NFC Playoff Picture with Two Weeks Remaining

With two weeks left in the NFL season, the postseason picture is starting to come into focus. Four playoff spots in the NFC are already spoken for, and two of the remaining three will go to division winners; teams are running out of time to make their final push.

Let’s run through each NFC division and the conference’s wild card race to see where things stand after 16 weeks and identify which teams still have a chance to make the playoffs. Everything below is true before any of the Christmas-week games have been played.

NFC East

Washington’s comeback win over the Eagles left them with the slightest amount of life in the division race. Most likely, the Commanders will end up as the sixth or seventh seed alongside the Packers.

Philadelphia is still in contention for the top seed, but their Week 16 loss is devastating to those hopes. Philly needs to win both remaining games against the Cowboys and Giants and hope for help from both the Lions and Vikings. The Eagles will most likely be the No. 2 seed.

The Cowboys were eliminated during Week 16 despite beating Tampa Bay on Sunday night. Dallas has plenty of questions to answer regarding their coach and a roster that was the second seed in the NFC last season.

The New York Giants are the lone team with two wins, putting them in position for the top pick in the draft. Maybe the team most in need of a quarterback, New York is about to have their chance at the next face of the franchise.

NFC North

Detroit has assured themselves of at least playing for the division when they face Minnesota in Week 18. Both teams sit atop the conference at 13-2, but the Lions won 31-29 when they faced off in Week 6 and currently hold the tiebreaker. Detroit will win the tiebreaker if the teams finish with the same record.

The Vikings have a tough game this week when they host the Packers. They probably need to win that game to have any chance at winning the North and the top seed. If Minnesota ends up at the top of the NFC, they will have earned it. The team that doesn’t win the division is likely the No. 5 seed and will travel to play the lowest division winner.

Speaking of Green Bay, they follow the Vikings game this week by finishing the season at home against the Bears. The Packers locked in their playoff spot by beating the Saints on Monday night and will likely be the sixth or seventh seed alongside the Commanders.

Chicago started the season with hope but has fizzled to a 4-11 record, leading to the firing of head coach Matt Eberflus and change coming this offseason.

NFC South

The Atlanta Falcons and Tampa Bay Buccaneers are tied at the top of the division at 8-7. The Falcons won both meetings between the teams and hold the tiebreaker, so Tampa needs to pick up a game somewhere in the next two weeks to win the division.

• Falcons Remaining Schedule: Week 17 @ Commanders, Week 18 vs. Panthers
• Bucs Remaining Schedule: Week 17 vs. Panthers, Week 18 vs. Saints

Tampa Bay has the easier remaining schedule. They will be favored at home against both Carolina and New Orleans, while Atlanta will be underdogs when they travel to Washington this week. Only the division winner is likely to make the playoffs, making every game a must-win for both teams.

New Orleans had faint playoff hopes that ended in Week 16 even before they were blown out by the Packers on Monday night. They are 5-10, one game ahead of the Panthers, who are showing a little life late but need to add a lot of talent to the roster to become a winning football team.

NFC West

The Los Angeles Rams and Seattle Seahawks are left battling for the division. Arizona’s overtime loss to the Panthers knocked them out of the playoff hunt, an embarrassing way to see their playoff hopes dashed, even if they were slight. The 49ers were devastated by injuries all season, finally catching up and knocking them out of the postseason hunt before their Week 16 game began.

LA is a game up (9-6, versus the 8-7 Seahawks) and has the best odds of winning the division. The Rams host the Cardinals this week before taking on Seattle in the last week of the season.

The Seahawks travel to Chicago in Week 17 before their trip to Los Angeles to close the year. The tiebreaker is still up in the air if the teams were to end up with the same record, so every game is big for both squads. Their matchup in Week 18 might decide the NFC West.

NFC Wild Card Race

Three teams in the NFC North have already clinched playoff spots, meaning just one wild card berth is up for grabs. The Commanders currently hold the seventh seed (10-5) and need just one win to claim their playoff spot: Week 17 hosting the Falcons or Week 18 visiting Dallas.

The Rams also have a slight chance of losing out on the NFC West title but still claiming a wild card spot if the Commanders were to lose both of their remaining contests, though the division crown is LA’s best path to the postseason.