As we approach the last days of November, we prepare for the annual time-honored tradition of … NFL playoff projections. By the time you’ve finished your turkey on Thanksgiving Day, NFL teams will be planning their final run for prime playoff position in order to maximize their chances of taking home the Lombardi Trophy. To help you navigate the final full month, Bing Predicts has run simulations to provide our projections for the seeding of the NFL playoff teams.
It is worth noting that our models predict winners through the rest of the season to determine the seeding. Readers will notice that these differ from ‘if the season ended today’ projections because, well, the season isn’t over and remaining schedules are a big factor. For instance, we project that Green Bay’s favorable end of season schedule will allow them to overtake both their division foe Detroit Lions as well as Super Bowl 49 hosts Arizona in the NFC. While Green Bay is playing Tampa Bay (2-8), Atlanta (4-6), and Minnesota (4-6), the Arizona Cardinals, despite being 9-1, have to play defending champion Seattle twice, travel to San Francisco, and host Kansas City.
In the AFC, we project New England to edge Denver for the one seed after the Patriots had a strong run the past two games, including a head-to-head win over the Broncos. In particular, their recent win over Indianapolis in last week’s Sunday Night Football game provided a strong boost in our models. Houston (5-5), meanwhile, despite playing .500 football, is in the hunt because of a somewhat soft end of season schedule which includes two games against 1-9 Jacksonville. And just to prove there’s no home town bias here, we’re seeing the Seahawks as shaky for the playoffs.
Keep checking NFL playoff predictions to find the latest projections up through the end of the regular season as our models adapt to each week’s results.