It is the middle of December, and the home stretch of the NFL season is upon us. Some teams have already secured their spot in the playoffs, while many more are still seeking a berth. Here are the playoff picture standings as of right now, and what is the most likely seeding.
AFC:
1 - Kansas City Chiefs(11-3)
The Chiefs have already clinched their spot in the playoffs, but need to win out to fend off the red-hot Chargers to whom they just lost to. They have a potential trap game against the Seahawks this week, but should be able to come out with a win. They then play the Raiders at home, and should finish 13-3 with home-field advantage throughout the playoffs.
2- Houston Texans(10-4)
The Texans escaped with a victory against the New York Jets last week, but have a trap game of their own against the Eagles next week. Philly is coming off a resounding victory over the Los Angeles Rams, and Nick Foles seems to be breathing life back into the Eagles. After that game, they play the 3-11 Jaguars. The Texans have a real chance of going 11-5, which would concede their first-round bye.
3 - New England Patriots(9-5)
The Patriots have dropped back-to-back games, never a good sign for December. Their run defense has been awful and Tom Brady has made some mind-boggling mistakes. However, they have a very easy schedule up ahead as both the Jets and Bills are already eliminated. If they win out, and the Texans drop one of their next two, the Pats would get their 10th straight first-round bye, as they hold the head-to-head tiebreaker over Houston.
4 - Pittsburgh Steelers(8-5-1)
The Steelers beat the Patriots to break out of a three-game losing slump. They have a very tough matchup against the Saints this week, and will probably lose. They would then finish at 9-6-1(assuming they beat the Bengals). Their division rivals, the Ravens would then have to win out to overtake the Steelers for the division.
5 - Los Angeles Chargers(11-3)
A very bad loss to the Broncos a few weeks ago might have cost the Chargers home-field advantage throughout the playoffs. They now need the Chiefs to lose one, along with winning out, to win the first seed. They have an extremely real chance of tying the 1999 Tennessee Titans for being the best wild-card team ever, at 13-3.
6 - Baltimore Ravens(8-6)
As it stands right now, the Ravens are a half of a game back on the Pittsburgh Steelers. They are playing the Chargers next week and probably will lose. This might not only cost them a chance at the division but perhaps even the playoffs, as the Colts and Titans are red-hot on the Ravens tail.
In the Hunt:
Indianapolis Colts, Tennessee Titans
Both of these AFC South teams are 8-6, but both lost to the Ravens. This means that they need the Ravens to finish 1-1. Assuming they lose to the Chargers, the Colts and Titans have to defeat the Giants and Redskins, respectively. The 6th seed would then come down to a Week 17 clash in Tennessee, which would make for some great storylines.
NFC:
1 - New Orleans Saints(11-2)
The Saints will play tonight against the slumping Panthers and should get a win, which would all but eliminate Carolina. This would then leave them with a home game against Pittsburgh, and a rematch with the Panthers. They should be able to win both of those and clinch the first seed in the NFC. The Saints have already clinched their division.
2 - Los Angeles Rams(11-3)
The Rams are coming off a bad loss to the Eagles, which looked much worse than what the scoreboard suggested. However, they should stay in the second spot as they play the Cardinals and 49ers, two teams that would right now rather lose than the win to get better draft position. The Rams have already clinched the NFC West.
3 - Chicago Bears(10-4)
The Bears clinched their first division title since 2010 this week, so they have locked up a top-four spot. They too will stay where they are, as games against the 49ers and Vikings should be easy wins. Had they not lost to the Giants three weeks ago, the Bears would be in the second spot as they also hold a tiebreaker over the Rams.
4 - Dallas Cowboys(8-6)
Dallas had its 5 game win streak snapped this week, as they were shutout 23-0 by the Colts. They still are in the driver's seat for the NFC East and have two easy wins against the Giants and Buccaneers coming up. Dallas should secure the fourth seed in the playoffs.
5 - Seattle Seahawks(8-6)
The Seahawks should have secured their spot in the playoffs this week but suffered a bad loss to the 49ers. They now play the Chiefs in a game where they will probably lose. If they finish 1-1, it opens the door for the Vikings, Eagles, or Redskins to steal their spot.
6 - Minnesota Vikings(7-6-1)
The Vikings he has gotten back on track after a loss to the Patriots in week 13. They now have two division matchups remaining against the Lions and Bears. If they drop one of those, an 8-7-1 record might not be enough to make the playoffs, as there's a chance up to four other wild-card hopefuls would be better than that.
In the Hunt:
Philadelphia Eagles, Washington Redskins, Carolina Panthers
Of these three teams, only the Eagles have a real chance of making it. The Redskins are playing with journeyman Josh Johnson III under center, and have to play the Titans and Eagles to finish the season. The Panthers play the Saints twice in the next three weeks and will probably finish 7-9. The Eagles have been revived by the one and only Nick Foles, but play the Texans and Redskins. Losses to either one of them will make their playoff push extremely hard.
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