Vikings clinch playoff berth, Rams jump into playoff picture

A look at the NFC playoff race with three weeks left in the season.

Week 15 is complete and the NFL playoff race is heating up in the NFC. The Minnesota Vikings officially punched their ticket to the postseason, securing three teams’ places in the playoffs in the conference, joining the Detroit Lions and Philadelphia Eagles.

Three teams — the Carolina Panthers, New York Giants and Chicago Bears are all eliminated from playoff contention.

There two changes in the playoff standings in Week 15. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers moved up from the No. 4 seed to No. 3 and the Los Angeles Rams took over the NFC West lead, knocking the Seattle Seahawks out of the playoff picture currently, and moving into the No. 4 seed.

Let’s have a look at the current standings in the NFC.

NFC playoff standings in Week 16

  1. Detroit Lions, 12-2
  2. Philadelphia Eagles, 12-2
  3. Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 8-6
  4. Los Angeles Rams, 8-6
  5. Minnesota Vikings, 12-2
  6. Green Bay Packers, 10-4
  7. Washington Commanders, 9-5

In the mix are the 8-6 Seahawks, the 7-7 Arizona Cardinals and 7-7 Atlanta Falcons.

The Lions, Eagles and Vikings all have the same record. The Lions hold a head-to-head tiebreaker over the Vikings to give them the division lead, and they have a better conference record than the Eagles (8-1 vs. 7-2), which gives Detroit the edge for the No. 1 seed.

The Rams hold a head-to-head tiebreaker over Seattle, giving them the division lead despite having the same 8-6 record as Seattle.

Tampa leads Atlanta by a game. The Bucs must maintain a better record than the Falcons. Atlanta beat them twice this season and own a head-to-head tiebreaker.

Week 15 results that mattered

  • The Lions had their winning streak snapped as they lost to the Buffalo Bills 48-42.
  • The Eagles beat the Pittsburgh Steelers 27-13 at home.
  • The Bucs beat the L.A. Chargers 40-17, scoring 30 unanswered points after trailing 17-10. Baker Mayfield threw four touchdown passes.
  • The Rams beat the San Francisco 49ers 12-6 on Thursday night.
  • The Vikings blew out the Chicago Bears 30-12 on Monday night, allowing the Bears to convert on third down once in 12 attempts.
  • The Packers blew out the Seahawks 30-13 in Seattle.
  • The Commanders survived a 20-19 win over the New Orleans Saints, who after scoring a touchdown as time expired in the game, failed to convert the two-point conversion that would have given them the win.
  • The Cardinals snapped a three-game losing streak with a 30-17 win over the New England Patriots, behind 110 rushing yards and two touchdowns by James Conner.
  • The Falcons snapped a four-game skid with an unimpressive 15-9 road win over the Las Vegas Raiders.

Week 16 key games in NFC playoff race

  • The Lions are on the road against the Bears.
  • The Eagles are on the road against the Commanders.
  • The Bucs play the Cowboys on the road.
  • The Rams play the New York Jets on the road.
  • Minnesota is on the road against the Seahawks.
  • The Packers host the Saints on Monday night.
  • The Cardinals play the Panthers on the road.
  • The Falcons are at home against the struggling Giants.

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