16. Philadelphia Eagles
(7-7. Last week: 19)
The Eagles escaped with a comeback against lowly Washington. It wasn’t pretty, but a win is a win. It gave the Eagles a 7-7 record and set up a huge game against Dallas in Week 16. The Eagles weren’t spectacular against the Redskins, but quarterback Carson Wentz led a comeback for the second straight week. More importantly, the Eagles have figured out how to best use running back Miles Sanders, who scored two touchdowns, rushed for 122 yards and added 50 receiving yards on six catches. The Eagles need to rely on Sanders the rest of the way. The Eagles desperately need a win against Dallas. Otherwise, the Cowboys will clinch the division title based on the head-to-head tiebreaker. If the Eagles lose, their season is over.
15. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
(7-7. Last week: 17)
I’ve been all over the board with my thoughts on quarterback Jameis Winston this season. I’ve now come to the conclusion that the Bucs should sign Winston to a lucrative contract. That’s a far cry from what I thought early in the season when I thought the Bucs should let Winston walk as a free agent. Around midseason, I started thinking the Bucs should place the franchise tag on Winston and give him one more year with coach Bruce Arians. So why am I now saying Winston is a franchise quarterback? Just look at what he’s done in the past two games. With Sunday’s 458 yards in a 38-17 victory against Detroit, Winston became the first player in history to throw for 450 yards in consecutive weeks. Winston, who pulled off Sunday’s performance with a broken right thumb, has the Bucs on a four-game winning streak and a respectable .500 record. Winston also was without injured receiver Mike Evans, and receiver Chris Godwin left in the third quarter with a leg injury.
14. Los Angeles Rams
(8-6. Last week: 13)
A year after reaching the Super Bowl, the Rams’ playoff hopes are hanging by a thread following a blowout loss to the Cowboys on Sunday. What’s gone wrong? Injuries have been a part of it. But the main problems are that Todd Gurley no longer is the focal point of the offense — no matter what the coaches say — and the offensive line isn’t very good. Gurley simply isn’t the same back he was. His knee isn’t healthy enough to carry this offense anymore. And quarterback Jared Goff isn’t good enough to carry the Rams, who must recalibrate their offense next season.
13. Dallas Cowboys
(7-7. Last week: 16)
In routing the Rams 44-21, the Cowboys finally played the kind of all-around football that they did when they started the season 3-0 and looked like Super Bowl contenders. Give credit to coach Jason Garrett. “Jason’s message all week was kind of re-establish our DNA,” tight end Jason Witten said. The Cowboys found their DNA and looked like a team that might be getting hot at the right time. If the Cowboys at Philadelphia on Sunday, they clinch the NFC East title — and anything becomes possible in the playoffs. But Garrett remains on the hot seat and probably will be gone with anything less than a deep postseason run. There is widespread speculation that owner Jerry Jones wants to hire former Ohio State coach Urban Meyer to replace Garrett. Maybe the Cowboys can show enough this postseason to convince Jones to keep Garrett.
12. Pittsburgh Steelers
(8-6. Last week: 12)
A 17-10 loss to the Bills on Sunday night hurt Pittsburgh’s playoff chances considerably. But the Steelers still deserve credit for turning things around after an 0-3 start. If they somehow rally and make the playoffs, Mike Tomlin will deserve to be named Coach of the Year. Just look at what he’s done with Devlin Hodges and Mason Rudolph under center since Ben Roethlisberger went down for the season with an elbow injury. Put a healthy Roethlisberger back into this lineup next season, and the Steelers will be a playoff team.
11. Tennessee Titans
(8-6. Last week: 11)
The Titans had a four-game winning streak end with a 24-21 loss to Houston in a key AFC South game. The loss puts the Texans in charge of the division, but Tennessee remains in the playoff hunt. The Titans play New Orleans next week and need a win to stay alive. At least the game will be at home in Nissan Stadium. The brightest spot for the Titans against Houston was the play of rookie receiver A.J. Brown, who had eight catches for 114 yards and a touchdown. Brown now has four 100-yard receiving games.
10. Houston Texans
(9-5. Last week: 8)
With a 24-21 victory at Tennessee, the Texans took control of the AFC South and their own destiny. Houston can clinch the division with a win Saturday at Tampa Bay. Even if the Texans and Titans, who play again in Week 17, end up in a tie, Houston would win the AFC South because of a better division record. If the Texans are going to go anywhere in the postseason, they’ll need a better performance than they got from quarterback Deshaun Watson on Sunday. Watson was intercepted twice, marking only the second time in his career that Watson has thrown multiple interceptions in consecutive games. Both interceptions happened in the end zone. If this team is going anywhere, it needs Watson to be at the top of his game.
9. Minnesota Vikings
(10-4. Last week: 10)
Minnesota coach Mike Zimmer is known as a defensive guru, and that reputation was bolstered Sunday as the Vikings forced seven turnovers by the Los Angeles Chargers. The Vikings haven’t clinched anything yet as they head into next week’s huge game with Green Bay. If the season ended today, the Vikings would be the No. 6 seed in the NFC. The Vikings just need to win one of their final two games to clinch a playoff berth. Their defense is hitting full stride at the right time. But there’s a red flag on offense. Running back Dalvin Cook has been battling chest and shoulder injuries since Week 11 and had to leave Sunday’s game. Backup Alexander Mattison already was out with an ankle injury. Mike Boone stepped in and rushed for 56 yards and two touchdowns. The Vikings need Cook at full strength for the playoffs, so it might be wise to rest him in the final two games.