If you’re a serious N.F.L. fan, you’re probably spending a nontrivial amount of time scouring the Internet for information about your team’s playoff chances. What you will find are complex clinching scenarios, full of long logical chains like “PIT loss or NYJ tie.”

These scenarios are not only hard to follow but also focus on the end of the season — which is still weeks away. Here, we address the more immediate question many fans have: Whom should I cheer for this week, and which games can I safely ignore?

Questions like these are what led us to create our simulator, which turns any reader into an instant playoff expert. The links here will all take you there, and we encourage you to explore it on your own — we certainly have.