NFL Playoff Picture 2016: Week 9 Standings, Wild-Card Info and Super Bowl Odds
The 2016 NFL season is at its virtual halfway point, and there isn't as much separation as some might have expected.
While the New England Patriots are obviously in great shape in the AFC East after their excellent start, including their 41-25 win over the Buffalo Bills on Sunday, the rest of the NFL features highly contested battles in just about every divisional race.
Here is a look at the complete NFL standings through most of Week 9, heading into Monday's battle between the Minnesota Vikings and Chicago Bears.
| New England Patriots | 7 | 1 | 0 | .875 |
| Buffalo Bills | 4 | 4 | 0 | .500 |
| Miami Dolphins | 3 | 4 | 0 | .429 |
| New York Jets | 3 | 5 | 0 | .375 |
| Pittsburgh Steelers | 4 | 3 | 0 | .571 |
| Cincinnati Bengals | 3 | 4 | 1 | .438 |
| Baltimore Ravens | 3 | 4 | 0 | .429 |
| Cleveland Browns | 0 | 8 | 0 | .000 |
| Houston Texans | 5 | 3 | 0 | .625 |
| Tennessee Titans | 4 | 4 | 0 | .500 |
| Indianapolis Colts | 3 | 5 | 0 | .375 |
| Jacksonville Jaguars | 2 | 5 | 0 | .286 |
| Oakland Raiders | 6 | 2 | 0 | .750 |
| Denver Broncos | 6 | 2 | 0 | .750 |
| Kansas City Chiefs | 5 | 2 | 0 | .714 |
| San Diego Chargers | 3 | 5 | 0 | .375 |
| Dallas Cowboys | 6 | 1 | 0 | .857 |
| New York Giants | 4 | 3 | 0 | .571 |
| Philadelphia Eagles | 4 | 3 | 0 | .571 |
| Washington Redskins | 4 | 3 | 1 | .563 |
| Minnesota Vikings | 5 | 1 | 0 | .833 |
| Green Bay Packers | 4 | 3 | 0 | .571 |
| Detroit Lions | 4 | 4 | 0 | .500 |
| Chicago Bears | 1 | 6 | 0 | .143 |
| Atlanta Falcons | 5 | 3 | 0 | .625 |
| Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 3 | 4 | 0 | .429 |
| New Orleans Saints | 3 | 4 | 0 | .429 |
| Carolina Panthers | 2 | 5 | 0 | .286 |
| Seattle Seahawks | 4 | 2 | 1 | .643 |
| Arizona Cardinals | 3 | 4 | 1 | .438 |
| Los Angeles Rams | 3 | 4 | 0 | .429 |
| San Francisco 49ers | 1 | 6 | 0 | .143 |
The Patriots are the big story through the first half of the season. Despite being without Tom Brady for the first four games, the team is flying high at 7-1 with the quarterback looking as good as ever.
Even Bills coach Rex Ryan has given up on a first-place finish, per Ben Volin of the Boston Globe:
"Winning the division, I think that's pretty much shot," the coach explained after the game, per Jay Skurski of the Buffalo News.
Although this doesn't officially give New England the division, it's pretty safe to start penciling the squad into the postseason.
The Patriots' overwhelming successā16.25 average margin of victory with Brady in the lineupāalso makes them the favorites to win the Super Bowl in the latest odds:Ā
| Arizona Cardinals | 16-1 |
| Atlanta Falcons | 20-1 |
| Baltimore Ravens | 100-1 |
| Buffalo Bills | 40-1 |
| Carolina Panthers | 80-1 |
| Chicago Bears | 1500-1 |
| Cincinnati Bengals | 50-1 |
| Cleveland Browns | 5000-1 |
| Dallas Cowboys | 12-1 |
| Denver Broncos | 14-1 |
| Detroit Lions | 80-1 |
| Green Bay Packers | 10-1 |
| Houston Texans | 50-1 |
| Indianapolis Colts | 33-1 |
| Jacksonville Jaguars | 250-1 |
| Kansas City Chiefs | 16-1 |
| Los Angeles Rams | 150-1 |
| Miami Dolphins | 150-1 |
| Minnesota Vikings | 17-2 |
| New England Patriots | 12-5 |
| New Orleans Saints | 150-1 |
| New York Giants | 33-1 |
| New York Jets | 200-1 |
| Oakland Raiders | 28-1 |
| Philadelphia Eagles | 28-1 |
| Pittsburgh Steelers | 12-1 |
| San Diego Chargers | 55-1 |
| San Francisco 49ers | 2500-1 |
| Seattle Seahawks | 13-2 |
| Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 100-1 |
| Tennessee Titans | 100-1 |
| Washington Redskins | 66-1 |
One team that is heading in the right direction after Sunday is the Carolina Panthers. The Super Bowl runners-up were 1-5 to start the season with the defense looking simply awful, allowing over 40 points in two of the last three games.
Fortunately, the bye week seemed to do wonders, as the unit looked as good as ever against the Arizona Cardinals. Cam Newton and Jonathan Stewart took care of the rest, and the Panthers earned a 30-20 win in a rematch of last year's NFC Championship Game.
Although Carolina is still in last place in the NFC South, the division is within reach, and a wild-card spot is absolutely their for the taking.
On the other hand, the whole NFC West has serious question marks after the Cardinals and Seattle Seahawks lost in Week 8. These teams tied each other a week earlier in an ugly 6-6 contest, and all of a sudden, this looks like a division that will only be sending one team to the playoffs.
The AFC West shouldn't have that issue as arguably the most competitive division to this point in the season.
Even those on the Oakland Raiders bandwagon to start the year likely couldn't have predicted the team's 6-2 start, including a 5-0 record on the road. Tim Kawakami of the Mercury News had high praise for Derek Carr after the team's 30-24 overtime win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers:
Carr finished with 513 passing yards, four touchdowns and zero interceptions in a dramatic win to stay in a tie for first place.
The Kansas City Chiefs and Denver Broncos remain right on Oakland's heels, however, making it tough for any other team in the AFC to earn a wild-card spot.
With all of this said, we still have more than half of a football season remaining to settle all the divisional and conference battles.
Follow Rob Goldberg on Twitter.
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