NFL Playoff Picture 2014: Week 14 Standings, Super Bowl Odds and Wild-Card Hunt
With just four weeks of football left in the 2014 NFL regular season, the playoff picture is starting to come into focus.
Of course, all that picture shows is a hodgepodge of teams vying for division championships and a rat race for the wild-card spots in each conference.
Some teams, like the San Diego Chargers, appear to be peaking at the right time and are set for playoff runs. For squads like the Arizona Cardinals and New Orleans Saints, claiming the top spot in the division is of the utmost priority—and there are no guarantees in this cutthroat league.
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There will be no shortage of mayhem over the final month of the regular season as teams put forth their best efforts to make the playoffs and a shot at taking home the Lombardi Trophy to a deserving fanbase.
Here is a look at both the NFC and AFC standings, wild-card breakdowns and Super Bowl odds.
NFC Standings, Wild-Card Hunt
| Arizona Cardinals (1)* | 9 | 3 | 0 | 14/1 |
| Seattle Seahawks (5) | 8 | 4 | 0 | 15/2 |
| San Francisco 49ers | 7 | 5 | 0 | 25/1 |
| St. Louis Rams | 5 | 7 | 0 | 1000/1 |
| Philadelphia Eagles (3) | 9 | 3 | 0 | 12/1 |
| Dallas Cowboys | 8 | 4 | 0 | 28/1 |
| New York Giants | 3 | 9 | 0 | 750/1 |
| Washington Redskins | 3 | 9 | 0 | 1000/1 |
| Green Bay Packers (2) | 9 | 3 | 0 | 17/4 |
| Detroit Lions (6) | 8 | 4 | 0 | 25/1 |
| Chicago Bears | 5 | 7 | 0 | 500/1 |
| Minnesota Vikings | 5 | 7 | 0 | 300/1 |
| Atlanta Falcons (4) | 5 | 7 | 0 | 75/1 |
| New Orleans Saints | 5 | 7 | 0 | 33/1 |
| Carolina Panthers | 3 | 8 | 1 | 150/1 |
| Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 2 | 10 | 0 | 2000/1 |
The Arizona Cardinals are on the brink of losing their NFC West division lead after two straight losses. The subpar play of quarterback Drew Stanton appears to finally be catching up to this team. CBS Sports' John Breech doesn't even think a playoff win is in order with Stanton calling the shots:
It certainly doesn't help matters much when running backs Marion Grice and Andre Ellington muster just 28 rushing yards between them, as they did in Sunday's loss to the Atlanta Falcons.
The Seattle Seahawks defense is looking much more like the suffocating unit it was in 2013 after allowing six points combined in Weeks 11 and 12. They could very well push past the Cardinals in the home stretch, but whichever team finishes second should have enough wins to secure a wild-card spot—and don't you dare count out the San Francisco 49ers.
It's crazy to think the Dallas Cowboys might not make the playoffs after looking so good during the first half of the season, but it's a distinct possibility as they trail the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC East by one game. The 'Boys certainly won't be helped by a highly motivated Detroit Lions squad still looking to usurp the Green Bay Packers in the NFC North.
The Lions still have the top scoring defense in the league, but the uneven play of quarterback Matthew Stafford could undo all the good work they've put in up to this point in the season.
He looked good against the Bears on Thanksgiving, throwing for 390 yards and two touchdowns. Bears defensive end Jared Allen noted Stafford is a tough opponent when he gets in a groove.
"We were able to get to (Stafford) with pressures, and then they started running shallow routes and checking the ball down," he said, via MLive.com's Kyle Meinke. "They got Matt into a rhythm, and he's a tough quarterback when he's in a rhythm."
The Lions have an easy go of it with tilts against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Minnesota Vikings coming up. They are very well set up to hold down the final wild-card spot, but there is still too much up in the air to call anything in the NFC.
The NFC South has absolutely no bearing on the wild-card chase, unless you want to know which division-winning team to blame when a nine- or 10-win NFC team is forced to miss the playoffs and fans start clamoring for a clause that allows for an emergency third wild-card team.
Keeping tabs on that division race is only for fans of the four teams involved and the morbidly curious. Both the Falcons and New Orleans Saints won in Week 13; don't be surprised if their matchup on Dec. 21 ends up deciding the division.
AFC Standings, Wild-Card Hunt
| Denver Broncos (2) | 9 | 3 | 0 | 5/1 |
| San Diego Chargers (5) | 8 | 4 | 0 | 33/1 |
| Kansas City Chiefs | 7 | 5 | 0 | 33/1 |
| Oakland Raiders | 1 | 11 | 0 | 5000/1 |
| New England Patriots (1) | 9 | 3 | 0 | 3/1 |
| Miami Dolphins (6) | 7 | 5 | 0 | 60/1 |
| Buffalo Bills | 7 | 5 | 0 | 150/1 |
| New York Jets | 2 | 10 | 0 | 2000/1 |
| Cincinnati Bengals (3) | 8 | 3 | 1 | 28/1 |
| Baltimore Ravens | 7 | 5 | 0 | 28/1 |
| Pittsburgh Steelers | 7 | 5 | 0 | 40/1 |
| Cleveland Browns | 7 | 5 | 0 | 75/1 |
| Indianapolis Colts (4) | 8 | 4 | 0 | 18/1 |
| Houston Texans | 6 | 6 | 0 | 250/1 |
| Tennessee Titans | 2 | 10 | 0 | 1000/1 |
| Jacksonville Jaguars | 2 | 10 | 0 | 3000/1 |
Of the four division leaders in this conference, the Denver Broncos and New England Patriots seem the least likely to give up the ghost. Both teams have fantastic point totals thus far—361 and 378, respectively—and are in obviously good hands at quarterback.
The Indianapolis Colts should also be able to fend off the Houston Texans in the AFC South as the season comes to a close.
The San Diego Chargers are starting to look a bit more like the team that started the season 5-1 after beating the Baltimore Ravens 34-33 on the road in a game fraught with AFC wild-card implications.
"These are the kind of games you got to win to get in (the postseason) and these are the kind of games you got to win if you do get in," said quarterback Philip Rivers, via The Associated Press (h/t ESPN.com). "I'm not saying you're going to win all of them, but if you can't win these, you're not good enough."
Rivers has had several Decembers to remember in his illustrious career and could be poised to take the Bolts on another surprise run to the playoffs.
Then again, the combined record of the Bolts' final four opponents—New England, Denver, San Francisco and Kansas City, in that order—is a buzz-killing 32-16. A couple of upsets are in order if the Bolts are to make the playoffs.
Denver pummeled Kansas City in Week 14. This statistic from ESPN's Gregg Easterbrook is all one needs to know about the Chiefs' rocky playoff hopes:
Considering the Chiefs are an incomplete contender and the Bolts' discouraging schedule, look for a team in the AFC North dogpile to come away with (at least) one of the two wild-card spots. The Bengals have a slim lead over Pittsburgh, Baltimore and Cleveland; it will be interesting to see if that tie against Carolina hurts or helps them when the season comes to a close.
The wobbliest team of the bunch is the Browns, who suffered a disappointing 26-10 loss to the Buffalo Bills—another team still in the AFC playoff hunt—in Week 14.
Perhaps the first significant playing time for Johnny Manziel—63 passing yards, 13 rushing and one touchdown—can inspire the Browns to a late surge or at the very least motivate Brian Hoyer to start playing at a higher caliber and lead the team to elusive postseason glory himself.
If the Bengals don't take the division, look for the Ravens to come through in the end. They close out the season with the Miami Dolphins, Jacksonville Jaguars, Houston Texans and Cleveland Browns.
The Dolphins will be looking to keep pace with the aforementioned contenders by defeating the lowly New York Jets on Monday night. Ryan Tannehill has emerged as a legitimate starting quarterback with 20 touchdowns against eight interceptions this season.
Look for him to carve up the Jets' miserable secondary; New York has allowed opposing quarterbacks to post a cumulative 109.4 rating this season, per ESPN.com.
The 'Fins have a great shot at making the playoffs as a wild card considering they have two games against the Jets to play and winnable contests against the Ravens and Minnesota Vikings. It's possible that either the Chiefs or Chargers hold on to a final wild-card spot, but Miami could ensure things aren't settled until the final week of the regular season.
Note: Super Bowl odds courtesy of Odds Shark and updated as of Monday, Dec. 1 at 5 a.m. ET.
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