Finally, a clear shot of the field

For the last 16 weeks, trying to cut through the snowy static to see the NFL playoff picture was like watching a black-and-white TV with a bent coat hanger for an antenna.

Today, though, it will all come through in high definition. There will be no uncertainties by day’s end, no need for a calculator, what-if scenarios or rosary beads.

Clarity. At last.

As it stands, there isn’t too much postseason fuzziness -- unless you’re counting the North, South, East and West.

Oh, and there’s a chance for cover-your-eyes history, with the 0-15 Detroit Lions playing at Green Bay and on the verge of joining the 1976 Tampa Bay Buccaneers as the only NFL teams in the modern era to lose every game.

The Denver Broncos, meanwhile, are desperately trying to avoid their own sad slice of history. They play a winner-takes-all game at San Diego and, should they lose, would become the first NFL team to blow a three-game division lead with three to play and miss the playoffs.

“We’re going to have to go up there in their backyard and prove that we’re better than them,” Denver receiver Brandon Marshall said.

Go up to San Diego? Well, it’s easy to see how the Broncos are disoriented. After starting the season 4-1, they are 4-6 in their last 10 games.

The Chargers, who have won 13 consecutive December games, would with a victory become just the ninth 8-8 team to reach the postseason. It’s no wonder why NBC used its flex-scheduling option to move Broncos-Chargers into the Sunday night slot.

Likewise, there’s no resolution yet in the AFC East. With Miami and New England at 10-5, and the New York Jets at 9-6, the Dolphins have the inside track for the division crown. If Miami beats the Jets at the Meadowlands, it will complete its stunning worst-to-first turnaround. The Dolphins, remember, were 1-15 last season before Bill Parcells overhauled the franchise, top to bottom.

The drama within the drama in this finale is the showdown between Brett Favre and ex-Jets quarterback Chad Pennington.

“This is the only way fate would have it, right?” Pennington said of the chance to play his former team with the division title hanging in the balance -- not to mention the opportunity to join the 1999 Indianapolis Colts as the only franchise to improve by 10 victories from one season to the next.

As for the Patriots, they need to win at Buffalo and hope for either a loss by Miami or Baltimore, which plays host to Jacksonville.

If the Ravens win, they’re in as the AFC’s second wild-card team behind fifth-seeded Indianapolis. Baltimore has won its final home game five consecutive times.

Although the New York Giants have clinched their division and the top seeding in the conference, things are not entirely sorted out in the NFC East. That’s what makes the Dallas-at-Philadelphia game so interesting.

If the Cowboys win, they’re in as a wild-card team. The Eagles need more help: They need a win, and losses by Tampa Bay as well as Minnesota and/or Chicago.

The Cowboys have not scored more than 14 points in any of their last four road games and are 1-4 away from home since Week 6.

“I wish I could put a finger on what it is that’s causing us to let it slip like we have, but I can’t,” Dallas tight end Jason Witten told reporters last week. “ . . . We’ve got to figure out a way to play better football, because this isn’t going to cut it.”

Minnesota can secure the NFC North with a home victory over the Giants, who ostensibly have nothing to gain by winning. Then again, we could have said the same thing about the Giants in last season’s finale against 15-0 New England, and New York gave it everything it had. So there’s no guarantee the Giants will roll over this time and flood the field with backups.

If the Vikings stumble, the Bears will be waiting. Chicago can win the division with a victory at Houston and a loss by Minnesota.

In the NFC South, Atlanta and Carolina have clinched playoff spots, and Tampa Bay has a chance to make it three teams from that division heading to the postseason. The easiest path for the Buccaneers is to beat Oakland at home, and for the Eagles to beat the Cowboys.

A victory over the Raiders might look like a layup, but the Buccaneers have lost three in a row since starting 9-3 -- and that’s after leading or being tied in the fourth quarter of each of those three losses.

“When you’re 9-3 at one point and you’re a couple wins away from the playoffs, and now we’re fighting just to get in . . . it’s tough looking at it,” Tampa Bay running back Warrick Dunn said.

That’s how the playoff picture can be: tough on the eyes. But today, with everything in HD, the squinting comes to an end.

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sam.farmer@latimes.com

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(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX)

BIG GAMES

N.Y. Giants at Minnesota, 10 a.m.

TV: Channel 11

Miami at N.Y. Jets, 1:15 p.m.

TV: Channel 2

Dallas at Philadelphia, 1:15 p.m.

TV: Channel 11

Denver at San Diego, 5:15 p.m.

TV: Channel 4

THESE STILL MATTER

New England at Buffalo, 10 a.m.

TV: Channel 2

St. Louis at Atlanta, 10 a.m.

Chicago at Houston, 10 a.m.

Carolina at New Orleans, 10 a.m.

Oakland at Tampa Bay, 10 a.m.

Jacksonville at Baltimore, 1:15 p.m.

GO RETURN HOLIDAY GIFTS

Kansas City at Cincinnati, 10 a.m.

Tennessee at Indianapolis, 10 a.m.

Cleveland at Pittsburgh, 10 a.m.

Washington at San Fran., 1:15 p.m.

Seattle at Arizona, 1:15 p.m.

ONE FOR THE BOOKS?

Detroit at Green Bay, 10 a.m.

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U-turn of Miami

If the Miami Dolphins win at the Meadowlands today, they will have gone from 1-15 last season to an AFC East title this season. Of the seven previous teams to go 1-15, all were markedly improved in the next season -- but not enough to make the playoffs. How those teams fared after their 1-15 season:

*--* 1980 Saints 4-12 1989 Cowboys 7-9 1990 Patriots 6-10 1991 Colts 9-7 1996 Jets 9-7 2000 Chargers 5-11 2001 Panthers 7-9 2007 Dolphins 10-5* *--*

*one game remaining

Source: STATS LLC