NFL Playoff Picture Week 14: Scenarios for AFC and NFC 2015 Postseason Matchups

The NFL postseason has surfaced enough into everyone's peripheral view to begin obsessing over every playoff possibility.

Four weeks remain on the season schedule, yet nothing is etched in stone. No division leader grips more than a two-game edge, and the wild-card race gets ever muddier when searching for two standouts from each conference.

At this point, onlookers can at least identify the active participants while eliminating the pretenders possessing little to no mathematical shot. The list of playoff hopefuls, however, scrolls far down throughout the league, scratching off a mere six teams officially knocked out of the discussion.

Let's take a look at the brewing playoff hunt entering Week 14.

AFC Picture

Seed	Team		In the Hunt
1	New England Patriots (9-3)		Kansas City Chiefs (7-5)
2	Denver Broncos (9-3)		Buffalo Bills (7-5)
3	Indianapolis Colts (8-4)		Baltimore Ravens (7-5)
4	Cincinnati Bengals (8-3-1)		Pittsburgh Steelers (7-5)
5	San Diego Chargers (8-4)		Cleveland Browns (7-5)
6	Miami Dolphins (7-5)		Houston Texans (6-6)

With a month left in the season, no semblance of clarity exists in the AFC wild-card hunt. Six teams are now playing musical chairs with identical 7-5 records.

Down 10 late in the fourth quarter, the San Diego Chargers tossed everything into further disarray by rallying to stun the Baltimore Ravens. Their 34-33 victory elevated them to 8-4, separated from the jumbled fray of squads scraping for one of two available bids.

Philip Rivers—who snapped out of a funk with 383 passing yards and three touchdowns—told ESPN.com's Eric D. Williams that these close calls make the difference between who's in and who's out.

“These are the type of games you have to win if you do get in,” Rivers said. “So if you can’t win these—and I’m not trying to say you’re going to win all of them—but if you can’t win these then you’re probably not good enough.” 

But don't celebrate just yet, as a brutal schedule awaits. They'll get the New England Patriots and Denver Broncos in back-to-back weeks as both conference juggernauts battle each other for the No. 1 seed.

Week	Opponent
14	New England Patriots
15	Denver Broncos
16	San Francisco 49ers
17	Kansas City Chiefs

For better or worse, San Diego can swing the entire playoff standings. If Rivers' gang can't handle the Pats and Broncos, the wild-card picture remains a jungle. But if they find a way to upset Denver in Week 15, the AFC West gets awfully interesting.

Alongside San Diego vs. New England, a few other pivotal bouts decorate this Week 14 schedule.

After the Broncos, Patriots and AFC South-leading Indianapolis Colts, the Ravens and Miami Dolphins hold the next two highest point differentials. The winner of their matchup climbs the pecking order.

The Pittsburgh Steelers can also make the AFC North even more of a giant mess by defeating the Cincinnati Bengals and lessening their distance to a half-game. Cincinnati certainly looked vulnerable during a one-point victory over the 2-10 Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

CBS Sports' Will Brinson showed the most horrific of Andy Dalton's three interceptions:

Pittsburgh has problems of its own after allowing 7.3 yards per play to the New Orleans Saints, but a road victory would make the league's most compelling division all the more captivating.

NFC Picture

Seed	Team		In the Hunt
1	Arizona Cardinals (9-3)		Dallas Cowboys (8-4)
2	Green Bay Packers (9-3)		San Francisco 49ers (7-5)
3	Philadelphia Eagles (9-3)		New Orleans Saints (5-7)
4	Atlanta Falcons (5-7)		Chicago Bears (5-7)
5	Seattle Seahawks (8-4)		Minnesota Vikings (5-7)
6	Detroit Lions (8-4)		St. Louis Rams (5-7)
			Carolina Panthers (3-8-1)

Despite starting the season at 9-1, the Arizona Cardinals are far from a lock to win the NFC West, yet alone make the playoffs.

They suffered their second straight loss on Sunday, this time to the 5-7 Atlanta Falcons. On the strength of a 55-yard run, Steven Jackson registered his first 100-yard rushing game since joining Atlanta. With Roddy White sidelined, Julio Jones torched Patrick Peterson for a career-high 189 receiving yards and a touchdown.

If Mike Smith wasn't so gun-shy a week after clock management mistakes cost him a win, Matt Ryan could have compiled way more than 361 passing yards.

However, Atlanta ran the ball 34 times against the No. 6 rushing defense and No. 27 passing defense, averaging 2.6 yards per carry outside of Jackson's one big gain.

At a time with little margin for error, the Cardinals' secondary is coming undone.

Meanwhile, Arizona's offense continues to flounder without Carson Palmer. A late score with the game already out of hand broke a 10-quarter drought without an offensive touchdown.

Pro Football Focus' Mike Clay shows how much Drew Stanton has struggled to lead Arizona into the end zone:

After facing the Kansas City Chiefs' No. 1 passing defense on Sunday, the Cardinals play each of their NFC West foes once apiece. After annihilating the Oakland Raiders, the St. Louis Rams have won four of their last seven games, making them far from a favorable matchup.

Then the Cardinals get the Seattle Seahawks, creeping up in the standings with two consecutive wins, followed by the San Francisco 49ers in a Week 17 bout they'll likely need to win to preserve their playoff chances.

Scott Cunningham/Getty Images

On the bright side, at least the Falcons and Saints took a step toward preventing a complete embarrassment. Both scooped up huge wins to improve to 5-7, increasing the chances of a .500 team representing the NFC South.

Actually, don't count out the Saints winning all of their remaining four games.

They'll circle through their mediocre division to play each adversary once, with the Chicago Bears' No. 30 passing defense marking their one non-division foe.

Despite its defensive woes, New Orleans is the only NFC South team sporting a positive point differential (plus-five), and Atlanta faces a tougher slate with a Monday-night trip to Green Bay up next.

Against all odds, Sean Payton and Drew Brees control their endpoint at 5-7, and no NFC Wild Card would be happy about playing that offense inside the Superdome.