As the regular season of the NFL reaches Week 13, the anticipation and excitement surrounding the impending playoffs continue to boil.
The NFL playoff picture is beginning to take shape, with teams jockeying for coveted postseason berths and playoff positioning. As battles intensify and the stakes skyrocket, fans are eagerly analyzing the standings, tiebreakers and potential matchups that will define the road to the Super Bowl.
The AFC playoff picture features a plethora of teams all vying for spots. If the regular season were to end today, the Miami Dolphins and Baltimore Ravens would be champions of their respective divisions, while the defending Super Bowl champions, the Kansas City Chiefs and Jacksonville Jaguars are both 8-4 and would currently own the three and four seeds.
Then, we enter a heated and tightly contested wild card battle. Three spots are available and are currently possessed by three, 7-5 teams: the Pittsburgh Steelers, Indianapolis Colts and Cleveland Browns. However, no spot is safe as the Denver Broncos (6-6), Houston Texans (7-5), Buffalo Bills (6-6) and Cincinnati Bengals (6-6) are knocking on the playoff door. There is almost no room for error with only five games left.
Many had predicted a tight wildcard battle for a loaded AFC, but they could not have predicted that playoff regulars, the Bills and Bengals, would currently be on the outside looking in. In addition, quarterback injuries have haunted this conference with Colts starter Anthony Richardson, Browns QB Deshaun Watson and Bengals QB Joe Burrow all unavailable for the rest of the season and teams like the Steelers and Jaguars could be without their starters for the next few weeks.
Moving to the NFC, the picture also remains complex. The Philadelphia Eagles (10-2) and the San Francisco 49ers (9-3) are unsurprisingly sitting at the top of the conference and are the odds on favorites to win the NFC. They are followed by the 9-3 Detroit Lions who have a stronghold on the NFC North.
The NFC South is heavily contested with three teams realistically battling for spots. The Atlanta Falcons (6-6) have control of the top spot, but two 5-7 teams, the New Orleans Saints and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, are just a game behind Atlanta.
Wildcard spots in this conference are also at a premium. The 9-3 Dallas Cowboys are in firm control of the top spot, with several squads emerging as contenders for the last two wildcard spots. The surging Green Bay Packers (6-6), led by rising star Jordan Love, do not play a team with a winning record for the rest of the season and have won four of the last five games, while the Seattle Seahawks (6-6) face a much more difficult schedule and have lost two in a row to find themselves out of a current playoff spot.
The Minnesota Vikings (6-6) find themselves in a playoff spot, but after a loss to the Bears, they are questioning their quarterback play from Joshua Dobbs. The last team in the hunt is the Los Angeles Rams (6-6) who are fresh off a win over the Browns. As the playoff picture crystallizes, the NFL is gearing up for a thrilling conclusion to the regular season.