With the Jets needing an overtime field goal tonight to finally put away the Patriots, a lot of things got a lot clearer in the playoff picture in the AFC. But even though it cleared up the East division leader, it created more of a mess with teams vying for a wild card spot.
NFC
1. New York Giants, 8-1, (East) – Bye
2. Carolina Panthers, 7-2, (South) – Bye
3. Arizona Cardinals, 6-3, (West)
4. Chicago Bears, 5-4, (North)
5. Washington Redskins, 6-3
6. Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 6-3
7. Atlanta Falcons, 6-3
8. Minnesota Vikings, 5-4
9. Dallas Cowboys, 5-4
10. Philadelphia Eagles, 5-4
11. Green Bay Packers, 4-5
12. New Orleans Saints, 4-5
13. Seattle Seahawks, 2-7
14. St. Louis Rams, 2-7
15. San Francisco, 2-7
16. Detroit Lions, 0-9
AFC
1. Tennessee Titans, 9-0, (South) – Bye
2. New York Jets, 7-3, (East) – Bye
3. Pittsburgh Steelers, 6-3 (North)
4. Denver Broncos, 6-3 (West)
5. Baltimore Ravens, 6-3
6. New England Patriots, 6-4
7. Indianapolis Colts, 5-4
8. Miami Dolphins, 5-4
9. Buffalo Bills, 5-4
10. San Diego Chargers, 4-5
11. Jacksonville Jaguars, 4-5
12. Cleveland Browns, 3-6
13. Houston Texans, 3-6
14. Oakland Raiders, 2-7
15. Kansas City Chiefs, 1-8
16. Cincinnait Bengals, 1-8
There are a lot of teams that are still in the hunt for the playoffs as you can see by this. With the loss tonight the Patriots put themselves in a very bad situation. Right now New England holds the final AFC playoff spot, but a Colts win on Sunday will put the Colts ahead of the Patriots even though they would both be 6-4. The conference win percentage would break the tie and the Colts are currently 4-2 in the conference and the Patriots are 4-4. Right now the Colts and Dolphins both have winning records within the conference and the Bills are 3-3 with a chance to get above .500. As important as the head-to-head games are since that is the first tiebreaker, the conference records will play a major factor this season given how many teams have a chance at the postseason.
Aside from the Giants, Cardinals, and Titans, the other five divisions are wide open. Before the season I picked the following playoff teams:
NFC East – New York Giants
NFC North – Green Bay Packers
NFC West – Seattle Seahawks
NFC South – Tampa Bay Buccaneers
WC – Dallas Cowboys
WC- Philadelphia Eagles
AFC East – New England Patriots
AFC North – Pittsburgh Steelers
AFC West – San Diego Chargers
AFC South – Indianapolis Colts
WC – Jacksonville Jaguars
WC – Tennessee Titans
As of right now only five of those 12 picks are correct, though the Colts could get in on Sunday and that would make it six. But either way there is a still long way to go in the season and I am sure the teams in the postseason picture will change several times between now and Week 17. And some divisions and wild cards will most likely come down to the final day of the season. Seven exciting weeks left.