NFL Football Playoff 2010 Race and final standings

AFC
Seed Team Division Record
1 Indianapolis (yz*) South 14-2-0
2 San Diego (yz) West 13-3-0
3 New England (y) East 10-6-0
4 Cincinnati (y) North 10-6-0
5 N.Y. Jets (x) East 9-7-0
6 Baltimore (x) North 9-7-0
Eliminated
7 Houston South 9-7-0
8 Pittsburgh North 9-7-0
9 Denver West 8-8-0
10 Tennessee South 8-8-0
11 Miami East 7-9-0
12 Jacksonville South 7-9-0
13 Buffalo East 6-10-0
14 Cleveland North 5-11-0
15 Oakland West 5-11-0
16 Kansas City West 4-12-0

NFC
Seed Team Division Record
1 New Orleans (yz*) South 13-3-0
2 Minnesota (yz) North 12-4-0
3 Dallas (y) East 11-5-0
4 Arizona (y) West 10-6-0
5 Green Bay (x) North 11-5-0
6 Philadelphia (x) East 11-5-0
Eliminated
7 Atlanta South 9-7-0
8 Carolina South 8-8-0
9 San Francisco West 8-8-0
10 N.Y. Giants East 8-8-0
11 Chicago North 7-9-0
12 Seattle West 5-11-0
13 Washington East 4-12-0
14 Tampa Bay South 3-13-0
15 Detroit North 2-14-0
16 St. Louis West 1-15-0
Divisional Standings
Tiebreakers
x-clinched playoff berth
y-denotes division winner
z-denotes first-round bye
*-clinched home-field advantage

During the regular season, the seeds reflect how the playoffs would stand if the season ended up to that point. The NFL playoffs are not based on a pure bracket system. In the divisional playoffs, the No. 1 seed is assured of playing the lowest-seeded Wild Card survivor. There are no restrictions on intra-division games and the higher seed of any matchup will have home-field advantage.

AFC Playoff tiebreakers

* New England earns the No. 3 seed over Cincinnati based on strength of victory (.450 to the Bengals' .438).
* N.Y. Jets and Baltimore finish ahead of Houston based on conference record (Ravens' 7-5 and Jets' 7-5 to the Texans' 6-6).
* N.Y. Jets earn the No. 5 seed over of Baltimore based on common games (4-1 to the Ravens' 1-4).
* Baltimore earns the No. 6 seed over Houston based on conference record (7-5 to the Texans' 6-6).



AFC Division tiebreakers

* Baltimore finishes ahead of Pittsburgh based on division record (3-3 to the Steelers' 2-4).



AFC non-Playoff tiebreakers

* Houston finishes ahead of Pittsburgh based on common games (4-1 to the Texans' 2-3).
* Denver finishes ahead of Tennessee based on conference record (6-6 to the Titans' 4-8).
* Miami finishes ahead of Jacksonville based on head to head (1-0).
* Cleveland finishes ahead of Oakland based on head to head (1-0).



NFC Playoff tiebreakers

* Green Bay earns the No. 5 seed over Philadelphia based on common games (4-1 to the Eagles' 3-2).

NFC Division tiebreakers

* Dallas wins the NFC East Division over Philadelphia based on head to head (2-0).



NFC non-Playoff tiebreakers

* Carolina finishes ahead of San Francisco and the N.Y. Giants based on conference record (8-4 to the 49ers' 7-5 and the Giants' 6-6).
* San Francisco finishes ahead of the N.Y. Giants based on conference record (7-5 and the Giants' 6-6).



AFC eliminations

* Cleveland (Week 12), Kansas City (Week 13), Oakland (Week 14), Buffalo (Week 15), Tennessee (Week 16), Jacksonville (Week 17), Miami (Week 17), Pittsburgh (Week 17), Denver (Week 17), Houston (Week 17)



NFC eliminations

* Detroit (Week 12), St. Louis (Week 12), Tampa Bay (Week 12), Washington (Week 13), Chicago (Week 14), Seattle (Week 15), Carolina (Week 15), Atlanta (Week 15), San Francisco (Week 15), N.Y. Giants (Week 16)