NFL Playoff Picture 2023: Week 12 Wild Card Hunt, Standings and Super Bowl Odds

As the NFL enters Week 12, it is becoming clearer with every game who the pretenders and contenders are.

There are the obvious ones, with Kansas City and Philadelphia sitting atop their respective conferences, ready to resume battle in the Super Bowl if they continue playing the way they are.

There is San Francisco, probably the third-best team in the league, the upstart Detroit Lions, a very good Miami Dolphins unit, and a Dallas Cowboys team that looks like it may actually be for real this season.

Then there are the Cleveland Browns, who have no right being as good as they actually are at this point.

Entering the Thanksgiving week, find out which team stands where and who oddsmakers have poised to win the Super Bowl.

NFC Standings and Wild Card Hunt

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PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA - NOVEMBER 05: Jalen Hurts #1 of the Philadelphia Eagles reacts against the Dallas Cowboys at Lincoln Financial Field on November 05, 2023 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images)

Current Playoff/Wild Card Standings

1. Philadelphia Eagles (8-1, NFC East)
2. Detroit Lions (8-2, NFC North)
3. San Francisco 49ers (7-3, NFC West)
4. New Orleans Saints (5-5, NFC South)
5. Dallas Cowboys (7-3, Wildcard)
6. Seattle Seahawks (6-4, Wildcard)
7. Minnesota Vikings (6-5, Wildcard)

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Still in the Hunt

Green Bay Packers (4-6)

Los Angeles Rams (4-6)

Atlanta Falcons (4-6)

Tampa Bay Buccaneers (4-6)

Washington Commanders (4-7)

New York Giants (3-8)

Chicago Bears (3-8)

Arizona Cardinals (2-9)

Carolina Panthers (1-9)

AFC Standings and Wild Card Hunt

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FRANKFURT AM MAIN, GERMANY - NOVEMBER 05: Patrick Mahomes #15 of the Kansas City Chiefs looks to pass during the NFL match between Miami Dolphins and Kansas City Chiefs at Deutsche Bank Park on November 05, 2023 in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. (Photo by Alex Grimm/Getty Images)

Current Playoff/Wildcard Standings

1. Kansas City Chiefs (7-2, AFC West)
2. Baltimore Ravens (8-3, AFC North)
3. Jacksonville Jaguars (7-3, AFC South)
4. Miami Dolphins (7-3, AFC East)
5. Cleveland Browns (7-3, AFC North)
6. Houston Texans (8-4, AFC South)
7. Pittsburgh Steelers (6-4, AFC North)

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In The Hunt

Buffalo Bills (6-5)

Indianapolis Colts (5-5)

Denver Broncos (5-5)

Cincinnati Bengals (5-5)

Las Vegas Raiders (5-6)

Los Angeles Chargers (4-6)

New York Jets (4-6)

Tennessee Titans (3-7)

New England Patriots (2-8)

Current Super Bowl Odds

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SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA - NOVEMBER 19: Fred Warner #54 of the San Francisco 49ers reacts after a stop to force fourth down during the fourth quarter of a game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Levi's Stadium on November 19, 2023 in Santa Clara, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)

Kansas CIty Chiefs (+425)

San Francisco 49ers (+450)

Philadelphia Eagles (+500)

Baltimore Ravens (+850)

Dallas Cowboys (+900)

Miami Dolphins (+1000)

Detroit Lions (+1000)

Jacksonville Jaguars (+2000)

Buffalo Bills (+2800)

Cleveland Browns (+3500)

Seattle Seahawks (+4500)

Houston Texans (+6000)

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Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook

Cleveland Browns Establishing Themselves As Contenders Despite Hurdles

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CLEVELAND, OHIO - NOVEMBER 19: Dorian Thompson-Robinson #17 of the Cleveland Browns walks off the field after beating the Pittsburgh Steelers 13-10 at Cleveland Browns Stadium on November 19, 2023 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Nick Cammett/Getty Images)

The Cleveland Browns have no business being as good as they are.

At 7-3, they sit just behind the Baltimore Ravens for the top spot in the AFC North and are in the midst of a three-game winning streak, despite losing starter Deshaun Waston for the rest of the season with a shoulder injury.

Like a freight train, the team that just keeps chugging along finds itself in the perfect position to compete in the playoffs and with a defense capable of winning any game the Browns play.

The Browns' defense is among the stingiest in the league against the pass, allowing just 5.4 yards per attempt and 1437 total yards through 10 games. They have allowed the third-least passing touchdowns at eight.

They can be run on but in a pass-first league, they have been able to shut opposing offenses down, thanks to steady secondary play and the great Myles Garrett's explosive pass rush.

Offensively, they will not wow anyone.

Quarterbacks have tallied a nine-touchdown, nine-interception ratio and the fewest passing yards in the league at 1437. The run game averages 4.1 yards per carry, with 10 touchdowns on the ground, but both are very pedestrian.

Yet somehow, the team continues to win.

It is the potent mixture of outstanding defense, a shortened field, and players who can punch the ball into the endzone when the time calls for it. Is it a pretty brand of football? Absolutely not.

Would the NFL want to see the Browns on the grandest stage come February? Probably not, but if Cleveland can continue to play mostly mistake-free, and the defense can continue to give them the ball in favorable field positioning, there is no reason that Coach of the Year candidate Kevin Stefanski and his squad will not be playing postseason football come January.