NFL Standings 2016: Week 13 Records, Playoff Scenarios, Wild-Card Picture

The Green Bay Packers defeated the Philadelphia Eagles 27-13 on Monday night to bring Week 12 to its official close. Now that we're three-quarters through the 2016 NFL season, we have a perfect opportunity to examine the playoff race.

Some teams—like the New England Patriots, Dallas Cowboys and Oakland Raiders—already have sizable leads on the playoff pack. Other teams—like the Baltimore Ravens, Pittsburgh Steelers and New York Giants—are fighting to stay in their division races or for a firm grip on a wild-card spot.

We're going to look at the full AFC and NFC standings after Week 12. We will be looking at things as if the season ended today, so division leaders will be ranked ahead of potential wild-card teams, regardless of schedule.

We will also take a look at some of the potential top playoff storylines heading into Week 13.

Week 13 NFL Standings

Rank	Team	Record
AFC
NFC
1	New England Patriots	9-2
2	Oakland Raiders	9-2
3	Baltimore Ravens	6-5
4	Houston Texans	6-5
5	Kansas City Chiefs	8-3
6	Miami Dolphins	7-4
7	Denver Broncos	7-4
8	Pittsburgh Steelers	6-5
9	Buffalo Bills	6-5
10	Tennessee Titans	6-6
11	Indianapolis Colts	5-6
12	San Diego Chargers	5-6
13	Cincinnati Bengals	3-7-1
14	New York Jets	3-8
15	Jacksonville Jaguars	2-9
16	Cleveland Browns	0-12
1	Dallas Cowboys	10-1
2	Seattle Seahawks	7-3-1
3	Detroit Lions	7-4
4	Atlanta Falcons	7-4
5	New York Giants	8-3
6	Washington Redskins	6-4-1
7	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	6-5
8	Minnesota Vikings	6-5
9	New Orleans Saints	5-6
10	Green Bay Packers	5-6
11	Philadelphia Eagles	5-6
12	Arizona Cardinals	4-6-1
13	Carolina Panthers	4-7
14	Los Angeles Rams	4-7
15	Chicago Bears	2-9
16	San Francisco 49ers	1-10

Stories to Follow

AFC North Race

AJ Mast/Associated Press/Associated Press

The battle for the AFC North is essentially between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Baltimore Ravens. The Ravens hold the division lead due to a head-to-head victory over Pittsburgh.

Unfortunately, this as-of-now underwhelming division is likely to keep a quality team out of the postseason. That franchise might even have a better record than the eventual AFC North winner. The Miami Dolphins and Denver Broncos sit at 7-4, while the Kansas City Chiefs boast a record of 8-3.

Still, it would be unwise to discount either the Ravens or the Steelers when it does get to playoff time. Pittsburgh has struggled on the road at times but still fields a potent offense that is rated 10th overall by Pro Football Focus.

Pittsburgh's explosive offense could wreak havoc in postseason shootouts.

The Ravens, on the other hand, have a dominant defense that is capable of hanging with even the toughest of teams. Baltimore is allowing just 18.3 points per game, the fourth-fewest in the NFL. Pro Football Focus rates the Ravens eighth in overall defense.

This will be a divisional race worth following.

Kansas City Chiefs

As mentioned above, the Chiefs have already gathered together eight wins on the season. Their overtime victory over the Broncos this past Sunday showed just how dangerous they can be—even in a hostile environment against a tough team.

The Chiefs aren't far behind the AFC West-leading Raiders. In fact, Kansas City has already won a head-to-head matchup with Oakland and should be taken seriously as a contender in the division.

There's a good chance that the winner of the AFC West is going to end up with a first-round bye in the playoffs. There's also a good chance that if the Chiefs get into the postseason, they'll have a realistic shot at making a run at the Super Bowl.

Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post recently wrote the following of Kansas City:

"

Why not the Chiefs? Their manic, 30-27 overtime victory in Denver on Sunday night proved neither their dominance nor their perfection. It instead indicated they belong in a jumble of quite good, blemished teams that have a chance to make the Super Bowl.

The Chiefs provide plenty to believe in, starting with the double-take fact they have won 19 of their last 23 games. Kansas City receives little acclaim and doesn’t really have a national identity. It just wins, often in head-scratching fashion, like on Sunday night.

"

Kansas City is far from a perfect team, but as Kilgore pointed out, the Chiefs are finding ways to win. This should have teams wanting to avoid them in the postseason.

Battle in the NFC East

Michael Ainsworth/Associated Press/Associated Press

The Cowboys already have 10 wins and should be able to lock up a playoff berth in the near future. However, the team may have to wait to secure the NFC East title, as two other teams in the division are also playing well.

The 8-3 New York Giants and the 6-4-1 Washington Redskins would both be in the playoffs if the season ended today. The Giants are a team the Cowboys need to watch out for, as they handed Dallas its lone loss of the season.

New York and Dallas will meet again in Week 14. If the Giants can win that contest, they'll only need to gain another game on the Cowboys to steal the division.

Regardless of what happens atop the NFC East, there's a legitimate chance three teams from the division will make their way into the postseason. All three should be considered dangerous.

Dallas is proving to be nearly unbeatable. The Redskins field a potent offense—one that is rated sixth overall by Pro Football Focus—that can keep pace with most playoff-bound teams. The Giants are like the Chiefs in that they are winning sloppily and without fanfare, but they're still finding ways to win.

The Middle of the Pack in the NFC

If the Redskins or Giants stumble, there will be an open spot in the NFC postseason. There are a number of teams that have a realistic chance of earning that spot, and the group is comprised of a muddled mess of so-so teams. 

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Minnesota Vikings both sit at 6-5 and have played like playoff contenders at times. However, both the Buccaneers and Vikings have also experienced periods of struggle. 

The same can be said about the 5-6 Green Bay Packers, 5-6 New Orleans Saints and 5-6 Philadelphia Eagles. Unfortunately, the Packers, Saints and Eagles may all need to win out in order to move ahead of the Vikings, Buccaneers or Redskins.

Of course, this doesn't mean that one of these team cannot get into the postseason and be a real threat once there, as ESPN Stats and Info noted:

Thursday night's matchup between the Cowboys and the Vikings could have a significant impact on both the NFC East race and the wild-card battle.