Looking ahead to Week 16 of the NFL season

The GIST: With Week 16 officially underway, only four calling birds teams — one in the American Football Conference (AFC) and three in the National Football Conference (NFC) — have clinched the 14 possible playoff spots.

• Now looking ahead, another four squads have a chance to lock it in by Christmas Day. It’s the gift that keeps on giving.

AFC: The Miami Dolphins, Kansas City Chiefs, and Cleveland Browns can snag one of the AFC’s six remaining spots this week. An outright win from both Miami and Kansas City over the Dallas Cowboys and Las Vegas Raiders, respectively, would secure their seats, but it’s a smidge more complicated for Cleveland.

• Resurgent Browns quarterback Joe Flacco & Co. need a dub over the Houston Texans on Sunday and a few other games to fall their way in order to book their ticket.

NFC: When it comes to the Detroit Lions, this holiday weekend has way higher stakes than your Yankee Swap. A Sunday win over the Minnesota Vikings will secure their first division title since 1993, but if they come up short, they can still nail down a postseason spot (their first since 2016) with a Seattle Seahawks loss to the Tennessee Titans.