There are just four weeks left in the NFL regular season, but the playoff picture is still pretty murky. The top seeds in each conference are pretty much solidified, but the wild card race is wide open. In this post I’ll go through the top teams in both conferences and explain how they got to the position they’re in, and how they can make the playoffs. The teams are listed in order of seeding if the playoffs started today.
AFC
New England (9-3)
The Patriots don’t do anything too spectacular, except score a ton of points and just win. Neither of those is new with the Pats though, esp. since they have one of the best quarterback-coach tandems in the league. The Patriots only have one tough game left so they should be able to finish with at least 11 wins and claim the number one seed
Final four games: at Washington, at Denver, vs. Miami, vs. Buffalo
Baltimore Ravens (9-3)
The Ravens are almost the exact opposite of the Patriots. While the Patriots average 31.4 points a game, the Ravens average just 24.6. The Ravens defense, however, has only allowed the opposing team to score more than 20 points only four times this season. The Ravens have some work to do to maintain their #2 seeding. They should be able to handle Indy and Cleveland, but San Diego and Cincinnati are fighting for their playoff lives and could present the Ravens with some problems.
Final four games: vs. Indianapolis, at San Diego, vs. Cleveland, at Cincinnati
Houston Texans (9-3)
This team can just not catch a break. First they lost their best wide receiver, Andre Johnson, to an injury. Then their best defensive lineman, Mario Williams, got hurt. Then their starting quarterback, Matt Schaub, endures a season-ending injury. Just when you think it can’t get any worse, their second-string quarterback gets hurt. Now the Texans are playing with their third-string rookie quarterback, T.J. Yates. They have a tough road ahead, but fortunately for them they should win their weak division, which would give them a #3 or #4 seed.
Final four games: at Cincinnati, vs. Carolina, at Indianapolis, vs. Tennessee
Denver Broncos (7-5)
There can’t be anybody, except maybe Tim Tebow, who would have thought this team would be in this position after they got blown out by the Detroit Lions in Week 8. Everybody criticized Tebow because “he couldn’t throw” and said the Broncos would never succeed with Tebow as the quarterback. Since that game, the Broncos have won five straight, including wins against the Oakland Raiders and San Diego Chargers, and have hushed most of the naysayers. Although the only thing that has changed for the Broncos since their 1-4 start is Tim Tebow becoming the starting quarterback, they are winning games because of their stellar defense and run game. Denver has a tough road ahead if they want to make the playoffs.
Final four games: vs. Chicago, vs. New England, at Buffalo, vs. Kansas City
Pittsburgh Steelers (9-3)
The Steelers are a great team, as usual, but they play in the same division as the Ravens. It also doesn’t help the Steelers that they have lost to the Ravens twice. The Steelers hopes of a division title are all but gone, but they can still make it in to the playoffs as a wildcard. Their only tough game left is a trip to San Fran, but even if they don’t win that game they should win their other three.
Final four games: vs. Cleveland, at San Francisco, vs. St. Louis, at Cleveland
Cincinnati Bengals (7-5)
As tough it is for the Steelers to be in the same division as the Ravens, try being the Bengals. The Bengals are a decent team, but they have only beaten one team with a winning record. They are lead by rookies Andy Dalton and A.J. Green and a pretty good defense. The Bengals are going to have tough time keeping this final seed for the playoffs, but they are helped by a not so hard schedule. They should be able to go 2-2 and sneak into the playoffs with a 9-7 record.
Final four games: vs. Houston, at St. Louis, vs. Arizona, vs. Baltimore
Tennessee Titans (7-5)
This is a team that, like the Bengals, has taken advantage of a pretty easy schedule so far. They have beaten only two teams with winning records, one more than the Bengals. The Titans will most likely split their final games and go 2-2 to finish 9-7, like the Bengals. If that happens they will not make the cut for the playoffs.
Next four games: vs. New Orleans, at Indianapolis, vs. Jacksonville, at Houston
Oakland Raiders (7-5)
The Raiders hit a rough patch in Week 7 when they started recently-acquired quarterback, Carson Palmer. Palmer lost the game that week and the next one. The losses suddenly spurred talks that the Raiders made another bad decision by picking up the former pro-bowler. After those two losses, Palmer has gone 3-1 and led Oakland to a 7-5 record. The Raiders could still win their division, but they’ll need to keep winning and hope the Broncos start losing.
Final four games: at Green Bay, vs. Detroit, at Kansas City, vs. San Diego
New York Jets (7-5)
The only other team that has been on more of a roller coaster ride this season is the Dallas Cowboys. Here’s how their season has been so far: won two games, lost three, won three, lost two, and then won two. Through those ups and downs the Jets have played great at times and. At other times they made you wonder how a team could play so good, and then play so bad. If any team is going to win the rest of their games and break into the Top 6 to make the playoffs, it’s going to be this team. However, if any team is going to flop over and lose the rest of their games, it will be this team.
Final four games: vs. Kansas City, at Philadelphia, vs. New York Giants, at Miami.
NFC
Green Bay Packers (12-0)
There isn’t a lot to say about the defending Super Bowl Champs. They are the best team in the NFL and are playing even better than last season. The Packers really remind of the Colts a few years ago. They have one of the best offenses in the league and are led by the best quarterback in the league. However, they have one of the worst rushing offenses and defenses. Plus, they are never considered “the best team” because people are still infatuated with the New England Patriots. I hope the Pack finish 16-0 and shut up all those Pats fans.
Final four games: vs. Oakland, at Kansas City, vs. Chicago, vs. Detroit
San Francisco 49ers (10-2)
As surprising as the Denver Broncos have been, this team has been 10x more surprising. Jim Harbaugh has really worked miracles to get this team to where they are. A lot of analysts say they take advantage of their weak division, but only three of their wins have come against division foes. The 49ers have beaten the Bengals, Lions, and Giants. Two of those games they had to travel over 2,000 miles to get there. The final obstacle in the 49ers path is a trip to Pittsburgh. If they win that game they should be considered a legit threat to win the Super Bowl.
Final four games: at Arizona, vs. Pittsburgh, at Seattle, at St. Louis
New Orleans Saints (9-3)
The Saints have really begun playing excellent football. In the past four games, they have won by a combined score of 133-88. Drew Brees and the rest of his offense are playing as well as the Packers right now. Plus, they have a defense that is playing nearly as well. Remember in Week 1 that the Saints went toe-to-toe with the Packers at Lambeau and only lost by a touchdown. That was the first game of the season, but we could see a rematch of that game in the NFC Championship.
Final four games: at Tennessee, at Minnesota, vs. Atlanta, vs. Carolina
Dallas Cowboys (7-5)
It is nearly impossible to guess what Cowboys team you’re going to get from week to week (this seems to be a common theme for all the teams in the NFC East). Somehow the Cowboys beat San Francisco, but lose to Arizona. It should give the team, and hopefully Tony Romo, some confidence to know that they control their own destiny. All they have to do is keep on winning and they will win their division.
Final four games: vs. New York Giants, at Tampa Bay, vs. Philadelphia, at New York Giants
Chicago Bears (7-5)
Just a few weeks ago the Bears appeared to be Super Bowl contenders. They were playing great on both sides of the balls and dominating opponents. Then their quarterback, Jay Cutler, got hurt in Week 11. The Bears were able to rely on running back Matt Forte in Week 12 to keep them in the game, but when he got injured last week, the offense could produce nothing. Now the Bears are scrambling to try and right the ship to stay in the playoff picture. What looked like a manageable schedule a few weeks ago now looks like a gauntlet.
Final four games: at Denver, vs. Seattle, at Green Bay, at Minnesota
Atlanta Falcons (7-5)
The Falcons were the top team in the NFC last year and finished 14-2. So it wasn’t that outrageous that many people considered this team to be Super Bowl contenders before the season started. Obviously those were expectations the Falcons couldn’t handle. The Falcons could easily win three of their last four games and jump the declining Bears. The only difficult game left in the schedule is a trip to New Orleans.
Final four games: at Carolina, vs. Jacksonville, at New Orleans, vs. Tampa Bay
Detroit Lions (7-5)
This is a team that has slowly become more unglued with each passing week. It all started in Week 6 when they lost to the San Francisco 49ers. After the game, head coach Jim Schwartz had a near fist fight with 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh. After the next game, Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan accused the Lions defensive lion of playing dirty. Not that big of a deal, right? Everybody plays a little dirty. Well it got more than “dirty” on Thanksgiving when defensive lineman Ndamukong Suh slammed his foot onto the head of a Green Bay Packers player. The Lions lost that game and the next one to fall to a 7-5 record after starting 5-0. The Lions will have a tough going if they expect to jump the Falcons and Bears.
Final four games: vs. Minnesota, at Oakland, vs. San Diego, at Green Bay
New York Giants (7-5)
About the only hope the Giants have of making the playoffs is winning their division, which would mean beating the Cowboys this week and in the final week of the season. The Giants have an absolutely brutal schedule for the final nine weeks of the season. They started at New England and then went to San Francisco. Next was a home game against Philadelphia, then a game at New Orleans, and finally a home game against Green Bay. The only game they’ve won out of those was the one against the Patriots.
Final four games: at Dallas, vs. Washington, vs. New York Jets, vs. Dallas
