With the Bucs firmly in the mix, here’s what the playoff picture in the NFC looks like as it stands.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are sitting pretty atop the NFC South. But other things — including who their potential playoff opponent will be — is up in the air.
As it stands, the win against the Green Bay Packers in Week 15 was huge. With that, the Bucs are essentially playoff bound if they defeat the New Orleans Saints on New Year’s Eve, they’re in — the Bucs have a 92% chance of winning the NFC South even if they do that and lose to both the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Carolina Panthers. Should the Bucs beat the Jaguars and the Saints lose to the Los Angeles Rams on Thursday, though, the team can clinch a playoff berth with a win over either the New Orleans Saints or the Carolina Panthers at the end of the year.
Who the Bucs play is another point of interest. It looks set to be either the Philadelphia Eagles or the Dallas Cowboys, depending on which one of those teams wins the division. If it’s the Cowboys, the Bucs get a rematch from Week 3 against the Philadelphia Eagles — if it’s the Eagles, the Bucs will get a rematch from last year’s wild card with the Dallas Cowboys.
Here is what the current playoff state looks like in the NFC as it stands:
The Bucs are near the top of the pack in the (extremely early) NFC playoff picture:
It’s early in the season, but so far, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are impressing in the National Football Conference heading into their bye week.
The team not only stands above its division in the NFC South with a 3-1 record, but they also currently hold the No. 3 seed in the entire NFC playoff picture and are the highest-ranked team with a loss, standing only under the Philadelphia Eagles and the San Francisco 49ers. The Bucs will have a tough game coming out of the bye, as they’ll play the No. 4-seeded Detroit Lions in Week 6.
Here is what the (extremely early) playoff picture looks like:
Check out what the current NFC standings look like and which teams are still in the mix.
Week 14 begins tonight with a Thursday night game between the Los Angeles Rams and Las Vegas Raiders. That game will have no impact on the NFC playoff picture.
The Rams are on the edge of elimination and the Raiders are in the AFC.
But before the games start in Week 14, let’s look at the NFC playoff picture.
Check out the latest edition of the show breaking down all that is going on with the Arizona Cardinals. It’s the best hour of Cardinals talk on the Web.
The Arizona Cardinals have clinched a spot in the NFL playoffs and the latest edition of the podcast talks about it. With Seth Cox away for the holidays, Revenge of the Birds podcast host Blake Murphy joined me on the show to talk about all that has been going on with the Cardinals.
We recorded the show on Tuesday night after the news of the passing of John Madden, so we began the show reminiscing about Madden from each of our perspectives. I, many years old than Blake, still remember his broadcaster days.
After that, we talk about how the Cardinals made the playoffs and whether it mattered. Did they back in? We break down the loss to the Colts, discuss what has to change in the final two games of the regular season, go over how the Cardinals can still win the division and then preview their Week 17 game against the Dallas Cowboys.
A big thanks to Blake for stepping in. Enjoy the show!
Enjoy the show with the embedded player above or by subscribing to the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or your favorite podcast platform, so you never miss a show. Make sure as well to give it a five-star rating!
Here are the timestamps for our different topics of the show.
(1:00) Intros and remembering John Madden
(6:54) Does it matter how the Cardinals made the postseason?
(18:32) What happened against the Colts?
(34:47) What do the Cardinals need to change in the final two games of the regular season?
(41:55) How can the Cardinals still win the NFC West?
The Cardinals need a win to clinch a postseason berth. There are six other ways to do it, but beating the Colts is the best way to go.
The Arizona Cardinals find themselves in a win-and-you’re-in scenario for the postseason for the third straight week. Able to clinch a playoff berth for the first time since 2015 each of the last two weeks with a win and failing to do so, they are in the same scenario in Week 16.
If they beat the Indianapolis Colts Saturday night, they lock in a postseason spot. It would be a relief for them to do it, as they are 0-4 over the last two seasons in playoff-clinching scenarios.
Last season, needing just one win over the final two games, they lost consecutive games to the San Francisco 49ers and Los Angeles Rams, going against backup quarterbacks.
This season, they lost a close Monday night game to the Rams 30-23 and then were embarrassed on the road against the Detroit Lions 30-12. The Lions had only one win all season entering that game.
Now they must do it against the 8-6 Colts, who have won five of their lats six games and have the best player in the NFL right now, running back Jonathan Taylor.
It is not the only way the Cardinals can clinch a playoff spot. There are six other possible and also plausible scenarios.
Even if they lose on Saturday, they will earn a playoff birth if there is:
An Eagles loss or tie against the Giants and a 49ers loss to the Titans.
An Eagles loss or tie with the Giants and a Vikings loss or tie with the Rams (although this would give the Rams the division lead).
An Eagles loss or tie with Giants and a Saints loss or tie with the Dolphins.
A Vikings loss or tie with the Rams and a 49ers loss to the Titans.
A Vikings loss or tie with the Rams and a Saints loss or tie with Dolphins.
A Saints loss or tie with the Dolphins and a 49ers loss to the Titans.
Obviously, the way we want the Cardinals to clinch is with a win. That takes care of everything else and maintains their lead in the division, no matter what the Rams do against the Vikings.
Plus, it would help stop the ugly narrative about the Cardinals being a bad team in December.
Getting to the playoffs is the goal. But backing in is not the way the team should have done it, especially with the start of the season they had.
After an awful 30-12 loss by the Arizona Cardinals to the Detroit Lions in Week 15, it appears they are falling apart like they did at the end of last season.
They are still in the lead in the NFC West, but the loss raises questions as to whether the Cardinals will win another game this season.
In this edition of the podcast, Revenge of the Birds’ Seth Cox and I give our level of panic regarding the Cardinals and their season. We also go over what went wrong in Detroit, where they stand in the NFC West race and preview their Week 16 Christmas game against the Indianapolis Colts.
Enjoy the show!
Enjoy the show with the embedded player above or by subscribing to the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or your favorite podcast platform, so you never miss a show. Make sure as well to give it a five-star rating!
Below are the approximate timestamps for the topics we discussed.
(1:00) Is it time to panic?
(12:39) What went wrong against the Lions?
(31:45) What do they have to do to win the NFC West still?
Win and you’re in! The Cardinals will lock in a postseason spot with a Week 14 win over the Los Angeles Rams.
The Arizona Cardinals just missed making the playoffs last season and it came down to the final week of the season. A year later, they are able to lock up a postseason berth with a month left in the season.
They can be the first team in the NFL to clinch a playoff spot.
There are four scenarios for the Cardinals to do so. The first one is the least complicated. They simply need to beat the Los Angeles Rams this week, whom they host on Monday night.
Here are the four full scenarios for the Cardinals lock in their playoff spot.
A win or tie against the Rams this week
A loss or tie by the Minnesota Vikings to the Pittsburgh Steelers and a loss by the San Francisco 49ers to the Cincinnati Bengals
A loss or tie by the Vikings and a loss or tie by the New Orleans Saints against the New York Jets and a loss or tie by the Carolina Panthers against the Atlanta Falcons
A loss by the 49ers and a Saints loss or tie and a tie between the Panthers and Falcons.
Obviously, the fourth option is the least likely, but the third scenario is also hard to pull off, so the best way for the Cardinals to do it is to win.
It is the second year in a row they find themselves in a win-and-you’re-in scenario against the Rams for the second straight year.
Last year, they lost to the Rams 18-7 as Kyler Murray got hurt in the first quarter.
This time, on Monday night in front of their home crowd, they can change their fortunes. It would be a great way to get in — to have swept the Rams and do it at home.
We take a look at the current NFC playoff standings after 13 weeks. The NFC West would have three playoff teams if the season ended today.
There is still one football game left on the schedule for the NFL in Week 13, but that game features two AFC teams battling for a division title and playoff seeding. The NFC playoff picture is set for the week and the Arizona Cardinals remain on top.
In addition to the Cardinals being the No. 1 seed, the NFC West has three teams who would be in the postseason if the season ended today. The Los Angeles Rams and San Francisco 49ers both hold spots as wild card teams.
Meanwhile, five teams are within a game of the final playoff spot.
Here are the updated NFC playoff standings after Week 13.
Updated NFC playoff standings
Arizona Cardinals, 10-2
Green Bay Packers, 9-3
Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 9-3
Dallas Cowboys, 8-4
Los Angeles Rams, 8-4
Washington Football Team, 6-6
San Francisco 49ers, 6-6
In the mix behind Washington and San Francisco are the Philadelphia Eagles (6-7) and four teams — the Vikings, Panthers, Falcons and Saints — who are all 5-7.
What happened in Week 13
The Cardinals improved to 7-0 on the road with a 33-22 win over the Chicago Bears. Quarterback Kyler Murray threw two touchdown passes and rushed for two more in his return from missing three games with an ankle sprain.
The Packers were idle as they had their bye.
Tom Brady threw four touchdown passes in a 30-17 win for the Bucs over the Falcons.
The Cowboys beat the Saints 27-17 Thursday night.
The Rams snapped a three-game losing streak and beat the Jaguars 37-7 at home,
Washington evened its record with a 17-15 road win over the Raiders.
The 49ers lost 30-23 to the Seahawks in Seattle.
The Eagles beat the Jets 33-18, the Panthers were on their bye and the Saints, Falcons and Vikings all lost in Week 13.
Coming up in Week 14
The Cardinals host the Rams on Monday night.
The Packers host the Bears Sunday night.
The Bucs host the Bills.
The Cowboys have a road divisional matchup against Washington.
Washington hosts the aforementioned Cowboys.
The 49ers travel to Cincinnati to face the Bengals.
A look at who can win the top seed, the NFC East and the final wild card spots.
The NFC playoff picture is a little more clear entering Week 17. The NFC West, North and South have all been clinched. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have clinched a playoff berth. The NFC East title and two wild-card berths are still up for grabs.
Here is what the playoff race looks like right now.
Green Bay Packers, 12-3 (clinched NFC North)
New Orleans Saints, 11-4 (clinched NFC South)
Seattle Seahawks, 11-4 (clinched NFC West)
Washington Football Team, 6-9
Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 10-5 (clinched wild card)
Los Angeles Rams, 9-6
Chicago Bears, 8-7
Arizona Cardinals, 8-7
The Bears hold the tiebreakers with the Cardinals for common opponents.
Read on for playoff scenarios to play out in Week 17.
