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Week 10 delivered plenty of surprises to the NFL, painting the playoff picture in sweeping, sometimes-erratic strokes. It brought big changes for some Super Bowl contenders and a painful reality check for other playoff hopefuls, the New Orleans Saints among them. The Saints may have fallen flat against the Atlanta Falcons, but they weren’t the only favorite to get upset this week. Let’s run through the games that impacted this week’s standings.

Green Bay Packers 24, Carolina Panthers 16

What a game for the Packers, who were able to run often and effectively on what’s been a mostly-strong Panthers defense. Their two-headed attack of Aaron Jones and Jamaal Williams combined for 156 rushing yards in a game that saw snow pile up as the afternoon drew on. Green Bay’s defense showed up with several sacks and frequently pressured newly-minted starting Panthers quarterback Kyle Allen, who put up a fight but wasn’t able to clinch a tough win on the road. Christian McCaffrey was effective as ever but ultimately came up short at the goal-line on the game’s final play.

Pittsburgh Steelers 17, Los Angeles Rams 12

The Rams hoped to rally down the stretch after the Jalen Ramsey trade, but his arrival didn’t give them enough juice to defeat the Mason Rudolph-led Steelers. Quarterback Jared Goff has continued to nosedive since signing his huge contract extension in preseason, and the Rams’ season may be sinking too fast for the rest of the team to pull him back up to competence. They’re a distant third-best in the NFC West at 5-4, but theoretically have enough time to bounce back.

Minnesota Vikings 28, Dallas Cowboys 24

This game was all about Dalvin Cook: he picked up 97 rushing yards and 86 receiving yards, giving the Cowboys defense fits throughout their Sunday Night Football matchup. His efforts were instrumental to keeping pressure off mistake-prone quarterback Kirk Cousins and finding a way to win, though Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott threw for nearly 400 yards in a game that was competitive down to the wire. The NFC East race is as cloudy as ever, which is good news for the Saints, who currently sit above them all in projected playoff seeding.

Seattle Seahawks 27, San Francisco 49ers 24 (OT)

A contender for the game of the year saw the 49ers receive their first loss this season, even if Seattle did its best to lose. Their best defenders (linebackers Bobby Wagner and K.J. Wright) each dropped game-winning interceptions late on Monday Night Football, and the Seahawks coaching staff took the ball out of their franchise quarterback’s hands with multiple run-run-pass-punt sequences down the stretch. Still, Russell Wilson found a way to put his team in position to win, even if coach Pete Carroll made an insanely cowardly decision to punt from his own 45-yard line late in overtime. Neither of these teams should feel good about their chances of playing the Saints in the postseason.

Here’s what the projected NFC playoff picture looks like after Week 10:

NFC standings

West: 49ers (8-1)
North: Packers (8-2)
South: Saints (7-2)
East: Cowboys (5-4)
Wild card: Seahawks (8-2)
Wild card: Vikings (7-3)

In the hunt

Rams (5-4)
Eagles (5-4)
Panthers (5-4)
Bears (4-5)

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