With Week 13 in the books, every team in the NFL has entered their final quarter of the season. 12 games gone. 4 to go. No more bye weeks. No more excuses. Playoff football is right around the corner. Here are your current standings:
With that in mind, who should we expect to see playing past January 1st this season?
AFC
Eliminated:
New York Jets
Jacksonville Jaguars
Cleveland Browns
Congratulations to these three AFC teams! They get to start their off-season early this year. Imagine a world where you are so bad at your job that you get to take the last quarter of the year off? Well, look no further than these awful teams, as they are chock-full of players and coaches that no longer matter in the NFL world. Well, maybe the Browns still matter, as they hope to secure an historic 0-16 season! And for all you naysayers that claim the Browns are actually going to try to win, you should know that they still have plenty to lose for, as the 49ers are breathing down their necks, merely one game out from stealing away the first overall pick in the upcoming draft, from the Browns.
What may be even sadder than Cleveland’s awful season, is that a team like Jacksonville - a team that had the misconceived notion of being a competent, possibly even good football team - has been eliminated so early, especially when you consider the fact that they play in one of the worst divisions in the NFL.
What may be even funnier than Cleveland’s awful season, is that a team like the Jets never fail to be hilariously bad. Think about this: the best seasons of the past 10 years or so for New York were led by Mark Sanchez. Personally, I love Mark Sanchez, as he was the protagonist (hopeless hero?) of my favorite play in NFL history.
Basically Eliminated:
San Diego Chargers
Cincinnati Bengals
The Chargers have a good team this year. Unfortunately, they have also had a lot of bad luck, which has not made the task of playing in the toughest division in the NFL any easier. Phillip Rivers is not the quarterback he once was, and his retirement looms closer, as San Diego’s (Los Angeles’s?) playoff window continues to shrink.
The Bengals have been an enormous disappointment this year, as their once dominant roster has finally begun to fall apart. Dalton isn’t a good enough quarterback to lead a group of subpar NFL talent to the playoffs (few NFL quarterbacks are), and it is finally showing, as the Bengals will almost certainly miss the playoffs for the first time in five years.
You’re Saying There’s a Chance?:
Buffalo Bills
I was very close to bumping the Bills up to the “In the Mix” category, but I just couldn’t bring myself to do it. Buffalo will most likely have to win out to even have a shot at making the playoffs. Their final four games are against the Steelers, Browns, Dolphins, and Jets. Their Week 14 matchup against Pittsburgh is definitely their toughest remaining game. If they win that, the Bills may have a shot. However, one slip up and the season is virtually over.
Lucky to be in a Lousy Division:
Houston Texans
Indianapolis Colts
Tennessee Titans
The AFC South is awful. One of these awful teams will get to host a playoff game before they are immediately eliminated from the wild card round. The Texans have been far from good this season, and not to beat a dead horse… but the Texans are paying top dollar for the worst starting quarterback in the league. Osweiller has thrown one more touchdown than interception this year, and he is averaging a league worst 5.77 yards per attempt.
Meanwhile, with one of the best quarterbacks in the league, the Colts are struggling to find a way to win this awful division. If any of these teams were half decent, they would have already clinched the playoffs by now. Instead, the Titans have a legitimate shot at winning the AFC South. In defense of Tennessee, Mariota seems to finally be getting comfortable in the NFL, but still… this is the Titans we are talking about.
In the Mix:
Kansas City Chiefs
Denver Broncos
Baltimore Ravens
Miami Dolphins
Pittsburgh Steelers
This is where the excitement of the playoff race exists in the AFC. The Kansas City Chiefs and Denver Broncos currently hold the top two spots in the AFC wild card race, while the Dolphins and Steelers both sit one game behind the Broncos. The Chiefs will get their chance to prove that they are a top contender when they host the Raiders this Thursday Night at Arrowhead stadium. Sitting in third place in the division, the defending Super Bowl Champion Broncos will need to stay on top of their game if they hope to just hold onto a wild card spot.
For the race in the AFC North, the Ravens currently own the tiebreaker over Pittsburgh. The division title is still up for grabs, as the Ravens will visit the Steelers at Heinz field on Christmas Eve, which could prove to be an incredibly important game in deciding the division champion.
The only team stuck in “no man’s land” is the Miami Dolphins. The only hope for Miami is the wild card. All other teams “In the Mix” will be hoping for their respective division crown (though at this point it seems like an outside shot for Denver to win the AFC West, especially since they are 1-3 in the division). Miami was looking like a possible contender in the AFC East, until they ended their six game win streak against the Baltimore Ravens in embarrassing fashion. Miami may need to win the rest of their games, if they hope to grab a playoff spot.
Top Contenders:
Oakland Raiders
New England Patriots
THE OAKLAND RAIDERS ARE THE TOP SEED IN THE AFC. HELL YEAH! HERE IS MY UNBIASED OPINION OF THE RAIDERS:
THEY WILL WIN THE REST OF THEIR GAMES THIS YEAR EN ROUTE TO SUPER BOWL GLORY.
Seriously though, Kansas City is the team to beat in the AFC West. The Chiefs are undefeated in the division, and they will now play host to the Raiders on a short week. The Chiefs can secure a crucial regular season sweep over the Raiders on Thursday, which would be a huge step towards winning the division for Kansas City. However, if the Raiders find a way to win in Arrowhead, they will take a two game divisional lead into the final three weeks of the season. Needless to say, this Thursday’s game is huge for both teams’ Super Bowl aspirations.
Tied for the top record in the AFC, the Patriots are currently sitting in second place in the conference. With their division almost wrapped up, the Patriots will be the favorites to grab homefield advantage throughout the playoffs as well. However, New England must still face three good teams before the playoffs: Baltimore, Denver, and Miami. It won’t be easy, but I like New England’s chances.
AFC Predictions:
New year, same result. The Patriots grab homefield advantage throughout the playoffs. The Chiefs defeat the Raiders on Thursday Night, and win out to grab the #2 seed and the AFC West. The Steelers defeat the Ravens on Christmas Eve, en route to winning the AFC North. The Colts win the lousy AFC South, which somehow earns them a home game over the far superior #5 seed… the Oakland Raiders. Oakland drops two of their last four, but easily hang onto the top wild card seed. The Ravens sneak in as the 6th seed, setting up the rubber match at Heinz Field against the Steelers. The Broncos are the first team out at 10-6, as both Conference Champions from the previous season fail to make the post-season.
1st: New England Patriots (13-3)
2nd Kansas City Chiefs (13-3)
3rd: Pittsburgh Steelers (10-6)
4th: Indianapolis Colts (8-8)
5th: Oakland Raiders (12-4)
6th: Baltimore Ravens (10-6)
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7th: Denver Broncos (10-6)
Now, let’s take a look at the NFC. How have all sixteen teams fared through the first 13 weeks of the NFL season?
NFC
Eliminated:
San Francisco 49ers
All alone in the NFC’s “eliminated from the playoffs” oblivion are the hopeless 49ers. In my opinion (an opinion which has not changed since before the season even started), this is the worst team in the NFL. San Francisco just laid an all-time stinker last weekend by getting embarrassed in Chicago. Playing against one of their fellow horrible teams, the Niners recorded a pathetic six yards of passing offense. In the modern NFL, that is basically unfathomable. It was a true team effort, as Chip Kelly refused to let Kaepernick throw the ball. Kaepernick chose to continuously get sacked, rather than throw the ball on the few pass plays that were even called. And, Jed York and Trent Baalke are finally finding out what alienating a fanbase, moving to Santa Clara, raising ticket prices, firing a top NFL coach, releasing and trading your best players, and staying way under the salary cap does to a franchise. IT MAKES THAT FRANCHISE TERRIBLE. Unfortunately, for Niner fans, none of this appears to be changing anytime soon. Ownership is inept, the stadium sucks, and only the rich can afford season tickets to go watch the worst team in the NFL lose, before they have to make the 40+ mile drive back to their homes in San Francisco.
Basically Eliminated:
Philadelphia Eagles
Carolina Panthers
Los Angeles Rams
Chicago Bears
The Eagles could realistically string together four wins and make the playoffs, but there is little hope for that. Wentz has finally begun to show his true colors, and they are not pretty. He has regressed to the norm for rookie quarterbacks. The Eagles are yet to win a divisional game, and I don’t expect that to change anytime soon in this year’s version of the superpowered NFC East.
The sad Cam Newton tour continues. I watched Seattle decimate Carolina 40-7, and maybe it’s just Cam’s style, but that guy looked like he could care less about completing passes. Cam has checked out, and so to have the rest of the Carolina players. The 15-1 regular season, regular season MVP, and Conference Championship of last year seem like a long, long time ago.
The Rams suck! They play some great defense sometimes (except when they gave up 49 points to the Saints), but they are absolutely horrid at moving the ball on offense. I have not watched enough Rams games to know what the problem is, but something needs to be fixed. On the plus side (?), Los Angeles was the only team to lose to San Francisco this year! What a great way to remember a successful season. How does Jeff Fisher still have his job?...
Even when Jay Cutler has been healthy, the Bears have been awful for a number of years. Jay Cutler is the Jeff Fisher of quarterbacks. He has had inexplicably great job security, even though he is mediocre at his job. It seems as though the Cutler saga is finally coming to an end in Chicago. The only question now is what unlucky franchise (Jets) will take on Cutler and what is most likely going to be an overpriced contract (Jets) next season?!
You’re Saying There’s a Chance?:
Arizona Cardinals
New Orleans Saints
Minnesota Vikings
Green Bay Packers
Arizona is only 1.5 games out of the wild card; however, they are really bad. Carson Palmer is bad. The defense is bad. David Johnson is… INCREDIBLE. What a waste of a great talent. David Johnson would probably be in the MVP conversation if the Cardinals weren’t so bad this season. Unfortunately, Arizona will likely have to win their final four games to even have a chance at grabbing the 6th seed and final wild card spot.
The Saints have actually looked like a solid team this year, and I wouldn’t count them out just yet. New Orleans is just two games out of the NFC South lead, and three of their final four games will be against Tampa Bay and Atlanta (weird scheduling), who are the two teams that sit above them in the NFC South standings. Still, even if the Saints win out, they will most likely need the Falcons to lose three of their final four to have a chance at the division. That seems unlikely, considering the fact that New Orleans are the best team left on Atlanta’s schedule (Rams, Niners, Panthers, Saints).
Similarly to the other two teams in this category, Minnesota and Green Bay may need to win out if they hope to make the playoffs. I like both of these teams’ chances at winning the division more than I like their chances of winning the wild card. Green Bay will always be a threat with Aaron Rodgers behind center. So, I would still be a little nervous if I was a fan of Detroit. As for the Vikings, Minnesota will never be a threat with Sam Bradford behind center. So, I would not even be a little nervous about that if I was a fan of Detroit. Sam Bradford sucks.
In the Mix:
Seattle Seahawks
Detroit Lions
Atlanta Falcons
New York Giants
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Washington Redskins
In my eyes, the Seahawks are not quite in that “Top Contenders” group. A win in Green Bay this weekend could change that. Seattle has been terribly inconsistent this season. Their offense has oscillated from “worst in the NFL” to “maybe actually good” over and over this season. The Seattle offense has scored less than seven points three times this season, scoring 3 points against Los Angeles, 6 against Arizona, and 5 against Tampa Bay. Even if those awful performances are just odd anomalies, those games should be concerning for Seahawks fans. Seattle will need to close the season out strong if they hope to have multiple home games in the playoffs, which has proven to be incredibly important for the Seahawksov er the last few years. The same has been true for this season (Home: 6-0, Away: 2-3-1).
Detroit is shockingly only a half game behind Seattle for the race for second in the NFC. I’m not sure how the Lions have put it together this season, but whatever they are doing must be working. Minnesota and Green Bay will have to close the season strong if either of them hopes to catch Detroit. For the Lions, holding onto the division lead will be tough, as their final three games are against the Giants, Cowboys, and Packers. The NFC North title may very well come down to their Week 17 matchup against Green Bay.
The Falcons have looked like one of the top teams in the league in spurts this season. As already mentioned, Atlanta finishes the season with four very winnable games, so I like their chances at pushing Seattle and Detroit for the two seed, assuming they win their final four games.
The Giants are stuck in no man’s land. New York has almost no shot at winning the division, and it would take a decent collapse for them to fall out of the playoffs all together. The Giants will get their chance to prove themselves this weekend, as they look to sweep the season series with Dallas.
The Buccaneers are nipping at the heels of the Falcons for the NFC South crown. Winston is finally starting to look like an NFL quarterback, while being surrounded by a very solid roster of NFL talent. Unfortunately, Tampa Bay’s final four games are a little tougher than Atlanta’s. The Bucs will have to step it up down the stretch if they hope to make the playoffs this season.
Sitting a half game out of the wild card race are the Redskins. I only have one question about Washington… Are they actually any good? I’m not really sure. Can someone let me know? Otherwise, I’ll just have to let you know whether or not they are playoff quality in four weeks.
Top Contenders:
Dallas Cowboys
I only consider one NFC team to be in the elite group of “top contenders,” and that would be the Cowboys. Dallas has already clinched a playoff berth, and they will most likely be able to clinch homefield advantage throughout the playoffs before the final week of the season. Ezekiel Elliot and Dak Prescott have been unbelievably good this year. The offensive line is certainly making their lives’ easier, but that should not diminish just how successful these two phenomenal young players have been this season. The only question now is how far will the Cowboys go?
NFC Predictions:
The Cowboys secure homefield advantage throughout the playoffs with two weeks to spare, cruising to a 13-3 finish. Seattle just barely holds onto the second seed, staving off challenges from Detroit and Atlanta. The Falcons finish the season on a four game winning streak, carrying a lot of momentum into the playoffs. The Packers outdo the Falcon’s winning streak, by winning their final six games of the season, en route to the NFC North crown. Detroit salvages the season by grabbing a wild card berth, setting up a rematch of their Week 17 game against the Packers. Tampa Bay catches fire at the end of the season, securing the sixth seed. The Giants find a way to blow it, crashing out of the playoffs as the 7th seed, thanks to being on the unfortunate end of a four-way tie-breaker between all of the NFC’s 10-6 teams.
1st: Dallas Cowboys (13-3)
2nd: Seattle Seahawks (11-4-1)
3rd: Atlanta Falcons (11-5)
4th: Green Bay Packers (10-6)
5th: Detroit Lions (10-6)
6th: Tampa Bay Buccaneers (10-6)
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7th: New York Giants (10-6)
Enjoy the final quarter of the NFL season. Go Raiders!
