COLUMN: Divisional competition should round out postseason picture
Heading into the final three weeks of action in the National Football League, the National Football Conference (NFC) playoff picture couldn’t be any tighter.
As opposed to its conference counterpart, the American Football Conference (AFC), the NFC has five open playoff spots left. This creates tension within the conference, as any team can potentially lose its spot. Unfortunately, for the fans of the Carolina Panthers, Detroit Lions, Arizona Cardinals, Philadelphia Eagles and probably the New Orleans Saints, the chances of making the playoffs are zero or close to zero percent.
But don’t count yourself out yet “Who Dat” hopeful. Although the Atlanta Falcons have already clinched the division, consecutive losses by the rest of the conference will ensure a solid sixth-seed wildcard berth.
Realistically speaking, the more relevant teams are tied up within the NFC North, East and West subdivisions. Crucial victories by the Green Bay Packers (9-4), New York Giants (8-5) and San Francisco 49ers (9-3-1) last week will give them a slight edge heading into the final three games of the season.
However, the vital win by the Minnesota Vikings (7-6) over the Chicago Bears (8-5) and the Washington Redskins’ (7-6) stellar comeback over the Baltimore Ravens leaves them within reach of their respective division leaders. A win by the Dallas Cowboys (7-6) leaves them one game behind the Giants and tied with the Redskins.
The Seattle Seahawks (8-5) dominant performance over the Cardinals moved them into the fifth wildcard seed but the 49ers’ tie leaves them one and a half games behind in the division. Although the St. Louis Rams (6-6-1) also won, their chances of making the playoffs under new head coach Jeff Fisher are slowly dwindling away.
In essence, there are 10 different teams realistically battling for the two wildcard spots. Since the Falcons have already clinched its division, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ (6-7), who lost last week to the Eagles, only chance of making the playoffs is through a wildcard berth. A loss next week will surely eliminate them from the playoffs, but unfortunately if the Seahawks, Bears and Giants win this week, the Bucs will miss the playoffs for the fifth consecutive season.
The next three weeks are full of a lot of conference matchups, which will make for an exciting finish to this unpredictable season. The Packers still have to take on both the Bears and Vikings, and the Vikings have the strongest remaining schedule with road games against the Rams and Texans and a final home game against the Packers.
The tides may turn for the worse for a few teams with no current guarantees to make the playoffs. A bad game could be devastating to any team,and ultimately, could result with several teams with 10 wins and no playoff action.
