The ticket will be punched soon
With tonight’s Monday Night Football matchup being an all-AFC affair, we can go ahead and start taking a look at the playoff picture in the NFC. As has been the case since we started doing these, the Minnesota Vikings are in a prime position to make their return to the playoff party after a one-year absence and are still in play for the top overall seed in the conference if a couple things break their way.
Having said that, let’s take a look at the NFC playoff picture as things stand heading into Week 14, with some of the betting odds for each team provided by our friends from FanDuel.
#1 seed – Detroit Lions (11-1, 1st place NFC North, -470 to win division, +270 to win Super Bowl)
If Matt Eberflus and Caleb Williams knew anything about clock management, the top of the NFC might look a bit different right now. But, they don’t, so Detroit remains locked into the top spot for another week. The Lions still have the best record in the conference but they’re not exactly running through teams like they were a few weeks ago. Still, the Vikings are hoping for a stumble at some point. Perhaps it will come this week.
Week 14 opponent: vs Green Bay (Thursday night)
#2 seed – Philadelphia Eagles (10-2, 1st place NFC East, -7000 to win division, +550 to win Super Bowl)
Yeah, that’s a minus seven thousand for the Eagles winning their division. They’re not going to be caught in the NFC East so now they’re also hoping for a stumble from Detroit in an effort to jump into the top spot in the conference. They have what should be a layup this coming week but there are a couple of tougher games on the horizon. Still, this team will be a top-2 seed when the postseason rolls around.
Week 14 opponent: vs Carolina (Sunday early)
#3 seed – Seattle Seahawks (7-5, 1st place NFC West, -XXX to win division, +5500 to win Super Bowl)
Someone’s going to win the NFC West, and right now the team that’s in the best position to do that is Seattle. They got the job done on Sunday against a New York Jets team that has been one of the league’s worst this season and now hold a one-game lead over both Arizona and Los Angeles in their division. Seattle and Arizona will meet again this week, and if the Seahawks can complete the sweep they started in Week 12, they could take control of the NFC West.
Week 14 opponent: at Arizona (Sunday late)
#4 seed – Atlanta Falcons (6-6, 1st place NFC South, -145 to win division, +9000 to win Super Bowl, ahead of Tampa Bay via head-to-head)
Remember a couple of weeks ago when I said that Atlanta would have to really, really screw things up to miss the playoffs? Well, they’re in the process of really, really screwing things up. They’ve lost their last three and now have to come to Minnesota in Week 14. They still have the head-to-head sweep of Tampa Bay in their pocket and a 4-1 division record, which will help with tiebreakers. Of course, it won’t matter if they don’t start winning football games.
Week 14 opponent: at Minnesota (Sunday early)
#5 seed – Minnesota Vikings (10-2, 2nd place NFC South, +600 to win division, +1700 to win Super Bowl)
Unless my math is off, the Vikings can clinch a playoff spot as early as Week 14 with a win. A couple of other things would need to happen, of course, but the Vikings will be punching their postseason ticket sooner rather than later. They’re four games clear of the “Outside Looking In” teams with five games left, so it would be just about impossible for them to drop out of the playoffs at this point.
Week 14 opponent: vs Atlanta (Sunday early)
#6 seed – Green Bay Packers (9-3, 3rd place NFC North, +1400 to win division, +1400 to win Super Bowl
The betting odds for the Packers remain laughable, but Green Bay continues to not give the Vikings any breathing room in the division race. The Vikings still have their head-to-head win over Green Bay, but these two teams will meet again in Week 17 at U.S. Bank Stadium in what’s going to be a big two-week stretch for the division race.
Week 14 opponent: at Detroit (Thursday night)
#7 seed – Washington Commanders (8-5, 2nd place NFC East, +2000 to win division, +7000 to win Super Bowl)
The Commanders got themselves right on Sunday afternoon at the expense of the Tennessee Titans. They’ll also be able to take advantage of a late bye week as they’ll be off in Week 14 along with five other teams. That could help Jayden Daniels to get himself back to full strength after dealing with a rib injury for some time. Their odds of a division title aren’t great, but if the Eagles should stumble there’s a small chance.
Week 14 opponent: Bye week
Outside Looking In
#8 seed – Tampa Bay Buccaneers (6-6, 2nd place NFC South, ahead of Arizona based on conference record)
Week 14 opponent: vs Las Vegas (Sunday early)
#9 seed – Arizona Cardinals (6-6, 2nd place NFC West, ahead of Los Angeles based on head-to-head)
Week 14 opponent: vs Seattle (Sunday late)
#10 seed – Los Angeles Rams (6-6, 3rd place NFC West)
Week 14 opponent: vs Chicago (Sunday late)
#11 seed – Dallas Cowboys (5-7, 3rd place NFC East, ahead of San Francisco based on conference record)
Week 14 opponent: vs Cincinnati (Monday night)
#12 seed – San Francisco 49ers (5-7, 4th place NFC West)
Week 14 opponent: vs Chicago (Sunday late)
#13 seed – New Orleans Saints (4-8, 3rd place NFC South, ahead of Chicago based on conference record)
Week 14 opponent: at New York Giants (Sunday early)
#14 seed – Chicago Bears (4-8, 4th place NFC North)
Week 14 opponent: at San Francisco (Sunday late)
#15 seed – Carolina Panthers (3-9, 4th place NFC South)
Week 14 opponent: at Philadelphia (Sunday early)
#16 seed – New York Giants (2-10, 4th place NFC East)
Week 14 opponent: vs New Orleans (Sunday early)
That’s a look at the playoff picture in the NFC as we head into Week 14, ladies and gentlemen. Here’s hoping that anything that can break in the Vikings’ favor this coming week does just that.
