Four of the seven NFC playoff berths have been claimed with three weeks left in the regular season. But who lands where is still very much up in the air.

By Star Tribune staff

December 23, 2022 at 5:09PM

Who will Kirk Cousins and Kevin O’Connell be facing in the NFL playoffs? (Anthony Souffle, Star Tribune/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

With three games to go in the NFL regular season, four of the seven NFC playoff berths have been claimed. The Vikings, who play the Giants on Saturday, have one of them and can finish no lower than the No. 3 seed, but a lot of shuffling could take place in the final weeks of the season. Only the No. 1 seed gets a first-round bye and home-field advantage throughout the NFC playoffs. The matchups on wild-card weekend Jan. 14-16 are: 2 vs. 7, 3 vs. 6, 4 vs. 5.

Here are the current NFC playoff seedings:

Division leaders/winners

1. Eagles (13-1): Clinched a playoff berth and can claim the NFC East title and the No. 1 seed with a victory over the Cowboys on Saturday. Can also secure the No. 1 seed with a Vikings loss to the Giants.

2. Vikings (11-3): Clinched the NFC North and at least one home playoff game. Can finish no lower than the No. 3 seed, but need to hold off the 49ers to keep the No. 2 seed. Have a slim chance at No. 1 seed; would need to win their last three games and have Philadelphia lose its last three games.

3. 49ers (10-4): Clinched the NFC West last week. Hold the conference-record tiebreaker over the Vikings, meaning if San Francisco finishes with the same record as the Vikings, it will get the higher seed.

4. Buccaneers (6-8): Hold a one-game lead over Carolina, New Orleans and Atlanta — all 5-9 — in the woeful NFC South, which could be won by a team with a losing record.

Wild cards

5. Cowboys (10-4): Clinched a playoff spot but need to win their last three games while the Eagles lose their last three to claim the NFC East title.

6. Giants (8-5-1): Rose to the No. 6 spot by beating Washington on Sunday. Can clinch a playoff spot with a win over the Vikings and losses by two of the three teams behind them: Washington, Seattle and Detroit.

7. Commanders (7-6-1): Need to match the win total of the teams behind them the rest of the way to keep a wild-card spot.

Next three

8. Seahawks (7-7): Lost four of five to fall out of playoff position. Need at least one more win over their final three games than the Commanders and a better or equal record than the Lions.

9. Lions (7-7): Won six of their last seven after starting 1-6. Can vault into playoff position with a win over Carolina and losses by Seattle and Washington to tougher opponents on Saturday.

10. Packers (6-8): Must beat Miami on Sunday to keep their slim playoff hopes alive. Could be a factor if they win out.

Week 16 games with NFC playoff implications

Saturday

Giants at Vikings, noon
Lions at Panthers, noon
Seahawks at Chiefs, noon
Saints at Browns, noon
Falcons at Ravens, noon
Commanders at 49ers, 3:05 p.m.
Eagles at Cowboys, 3:25 p.m.

Sunday

Packers at Dolphins, noon
Buccaneers at Cardinals, 7:20 p.m.