For all intents and purposes
There are just two weeks to go in the 2024 NFL regular season, and thanks to how some things went this past week we’ve gotten a bit of clarification in the NFC playoff picture. There are quite a few things to discuss, so let’s get to them.
As we’ve done for the past few weeks, here is exactly how the playoff picture in the NFC currently shakes out, along with some odds from our friends at FanDuel.
#1 seed – Detroit Lions (13-2, 1st place NFC North, clinched playoff spot, -290 to win division, +450 to win Super Bowl)
The Lions beat the Bears on Sunday, and this time they didn’t even need a complete meltdown from Chicago’s coaching staff to get it done. Progress! It’s worth noting that they still haven’t wrapped up the division yet, but we’ll get more into that in a little bit. For now, they remain in the driver’s seat.
Week 17 opponent: at San Francisco (Monday night)
#2 seed – Philadelphia Eagles (12-3, 1st place NFC East, clinched playoff spot, +650 to win Super Bowl)
The Eagles, effectively, took themselves out of the running for the top seed in the NFC with their loss to Washington on Sunday. They need just one more win to wrap up the East and finish the season at home against Dallas and New York, so there’s no reason to think that they won’t be the 2 seed in this year’s NFC postseason party. I’m not even sure if there’s a scenario that could see them jump to #1 since Minnesota and Detroit can’t both lose out and I believe they lose a tiebreaker with either of them.
Week 17 opponent: vs Dallas (Sunday late)
#3 seed – Los Angeles Rams (9-6, 1st place NFC West, -750 to win division, +2800 to win Super Bowl)
Thanks to Seattle’s loss against Minnesota, the Rams are now a full game up on the rest of the NFC West. This is still a team that nobody wants to see in the playoffs, even though the offense has been a lot less dynamic over the past couple of weeks. Is their season finale against Seattle at SoFi stadium going to mean anything? That remains to be seen.
Week 17 opponent: vs Arizona (Saturday late)
#4 seed – Atlanta Falcons (8-7, 1st place NFC South, +115 to win division, +9000 to win Super Bowl)
Yes, the Falcons have managed to leapfrog Tampa Bay back into the top spot in the NFC South thanks to their win over New York on Sunday and Tampa stumbling against Dallas on Sunday night. Atlanta has a tough one coming on Sunday night, but it’s worth remembering that they do currently have the tiebreaker advantage over Tampa because of their head-to-head sweep. Oh, and they’re navigating a quarterback change, too.
Week 17 opponent: at Washington (Sunday Night Football)
#5 seed – Minnesota Vikings (13-2, 2nd place NFC North, clinched playoff spot, +240 to win division, +1100 to win Super Bowl)
Again, the Vikings control their own destiny. If they win their final two games, they’re the top seed in the NFC regardless of what anyone else does. They’re also facing the toughest schedule in the league over these final two weeks because, well, they’re both divisional games and the NFC North is by far the best division in the NFL this year. If they can pull it off, they’ll certainly have earned their spot.
Week 17 opponent: vs Green Bay (Sunday early)
#6 seed – Green Bay Packers (10-4, 3rd place NFC North, +1300 to win Super Bowl)
I don’t think the Packers actually have a chance to win the division at this point, but they can wrap up a playoff spot on Monday night. If they lose, they’ll be trying to hold off Washington for playoff positioning as well. They should find their way to the postseason here eventually, but they haven’t gotten there yet. If the Packers should lose on Monday night, they will drop to the 7 spot based on having a worse conference record than Washington.
Week 16/17 opponents: vs New Orleans (Monday Night Football)/at Minnesota (Sunday early)
#7 seed – Washington Commanders (10-5, 2nd place NFC East, +2700 to win Super Bowl)
Well, the Commanders did what they needed to do to keep their divisional chances alive with their thrilling win over the Eagles on Sunday. The deck is really stacked against it happening, but there’s still a small chance. Still, the Commanders making it to the playoffs is an impressive accomplishment, and they could be looking at Round 3 with the Eagles on Wild Card weekend.
Week 17 opponent: vs Atlanta (Sunday Night Football)
Outside Looking In
#8 seed – Tampa Bay Buccaneers (8-7, 2nd place NFC South, ahead of Seattle based on conference record)
Week 17 opponent: vs Carolina (Sunday early)
#9 seed – Seattle Seahawks (8-7, 2nd place NFC West)
Week 17 opponent: at Chicago (Thursday Night Football)
#10 seed – Dallas Cowboys (7-8, 3rd place NFC East, eliminated from playoff contention)
Week 17 opponent: at Philadelphia (Sunday late)
#11 seed – Arizona Cardinals (7-8 3rd place NFC West, eliminated from playoff contention)
Week 17 opponent: at Los Angeles Rams (Saturday night)
#12 seed – San Francisco 49ers (6-9, 4th place NFC West, eliminated from playoff contention)
Week 17 opponent: vs Detroit (Monday Night Football)
#13 seed – New Orleans Saints (5-9, 3rd place NFC South, eliminated from playoff contention)
Week 16/17 opponents: at Green Bay (Monday Night Football)/vs Las Vegas (Sunday early)
#14 seed – Chicago Bears (4-11, 4th place NFC North, eliminated from playoff contention)
Week 17 opponents: vs Seattle (Thursday Night Football)
#15 seed – Carolina Panthers (4-11, 4th place NFC South, eliminated from playoff contention)
Week 17 opponents: at Tampa Bay (Sunday early)
#16 seed – New York Giants (2-13, 4th place NFC East, eliminated from playoff contention)
Week 17 opponents: vs Indianapolis (Sunday early)
That’s a complete look at the playoff picture in the NFC, folks. It’s going to be an exciting final two weeks of the season. . .well, for some teams, anyway.
