The easiest path to the Super Bowl has always been through a division championship. That fact is indisputable. There have been 46 Super Bowls and 92 Super Bowl teams and through all that time only 10 wild-cards have ever played for a championship.

And only six have run the wild-card gauntlet to be crowned Super Bowl champions.

NFL football is the greatest reality TV program of all time. The Giants and Colts made sure of that back in 1958. Each NFL fall weekend is a completely new and original experience for every player, fan and coach alike. New stories, new personalities, new winners and new losers. And new statistics.

Here are the most important, most intriguing and most bizarre statistics from Week 17 of NFL play:

The Green Bay Packers and Minnesota Vikings each have something to play for when the long-time NFC North rivals meet up at 4:25 p.m. ET this afternoon on FOX. For the Vikings (9-6) it’s win and they are in the playoffs for the first time since 2009, while the Packers (11-4) can earn a coveted first-round bye with a second win over their divisional foe this month. If the Vikings fall to the Packers for a sixth straight time, they will need Chicago, Dallas and the New York Giants to all lose to extend their season by at least one more game.

NFL Week 17 previews and predictions for every game on the schedule, broken down into tiers in regards to what they’re playing for (in order of likelihood) on the last Sunday of the regular season:


First-round Bye:

Texans (12-3) at Colts (10-5)

Athlon Sports' weekly rankings of NFL teams. The Atlanta Falcons have flown back into the top spot after locking up home-field advantage throughout the NFC Playoffs. Meanwhile, the Kansas City Chiefs remain the on the bottom of the totem pole.

Here are our NFL Power Rankings following Week 16 of the season:

NFL football is the greatest reality TV program of all time. The Giants and Colts made sure of that back in 1958. Each NFL fall weekend is a completely new and original experience for every player, fan and coach alike. New stories, new personalities, new winners and new losers. And new statistics.

Here are the most important, most intriguing and most bizarre statistics from Week 16 of NFL play:

A betting preview of every game (against the spread) in Week 16.

NFL Week 16 previews and predictions for every game on the schedule:

Athlon Sports' weekly rankings of NFL teams. The San Francisco 49ers have moved into the top spot after knocking off the previous No. 1 New England Patriots, while no team is playing worse than the Kansas City Chiefs, who were blanked by the Oakland Raiders for the second time in history this weekend.

Here are our NFL Power Rankings following Week 15 of the season:

It’s fantasy football Super Bowl time. This week, the majority of leagues across the country will crown a champion who will win bragging rights, trophies, a few dollars, a trip to Vegas, who knows? And while every league is different, there are several key players acquired throughout the season who push a contender over the top, regardless of scoring, league size or any other variable.