Scenario 1 (The Face-Saving Scenario): The Seahawks at least split their remaining games and win the NFC West with a record no worse than 8-8, and one of the 6-8 teams manages to sweep its final two games to get into the playoffs at 8-8. Then, things are no worse than the 1999 NFC playoffs, when the Cowboys and Lions both got in at 8-8. The Panthers' schedule seems most favorable to a 2-0 finish, followed by that of the Saints. The Rams would have to beat two teams that are a combined 23-5.
Scenario 2 (Chaos): The Seahawks and Rams each lose their remaining games and Arizona loses one of its remaining games, giving Seattle the NFC West title at 7-9. No 6-8 team wins out, leaving the tiebreaker system to determine which 7-9 club gets the final wild-card spot. Teams with losing records reach the playoffs in a non-strike season for the first time in NFL history.
| _____ Week 15 Results _____
Saturday
• Washington 26, San Fran. 16
• Pittsburgh 33, N.Y. Giants 30
• Atlanta 34, Carolina 31 (OT)
Sunday
• Indianapolis 20, Baltimore 10
• Phila. 12, Dallas 7
• N.Y. Jets 37, Seattle 14
• San Diego 21, Cleveland 0
• Minnesota 28, Detroit 27
• Buffalo 33, Cincinnati 17
• Houston 24, Chicago 5
• Kansas City 45, Denver 17
• Arizona 31, St. Louis 7
• N.O. 21, Tampa Bay 17
• Jacksonville 28, G.B. 25
• Oakland 40, Tennessee 35
Monday
• Miami 29, New England 28
Two-Minute Drill
• Stats and stars of Week 15
_____ NFL's Strongest Safeties _____ Note: This is an unscientific survey of washingtonpost.com readers.
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If two teams finish tied for the final wild-card spot at 7-9, the first tiebreaker is head-to-head competition, followed by conference record. The Rams are 6-5 in conference play, followed by the Panthers and Redskins at 5-5. The Giants and Lions have the worst conference records among the contenders, at 4-7.
If three or more teams are tied for the wild card, ties are first broken among teams in the same division based on the divisional tiebreaking formula of head-to-head play, followed by division record, common opponents and conference record. The teams that emerge from the divisional tiebreaker then follow the tiebreaking procedure beginning with head-to-head competition, then conference record, then common opponents, etc. The 12th tiebreaker (right after No. 11: best net touchdowns in all games) is a coin toss.
Scenario 3 (Ridiculous): The Cardinals win their final two games, and the Seahawks and Rams lose their final two games. That means the Cardinals will have swept the season series against the Seahawks and end up a game ahead of the Rams, thus giving Arizona the NFC West title with a 7-9 record.
