Going into Week 16, only the Eagles (12-2) and Vikings (11-3) know for sure they'll be playing in the 2017 NFC playoffs.

Behind them, seven teams are vying for four spots in the postseason, after the Falcons (9-5) beat the Buccaneers on Monday night to eliminate the Packers from contention.

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The Rams (10-4), who whipped the Seahawks on Sunday and built a two-game lead in the West with two games left to play, should feel good about their chances to remain the No. 3 seed. The Saints (10-4) are still barely leading the South over the Panthers (10-4) thanks to their season sweep of Carolina.

For those three teams, it's simple: Get to at least 11 wins, and they're in. If they fail to at least split their final two games, however, a few more doors might be left ajar for the desperate teams outside of the playoff picture.

Unfortunately for the Lions, Seahawks, Cowboys (all 8-6), making the playoffs like they did in 2016 probably comes down to the reigning NFC-champion Falcons free-falling out of the No. 6 seed. Even worse news: Because Atlanta beat Detroit, Seattle and Dallas earlier this season, none of those teams can get in over the Falcons with the same record.

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Working up from the Cowboys' hopes to the Falcons' perch, here's breaking down what's left of each team's playoff hopes.

No. 9 Cowboys

As the standings suggest, Dallas needs to first pass Seattle and then Detroit before it can starting thinking about Atlanta.

The Cowboys can get to 10-6 by winning out, and they host the Seahawks with Ezekiel Elliott in Week 16. The next part of the equation is the Lions losing a game to either the Bengals on the road or Packers at home so Detroit finishes no better than 9-7. Since the Falcons beat the Buccaneers, the Cowboys need the Falcons to lose their final two games.

As improbable as all that sounds, with the Packers eliminated and the Falcons facing two tough final games, the Cowboys are far from dead. Their biggest obstacle is taking care of their own business. After the Seattle game, Dallas travels to Philadelphia, where the Week 17 game still could be big for the Eagles to earn the No. 1 NFC seed.

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No. 8 Seahawks

As crazy it sounds after its Week 15 home debacle, Seattle can still win the NFC West if it wins out (at Dallas, vs. Arizona) and Los Angeles loses out (at Tennessee, vs. San Francisco). That would be a shocking-but-not-totally-impossible development.

For a wild-card spot, the Seahawks need to win out and bury the Cowboys in Week 16. They also need the Falcons to lose twice and the Lions to lose once. Had the Seahawks swept the Rams, they almost certainly would have made the postseason. Now they're hoping for a minor miracle.

No. 7 Lions

Detroit has a favorable schedule ahead in traveling to reeling Cincinnati and hosting possibly Aaron Rodgers-less Green Bay.

If the Lions just win one of those games, the Cowboys and Seahawks will be rendered helpless and hopeless in all of this. Because of that heartbreaking home loss to the Falcons in Week 3, the Lions need to be 10-6 to the Falcons' 9-7 in order to move up for the second wild card.

No. 6 Falcons

If Atlanta goes 2-0 it wouldn't get a wild card — it would move up to No. 4 as repeat South champions over both New Orleans and Carolina, which it plays back-to-back to finish the season. Should Atlanta go 1-1, it would stay at least at No. 6 and have an outside shot at No. 5.

The Falcons going 0-2 likely would not cut it, even with their massive tiebreaker advantages. Given how talented the Cowboys, Seahawks and Lions are, there's a good chance one of those teams will finish 10-6.