NFL Playoff Picture: Seahawks, Colts knocking on the door
Thanksgiving is in the rearview mirror and the playoff picture is becoming much clearer.
With only five Sundays remaining in the season, it's time to get a lay of the land and the route to the postseason.
AFC
| Seed | Team | Division | Record |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chiefs | West | 9-2 |
| 2 | Patriots | East | 8-3 |
| 3 | Texans | South | 7-3 |
| 4 | Steelers | North | 7-3-1 |
| 5 | Chargers | West | 8-3 |
| 6 | Ravens | North | 6-5 |
The Chiefs remain a game up on the rest of the competition in the AFC despite their loss in Week 11.
It should come as no surprise, but the Patriots have the AFC East all but wrapped up. They own a three-game lead in the division with five games to play.
The end of the Steelers' winning streak has opened the door for the Texans to vault into the third seed and for the Ravens to catch them in the AFC North.
In the hunt
| Seed | Team | Division | Record |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7 | Colts | South | 6-5 |
| 8 | Titans | South | 5-5 |
| 9 | Dolphins | East | 5-6 |
| 10 | Bengals | North | 5-6 |
| 11 | Broncos | West | 5-6 |
The Colts will be ardent observers of the Texans-Titans battle on Monday night. They'll sit a game back of the Texans with a Titans win. All three teams remain in the thick of the wild-card hunt.
NFC
| Seed | Team | Division | Record |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Saints | South | 10-1 |
| 2 | Rams | West | 10-1 |
| 3 | Bears | North | 8-3 |
| 4 | Cowboys | East | 6-5 |
| 5 | Vikings | North | 6-4-1 |
| 6 | Redskins | East | 6-5 |
The Saints are the class of the NFC and are pulling away in what some thought was the toughest division in football. Currently, the vaunted NFC South would produce just one playoff team.
The Rams needed just a Seahawks loss to clinch the NFC West. They'll have to wait until next week to try and claim division supremacy.
The Bears and Cowboys are in the driver's seat in their respective divisions. The East and North should produce some of the more entertaining races to the finish line.
In the hunt
| Seed | Team | Division | Record |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7 | Seahawks | West | 6-5 |
| 8 | Panthers | South | 6-5 |
| 9 | Eagles | East | 5-6 |
| 10 | Packers | North | 4-6-1 |
The Seahawks won a de facto playoff game with the Panthers and are teetering on the frame of the playoff picture.
The Packers - losers of four of their last five - are all but buried. What's the opposite of relax?