With the New England Patriots heading into their bye week, now seems like a good time to take an early look at the NFL playoff races.
Here’s what the postseason would look like if the season ended today:
AFC
1. New England Patriots (8-1; AFC East leader)
2. Baltimore Ravens (6-2; AFC North leader)
3. Houston Texans (6-3; AFC South leader)
4. Kansas City Chiefs (6-3; AFC West leader)
5. Buffalo Bills (6-2; first wild card)
6. Indianapolis Colts (5-3; second wild card)
In the hunt: Pittsburgh Steelers (4-4), Oakland Raiders (4-4), Jacksonville Jaguars (4-5), Tennessee Titans (4-5), Los Angeles Chargers (4-5)
Long shots: Denver Broncos (3-6), Cleveland Browns (2-6), Miami Dolphins (1-7), New York Jets (1-7), Cincinnati Bengals (0-8)
NFC
1. San Francisco 49ers (8-0; NFC West leader)
2. New Orleans Saints (7-1; NFC South leader)
3. Green Bay Packers (7-2; NFC North leader)
4. Dallas Cowboys (5-3; NFC East leader)
5. Seattle Seahawks (7-2; first wild card)
6. Minnesota Vikings (6-3; second wild card)
In the hunt: Los Angeles Rams (5-3), Carolina Panthers (5-3), Philadelphia Eagles (5-4), Detroit Lions (3-4-1)
Long shots: Arizona Cardinals (3-5-1), Chicago Bears (3-5), Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2-6), New York Giants (2-7), Atlanta Falcons (1-7), Washington Redskins (1-8)
Some observations:
— Despite suffering their first loss of the season Sunday night in Baltimore, the Patriots remain atop the AFC standings entering Week 10. The Ravens now own the head-to-head tiebreaker, though, and would leapfrog New England if the teams finish the regular season with identical records.
Here’s the Patriots’ remaining schedule: bye, at Philly, vs. Dallas, at Houston, vs. Kansas City, at Cincinnati, vs. Buffalo, vs. Miami. Four of their final seven opponents currently sit inside the playoff picture, and the Eagles aren’t far back.
— The bottom half of the AFC East features two of the worst teams in football in the Jets and Dolphins, but the upstart Bills are just one game back of the division-leading Patriots, though New England holds the tiebreaker after winning in Buffalo in Week 4. The Bills have winnable games at Cleveland, at Miami and home against Denver coming up before kicking off a brutal late-season stretch: at Dallas, vs. Baltimore, at Pittsburgh, at New England in Weeks 13 through 16.
— Jimmy Garoppolo’s 49ers have enjoyed the most remarkable ascension this season, flying out to an 8-0 start after finishing last season 4-12. Conversely, the Bears (12-4 in 2018), Browns (7-8-1), Dolphins (7-9), Redskins (7-9) and Falcons (7-9) all have nosedived.
— The defending NFC champion Rams would miss the playoffs if the season ended today, and they have games against the Ravens, Cowboys, Seahawks and 49ers still to come.
— The Saints haven’t lost since Week 2, going 5-0 with backup quarterback Teddy Bridgewater at the controls before starter Drew Brees returned last week.
— Ben Roethlisberger’s injury hasn’t completely derailed the Steelers’ playoff hopes. They’ve won three straight following a 1-4 start and currently sit just one game back of the second wild-card spot in the AFC. Ditto for the Raiders, who remain in contention in their final season in Oakland despite playing one of the league’s toughest first-half schedules.
— This weekend’s slate of games isn’t particularly compelling, but the three primetime matchups (Chargers at Raiders on Thursday, Vikings at Cowboys on Sunday, Seahawks at 49ers on Monday) should be fun.
