Whether you’re a pessimist (realist?) or optimist, we’ve got you covered as we wrap up Week 10 and head into Week 11.
The NFL has just about wrapped up Week 10 action, but our San Francisco 49ers get to close it out. The 49ers host the New York Giants on Monday Night Football to close out the week. It’s slightly notable for the draft pick implications, but plenty of us are hoping for another big game from quarterback Nick Mullens.
We’re back once again with a look at NFL standings from a couple different perspectives. We’ll be breaking down the draft order, since the San Francisco 49ers are firmly in the mix for the top pick in the 2019 NFL Draft. We will also break down the playoff picture since most of us will pay at least passing interest in the playoffs come January.
2019 NFL Draft order
Sunday brought a couple notable wins to shake up the draft order. The Bills thumped the Jets, and the Browns had their way with the Falcons. Buffalo improved to 3-7 and Cleveland improved to 3-6-1, which means we now have seven teams with three wins. The 49ers would make it eighth with a win over the Giants.
The Raiders currently hold the top pick in the draft with their 1-8 record following a loss to the Chargers. The Giants sit second and the 49ers are third. The Bills dropped from fourth to sixth, with Arizona and the Jets climbing ahead of them.
The 49ers and Giants will shake up the top few spots in the draft order when they square off tonight. If the 49ers win they would improve to 3-7, and likely be in the sixth spot behind the Jets. In that case, the Giants would move into the No. 1 spot. If the 49ers lost, they would drop to 2-8, while the Giants would improve to 2-7. The 49ers would move into the second spot with a half game lead heading into the bye.
The biggest matchup in Week 11 for draft purposes features the 2-7 Cardinals hosting the 1-8 Raiders. We also have the 3-6 Bucs traveling to face the currently 1-7 Giants. The 49ers are on a bye and will be keeping an eye on these two games in particular.
Here is the top 11 in the draft order heading into Monday Night Football. With so many teams sitting with three wins, the 49ers would enter a sizable pack with a win over the Giants.
1. Oakland Raiders (1-8 — .557)
2. New York Giants (1-7 — .521)
3. San Francisco 49ers (2-7 — .500)
4. Arizona Cardinals (2-7 — .537)
5. New York Jets (3-7 — .487)
6. Buffalo Bills (3-7 — .529)
7. Detroit Lions (3-6 — .514)
8. Denver Broncos (3-6 — .530)
9. Jacksonville Jaguars (3-6 — .531)
10. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (3-6 — .542)
11. Cleveland Browns (3-6-1 — .555)
2019 NFL playoffs
We did not have a lot of change in the playoff picture, but there was one notable move in the AFC playoff picture. The Patriots were thumped in Tennessee, dropping to 7-3 and falling from the second seed to the third seed. The rest of the current AFC and NFC playoff entrants remained the same.
The Chiefs and Rams both won to remain atop the conferences. The Chiefs hold a 2.5 game lead on the Steelers in the AFC, but only a game and a half lead on the Chargers in the AFC West. Meanwhile, the Rams hold a half game lead on the Saints, who beat them head-to-head. Both teams are unlikely to win out, but if they did, New Orleans would move ahead of them for the top seed.
Week 11 will bring two massive inter-conference matchups. The Chiefs and Rams square off in Mexico City on Monday Night Football, and 6-3 Washington hosts 6-3 Houston Sunday morning. For Washington, this is particularly huge because 4-5 Philadelphia travels to face the Saints while 4-5 Dallas travels to face Atlanta. Washington holds a two-game lead in the division, and this presents a real chance to go up three games in the NFC East with six remaining.
NFC playoff picture
1. Los Angeles Rams (9-1)
2. New Orleans Saints (8-1)
3. Chicago Bears (6-3)
4. Washington (6-3)
5. Carolina Panthers (6-3)
6. Minnesota Vikings (5-3-1)
AFC playoff picture
1. Kansas City Chiefs (9-1)
2. Pittsburgh Steelers (6-2-1)
3. New England Patriots (7-3)
4. Houston Texans (6-3)
5. Los Angeles Chargers (7-2)
6. Cincinnati Bengals (5-4)
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