NFC playoff picture: Panthers hanging by a thread going into Week 11

Here’s an updated look at the NFC playoff picture going into Week 11.

Losing to the Packers did serious damage to the Panthers’ playoff hopes for 2019. The loss dropped their season record to 5-4 and their chances of making the postseason to just 18 percent.

Here’s an updated look at the NFC playoff picture going into Week 11.

Playoff teams

1. San Francisco 49ers (8-1)
2. Green Bay Packers (8-2)
3. New Orleans Saints (7-2)
4. Dallas Cowboys (5-4)
5. Seattle Seahawks (8-2)
6. Minnesota Vikings (7-3)

Still in the race

7. Los Angeles Rams (5-4)
8. Philadelphia Eagles (5-4)
9. Carolina Panthers (5-4)

There’s not much room for error, here. Earlier in the season, the Panthers pulled off a four-game winning streak. They may need another one in order to land a wild card spot.

Carolina’s next four opponents are the Falcons, Saints, Redskins and the Falcons again. Atlanta is just 2-7 this season and Washington (1-8) might just be the worst team in the conference. If the Panthers can find a way to upset New Orleans, winning four in a row is certainly possible.

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AFC playoff picture: Jaguars exit Week 10 with No. 10 seed

The Jags came out of their bye week in the hunt for the wild-card, but their loss to the Texans really hurt.

Although we’re over a week removed from the Jacksonville Jaguars’ loss to the Houston Texans, fans still are well aware of how costly it was. At the time, the victory would’ve put the Jags in second place in the AFC South with a 5-4 record and right in the heat of the battle for a wildcard seed when considering Week 10’s games. Instead, they will have to settle for the No. 10 seed with a 4-5 record.

As for the rest of the AFC, the standings for this week are as follows:

1. New England Patriots (8-1)
2. Baltimore Ravens (7-2)
3. Houston Texans (6-3)
4. Kansas City Chiefs (6-4)
5. Buffalo Bills (6-3)
6. Pittsburgh Steelers (5-4)

7. Oakland Raiders (5-4)
8. Indianapolis Colts (5-4)
9. Tennessee Titans (5-5)
10. Jacksonville Jaguars (4-5)

Obviously, a wild-card spot is what the Jags will have to settle for because they have a lot of ground to make up to catch the AFC South leading Texans, who are 6-3 and have two victories over them. That said, they definitely need to win Sunday against the Indianapolis Colts, who ironically are ahead of them in the playoff race and are in the same division. A win would put the Jags in second in the division with a 5-5 record and would help them leapfrog the Titans (due to Jacksonville’s Week 3 win), who also have a 5-5 record.

The key game to watch aside from the Jags’ during Week 11 will take place on Thursday night between the sixth seeded Pittsburgh Steelers and their divisional foes: the Cleveland Browns. The team’s typically play each other tough and a loss would knock the Steelers down to 5-5. Meanwhile, the fifth seed Buffalo Bills will take on the Miami Dolphins, while the seventh seed Oakland Raiders will take on the Cincinnati Bengals. Lastly, the ninth seeded Titans will be on their bye week.

What’s at stake for 49ers in Week 10 showdown with Seahawks?

The 49ers’ hold on the top of the NFC and NFC West standings can strengthen greatly with a win over the Seahawks on Monday Night Football.

The 49ers got a victory Sunday without even playing. The New Orleans Saints fell to the Falcons 26-9 and dropped their record to 7-2. That put a little more space between the 49ers and Saints in the race for the No. 1 seed in the NFC.

However, the 49ers’ Monday night showdown with the Seahawks was already carrying the weight of a rekindled division rivalry. It was always going to be a huge game at Levi’s Stadium. Now it’s even heavier with a chance to put further distance between them and the rest of the NFC West, and the NFC as a whole.

Let’s take a look at what’s at stake for San Francisco on Monday night. Here’s what the NFC West standings look like after Sunday’s action:

1. 49ers (8-0)
2. Seahawks (7-2)
3. Rams (5-4)
4. Cardinals (3-6-1)

What if the 49ers win?

A 49ers win puts them at 9-0, and drops Seattle to 7-3. That’s a 2.5-game cushion with seven weeks remaining, and one more matchup waiting between these two clubs at the end of the year. It wouldn’t necessarily clinch the division, but it would put San Francisco in a spot where it would need a pretty monumental collapse to slip out of the top spot in the division.

There’s the underlying benefit of re-asserting dominance in the rivalry with Seattle – a rivalry the Seahawks owned for a half-decade. Getting a victory over a playoff team and bitter rival would validate a lot of what the 49ers have done through the first nine weeks.

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What if the 49ers lose?

It’s not the end of the world, but it stings because of how monumental a win would’ve been. The 49ers would be at 8-1 with the 8-2 Seahawks nipping at their heels. That’s not a comfortable spot to be in with games against Green Bay, New Orleans, Baltimore, and another against Seattle all looming.

It would be easy to write off as a fluke if George Kittle misses the game, and losing one out of the first nine games would still be astronomically better than most people thought San Francisco would start, but the 2.5-game vs. 0.5-game separation in the division is significant, so a home loss to the Seahawks would certainly put a dent in the 49ers’ division championship aspirations.

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There’s more than just the division to worry about though. The 49ers are in a position to snag the No. 1 overall seed and ensure the road to Super Bowl LIV goes through Levi’s Stadium.

New Orleans’ loss to Atlanta put a little breathing room between them and the 49ers for the top spot in the conference, but San Francisco can’t exhale yet. There are still plenty of conference-wide consequences for them Monday night.

Here’s what the NFC playoff picture looks like after Sunday’s games:

1. 49ers (8-0)
2. Saints (7-2)
3. Packers (7-2)
4. Cowboys (5-4)
5. Seahawks (7-2)
6. Vikings (7-3)

What if the 49ers win?

Getting the full two-game lead on the Saints and Packers would be massive considering the 49ers play both teams later in the year. Getting separation before those contests eliminates some of the pressure to win for head-to-head tiebreak purposes when the final playoff seeding comes down.

Losing to the Seahawks would squander a gift for the 49ers from Atlanta after they upset the Saints in New Orleans. They have to take advantage of any opportunity to pick up additional ground in the standings. It was already a big game had the Saints won, but their loss and the potential for a two-game lead makes it bigger.

What if the 49ers lose?

It’s not the end of the world because New Orleans did fall to the Falcons. That additional game of insurance is nice to have in the event the 49ers stumble at any point over the brutal back half of their schedule.

San Francisco would still be at the top of the NFC if Seattle emerges with the victory Monday night, but its lead would stick at one game, which is where it was entering the weekend.

While a loss wouldn’t derail the 49ers’ remarkable start, it would weaken their ability to put an early stranglehold on the top spot in the NFC, and keep them from taking a step toward home-field advantage throughout the playoffs.

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