NFC Playoff Picture2 of 2

1. Los Angeles Rams (10-3, leads NFC West)
2. Green Bay Packers (9-3-1, leads NFC North)
3. Philadelphia Eagles (8-5, leads NFC East)
4. Carolina Panthers (7-6, leads NFC South)

At this point, one can figure that the NFC’s No. 1 seed will either feature the NFC West champion or NFC North winner.

Right now, the 10-3 Rams have the edge, but for how long? A tough home game against the 8-5 Detroit Lions looms, followed by a road matchup against the 10-3 Seattle Seahawks.

However, if the Rams take care of business, the NFC West (and NFC) could be theirs. L.A. beat Seattle 21-19 earlier this year and would own the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Seahawks with another win.

Meanwhile, the 9-3-1 Green Bay Packers have to visit the 11-2 Denver Broncos and 9-4 Chicago Bears over the next two weeks. That’s a tough duo to deal with, but the Packers have less challenging games against a reeling 6-7 Baltimore Ravens team at home and a 5-8 Minnesota Vikings squad to end the season. If the Packers win three of four (including a victory over Chicago), the division is theirs.

5. Seattle Seahawks (10-3)
6. San Francisco 49ers (9-4)
7. Chicago Bears (9-4)

The Seattle Seahawks’ final four games are all against teams with winning records in the 8-5 Indianapolis Colts, 10-3 Los Angeles Rams, 7-6 Carolina Panthers and 9-4 San Francisco 49ers. That’s a treacherous road to say the least, but none of those teams are looking forward to seeing the Seahawks either. The Seahawks LAO control their own destiny to get the No. 1 seed.

The 49ers are in a better position in the NFC West than their record implies. They are 4-1 in the division and 8-2 in the conference. If they win out (that includes a home game over Seattle to end the season), then they will win the division if the Rams lose just one of their last four contests thanks to the conference record tiebreaker.

The Bears have a very winnable home game Sunday against the three-win Browns but then face the gauntlet of the Packers at home, the 49ers on the road and the Lions at home. They are in an interesting position whereas a No. 1 seed and missing out on the playoffs are both plausible. This is a tough and resilient team, though, that’s making noise in head coach Ben Johnson’s first year.

8. Detroit Lions (8-5)
9. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (7-7)
10. Dallas Cowboys (6-6-1)
11. Minnesota Vikings (5-8)

The Detroit Lions got a huge boost last Sunday when the Packers beat the Bears 28-21. The Lions have the head-to-head edge over the Bears, who sit a game ahead of them in the standings, by virtue of a 52-21 win in Week 2. They’ll also play the Bears in Week 18, and that matchup could very well determine the last playoff participant.

Meanwhile, the Buccaneers have to be bewildered after falling to 7-7. A 6-2 start is up in smoke. The good news is that they play the division-leading Carolina Panthers twice and control their own destiny. The bad news is the Panthers will take a one-game lead if they beat the New Orleans Saints on the road Sunday.

The Dallas Cowboys are staying alive by virtue of the Philadelphia Eagles’ monumental slide. The Eagles have lost three straight and only lead Dallas by a game-and-a-half in the NFC East. However, Philadelphia has two games against the 3-10 Washington Commanders and another versus the Las Vegas Raiders. If the Eagles take care of business against teams far lower in the standings and get to 11 wins, there’s nothing Dallas can do as it’s best hope is a 10-6-1 mark.

12. Atlanta Falcons (5-9)
13. Arizona Cardinals (3-10)
14. New Orleans Saints (3-10)
15. Washington Commanders (3-10)
16. New York Giants (3-10)