say that NFL Fan's are in for a real treat as the last two games of the regular season have unexpectedly been turned into playoff-implication games, thereby becoming playoff games of their own. 

Prediction on playoff picture:

AFC: 

Divisional Leaders: 1.) Tennessee Titans 2.) Pittsburgh Steelers 3.) Miami Dolphins 4.) San Diego Chargers

Wild Card: 5.) Indianapolis Colts 6.) Baltimore Ravens

NFC:

Divisional Leaders: 1.) New York Giants 2.) Carolina Panthers 3.) Arizona Cardinals 4.) Minnesota Vikings

Wild Card: 5.) Dallas Cowboys 6.) Atlanta Falcons

Predicted AFC Conference Championship Match-Up : Tennessee Titans vs. Pittsburgh Steelers (Predicted Winner: Pittsburgh Steelers)

Predicted NFC Conference Championship Match-Up: Carolina Panthers vs. New York Giants (Predicted Winner: Carolina Panthers)

Predicted Superbowl Match-Up: Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Carolina Panthers (Predicted Winner: Pittsburgh Steelers).