In one last perverse aspect to a perplexing NFL season, the unpredictability of cold weather could help decide the playoff picture.
The Miami Dolphins, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Atlanta Falcons must leave their cozy homes and travel north for games with playoff ramifications for all participants except the Bears.
Both New York teams play host for games in the Meadowlands on Saturday and Sunday with playoff questions surrounding all four teams.
As if the league needed another factor amid the many scenarios, wind chill poses one final dreaded problem.
The Philadelphia Eagles and Green Bay Packers will be in New Jersey playing for the chance to keep playing in the cold weather of their own uninviting homes.
By Sunday night, Packers fans could be chanting “Let’s Go Bears” instead of their usual less printable Bears cheers.
The Bucs are in Champaign, the Dolphins in New England, and the Falcons in Cleveland hoping to avoid as much cold as possible the rest of the way.
As confusing as the AFC scramble has been, the Oakland Raiders and Tennessee Titans have emerged as clear favorites for the top two seeds, earning byes and home-field starts. All the Raiders have to do is beat Kansas City at home Saturday to stay No. 1. The No. 2 Titans go to Houston on Sunday for another presumably easy task. No cold weather awaits either.
The top two playoff seeds have a huge advantage, and in the NFC the Eagles and Packers don’t have it as simple as the AFC’s Raiders and Titans.
The Eagles and Packers are trying to keep their 1-2 seeds against Giants and Jets teams desperately harboring playoff hopes.
The Giants could still back in if the fading Saints lose to Carolina. The Jets must win, but there is a chance they could already be eliminated by the time they kick off against the Packers late Sunday.
The defending champion Patriots get the Dolphins just where they got the Raiders in last year’s division playoffs when they were saved by a snowstorm and the “tuck rule.” The Dolphins are 4-21 on the road in December and January over the last 10 years, long enough for coach Dave Wannstedt to escape the blame.
The trouble for the Patriots this year is they could win Sunday and still be eliminated from a chance to defend their title. To advance to the postseason, they need a Jets loss to Green Bay or an unlikely combination of outcomes including losses by both Cleveland and Denver.
Green Bay will be hoping for wins by Miami and Cleveland early Sunday to eliminate the Jets. If the Packers lose to the Jets, they would have to cheer for the Bears to upset the Buccaneers on Sunday night in order to stay ahead of the Bucs for the No. 2 seed.
If all favorites shock oddsmakers the final week and win, the playoffs would set up like this:
AFC
1, Oakland, 2, Tennessee, 3, Pittsburgh, 4, N. Y. Jets, 5, Indianapolis, 6, Denver.
This assumes the Patriots beat the Dolphins at home, a game rated even. Curiously, if all other favorites win, both the Patriots and Dolphins would be eliminated. The AFC playoffs would open its wild-card week with Denver at Pittsburgh and Indianapolis at the Jets.
NFC
1, Philadelphia, 2, Tampa Bay, 3, Green Bay, 4, San Francisco, 5, Atlanta, 6, New Orleans.
The NFC playoffs would open its wild-card week with New Orleans at Green Bay and Atlanta at San Francisco.
Don’t count on any of it.
Playoff possibilities
NFC
NORTH
Green Bay has clinched division.
Green Bay can clinch home-field advantage throughout with win and Philadelphia loss or tie; OR tie and Philadelphia loss.
Green Bay can clinch first-round bye with win or tie; OR Philadelphia loss or tie.
EAST
Philadelphia has clinched division and first-round bye.
Philadelphia can clinch home-field advantage throughout with win; OR tie and Green Bay loss or tie; OR Green Bay loss.
N.Y. Giants can clinch playoff berth with win; OR tie and New Orleans loss or tie; OR New Orleans loss.
SOUTH
Tampa Bay has clinched division.
Tampa Bay can clinch first-round bye with win and Green Bay loss.
Atlanta can clinch wild card with win or tie; OR N.Y. Giants loss or tie; OR New Orleans loss or tie.
New Orleans can clinch playoff berth with win and N.Y. Giants loss or tie; OR win and Atlanta loss.
WEST
San Francisco has clinched division.
AFC
EAST
Miami can clinch division with win or tie.
Miami can clinch first-round bye with win, Pittsburgh loss or tie, Oakland loss; OR win, Pittsburgh loss or tie and Tennessee loss.
Miami can clinch playoff berth with N.Y. Jets loss or tie and Denver win; OR N.Y. Jets loss or tie and Kansas City loss or tie; OR N.Y. Jets loss or tie and Indianapolis loss.
New England can clinch division with win and N.Y. Jets loss or tie.
New England can clinch a playoff berth with win, Cleveland loss or tie, Denver loss or tie and Kansas City win; OR win, Cleveland loss or tie, Denver loss or tie and San Diego loss or tie; OR tie, N.Y. Jets loss, Cleveland loss, Denver loss, San Diego loss and Kansas City loss or tie.
N.Y. Jets can clinch division with win and Miami loss.
N.Y. Jets can clinch playoff berth with win, Cleveland loss or tie and Denver win; OR win, Cleveland loss or tie and Kansas City loss or tie; OR tie, New England loss or tie, Cleveland loss, Denver loss or tie, Kansas City loss and San Diego loss or tie.
NORTH
Pittsburgh has clinched division.
Pittsburgh can clinch home-field advantage throughout with win and losses by Tennessee and Oakland.
Pittsburgh can clinch first-round bye with win and Tennessee loss; OR win and Oakland loss.
Cleveland can clinch playoff berth with win, Denver win and N.Y. Jets win; OR win, Kansas City loss or tie and N.Y. Jets win; OR win, Denver win and Miami win or tie; OR win, Kansas City loss or tie and Miami win or tie; OR tie, N.Y. Jets loss or tie, New England loss or tie, Denver loss or tie, San Diego loss or tie and Kansas City loss.
Baltimore can clinch playoff berth with a win, New England loss, N.Y. Jets loss, Cleveland loss, Denver loss, San Diego loss and Kansas City loss.
SOUTH
Tennessee has clinched division.
Tennessee can clinch home-field advantage throughout with win and Oakland loss or tie; OR tie and Oakland loss; OR Pittsburgh loss, Miami win and Oakland loss if Tennessee wins strength-of-victory tiebreaker over Miami and Oakland.
(Note: Strength of victory is the season-ending winning percentage of all the opponents a team has defeated.)
Tennessee can clinch first-round bye with win or tie; OR Miami loss, Pittsburgh loss; OR Oakland loss, Miami win if Tennessee wins strength-of-victory tiebreaker over Miami and Oakland.
Indianapolis can clinch playoff berth with win or tie; OR New England loss or tie; OR N.Y. Jets win; OR Kansas City loss or tie; OR Denver win.
WEST
Oakland has clinched division.
Oakland can clinch home-field advantage throughout with win; OR tie and Tennessee loss or tie; OR Pittsburgh loss, Tennessee loss and Miami loss; OR Pittsburgh loss and Tennessee loss and if Oakland wins strength of victory tiebreaker over Miami and Tennessee.
Oakland can clinch first-round bye with tie; OR Miami loss or tie and Pittsburgh loss; OR Miami loss or tie and Tennessee loss; OR Tennessee loss and Oakland wins strength-of-victory tiebreaker over Miami and Tennessee.
Denver can clinch playoff berth with win, Cleveland loss or tie, New England loss or tie, N.Y. Jets loss or tie; OR win, Cleveland loss or tie, Miami loss, N.Y. Jets win; OR tie, New England loss or tie, N.Y. Jets loss, Cleveland loss, Kansas City loss or tie and San Diego loss or tie.
Kansas City can clinch playoff berth with win, Denver loss or tie and New England loss or tie; OR win, Denver loss or tie, and N.Y. Jets loss or tie; OR win, Denver loss or tie, Cleveland win; OR tie, New England loss, N.Y. Jets loss or tie, Cleveland loss or tie, Denver loss and San Diego loss.
San Diego can clinch playoff berth with win, Denver loss or tie, Kansas City loss or tie, New England loss or tie, N.Y. Jets loss or tie and Cleveland loss or tie; OR win, Denver loss or tie, Kansas City loss or tie, Miami loss, N.Y. Jets win and Cleveland loss or tie; OR tie, Denver loss, Kansas City loss, New England loss, N.Y Jets loss and Cleveland loss.
Note: For Cleveland and Indianapolis, there are other scenarios in which each can clinch playoff berth if at end of regular season it owns the strength-of-victory tiebreaker over the teams it is tied with.
