There is still one game remaining in the NFC, which takes place on Monday night when the Philadelphia Eagles play the Los Angeles Chargers. Regardless of whether they win or lose, the Eagles will remain the third seed since they are up multiple games in the win column for the NFC West.
Let’s take a look at the updated NFC playoff picture now that the seedings are locked in:
NFC Playoff picture through Week 14
1) Los Angeles Rams 10-3 (5-3 in the NFC)
2) Green Bay Packers 9-3 (7-2-1)
3) Philadelphia Eagles 8-4 ( 7-3)
4) Tampa Bay Buccaneers 7-6 (5-4)
5) Seattle Seahawks 10-3 (6-3)
6) San Francisco 49ers 9-4 (8-2)
7) Chicago Bears 9-4 (6-3)
8) Detroit Lions 8-5 (5-4)
9) Carolina Panthers 7-6 (5-3)
10 Dallas Cowboys 6-6-1 (3-5-1)
The Bears put up a heck of a fight against the Packers, but it goes to show you how fickle these standings are from week to week. They go from being the top seed after Week 13 to having their playoff hopes hanging on for dear life.
Chicago would go back to Lambeau Field and have a rematch with Green Bay if the playoffs started today. They do not.
The 49ers move up one spot to the sixth seed and are once again on track to play the Eagles. The bigger story from Sunday is the 49ers’ Week 16 opponent losing its starting quarterback. Kyle Shanahan and company would prefer to face Philly or Tampa Bay, if that’s how things ended up.
The Seahawks beat up on the Falcons on the scoreboard in a 37-9 route, but that was a 6-6 game heading into halftime before the Falcons went full Falcons. Still, it goes to show you how potent the operation around Darnold is. Seattle would go to Tampa Bay to play the Buccaneers in the Wild Card round as it currently stands.
The Bucs look like a team limping into the playoff race, and that was true before they lost to the Saints. Tampa Bay has two games remaining against the Panthers, which will likely determine who wins the NFC South. Of the lower seeds, it’ll be interesting to see if there’s a way to play yourself into the 5-seed so you can play the Bucs.
The Bears gained 315 yards on a usually stout Packers defense. Not many teams do that. But the Packers also had 337 yards and gained 6.5 yards per play. They are going to be a tough out and, in my opinion, are the team to beat in the NFC.
That’s saying something, as the new No. 1-seeded Rams scored 45 points on the road against the Cardinals. Arizona looked like a team with nothing to play for. Some of those teams can be dangerous at the end of the season. The Cardinals looked lifeless. After an upset loss, we didn’t learn anything about the Rams today. They travel to Seattle next week.
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