NFL Standings 2014-15: Week 15 Records, Playoff Scenarios, Wild-Card Review
It's put-up or shut-up time in the quest for 2014 NFL playoff spots.
Races are heating up across the league from division to division, and each has its own unique feel to it. While it's all some squads can do to stay near .500, that may actually be good enough for a postseason spot in some divisions. As for others, finishing 8-8 could leave them at the bottom of their division.
But the path to the postseason is inevitably there for many teams across the league, even if it will take a stroke of magic. That magic will have to begin in Week 15, with a number of matchups that will undoubtedly shape the teams we'll see advance into January.
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Here's a complete look at how the playoff races look for both the AFC and NFC.
| New England Patriots | 10 | 3 | 0 | 1 |
| Miami Dolphins | 7 | 6 | 0 | |
| Buffalo Bills | 7 | 6 | 0 | |
| New York Jets | 2 | 11 | 0 | |
| Cincinnati Bengals | 8 | 4 | 1 | 4 |
| Pittsburgh Steelers | 8 | 5 | 0 | 5 |
| Baltimore Ravens | 8 | 5 | 0 | |
| Cleveland Browns | 7 | 6 | 0 | |
| Denver Broncos | 10 | 3 | 0 | 2 |
| San Diego Chargers | 8 | 5 | 0 | 6 |
| Kansas City Chiefs | 7 | 6 | 0 | |
| Oakland Raiders | 2 | 11 | 0 | |
| Indianapolis Colts | 9 | 4 | 0 | 3 |
| Houston Texans | 7 | 6 | 0 | |
| Tennessee Titans | 2 | 11 | 0 | |
| Jacksonville Jaguars | 2 | 11 | 0 |
The road to the Super Bowl in the AFC will more than likely go through New England.
The Patriots bounced back in a big way after last week's road loss to Green Bay, walking out of San Diego on Sunday Night Football with a 23-14 win over the Chargers. They haven't yet wrapped up the division, but that's a mere formality with a three-game advantage in the AFC East with three games left.
That was an undoubtedly huge win for keeping pace as the top seed in the AFC, especially after the Denver Broncos improved to a similar 10-3 record with their win over Buffalo.
If both teams finish with the same record, New England will get the top seed due to its win over Denver earlier in the season. But before Sunday's game, Broncos players made no doubt of their hopes to thwart the Patriots for that spot.
"It’s the perfect time to start peaking," cornerback Chris Harris Jr. told ESPN.com's Jeff Legwold. "We’ve got some tough games left in the season, and we’ve got to approach every game like a playoff game from here on out."
Both of the AFC heavyweights are certainly peaking, but the Indianapolis Colts remain in the hunt to grab a first-round bye as well. They improved to 9-4 with a last-minute comeback over Cleveland in Week 14, and remain just one game back of the Broncos and Patriots.
They have their hands full in Week 15, though, as the 7-6 Texans come to town looking to build momentum for a playoff push. For Houston and so many others, the playoffs really begin on Sunday, as head coach Bill O'Brien told the Texans' Twitter:
The Texans join a plethora of AFC teams at 7-6 looking to make a similar push. Buffalo, Miami and Cleveland all sit with the same records and could eke into the postseason with a late winning streak.
While division winners can potentially be written in pencil for three of the AFC's four divisions, that's not the case in the AFC North.
Cincinnati still enters Week 15 ahead of the division, but just barely after falling 42-21 in a key game against Pittsburgh. The Bengals better watch their backs, as they face Cleveland, Denver and the Steelers again to close out 2014.
Whether the Bengals rack up wins down the stretch or not, don't be surprised if the Steelers or Ravens find their way into the postseason as well. Both are firmly in the wild-card hunt with 8-5 records and can move into better position with some big divisional matchups in December.
More than half-a-dozen squads remain seriously in the hunt for the two coveted wild-card spots out of the AFC, but the conference's heavyweights have shown their formidability over the past few weeks.
| Philadelphia Eagles | 9 | 4 | 0 | 3 |
| Dallas Cowboys | 9 | 4 | 0 | 6 |
| New York Giants | 4 | 9 | 0 | |
| Washington Redskins | 3 | 10 | 0 | |
| Green Bay Packers | 10 | 3 | 0 | 1 |
| Detroit Lions | 9 | 4 | 0 | |
| Minnesota Vikings | 6 | 7 | 0 | |
| Chicago Bears | 5 | 8 | 0 | |
| Arizona Cardinals | 10 | 3 | 0 | 2 |
| Seattle Seahawks | 9 | 4 | 0 | 5 |
| San Francisco 49ers | 7 | 6 | 0 | |
| St. Louis Rams | 6 | 7 | 0 | |
| Atlanta Falcons | 5 | 8 | 0 | 4 |
| New Orleans Saints | 5 | 8 | 0 | |
| Carolina Panthers | 4 | 8 | 1 | |
| Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 2 | 11 | 0 |
Green Bay is the freight train that just can't be stopped in the NFC.
After surviving a championship test against the Patriots in Week 14, the Packers turned around for Monday Night Football against the Falcons. They overcame a sluggish defensive performance, as Aaron Rodgers trounced Atlanta's defense en route to a 43-37 win.
The Packers would have run away with the division by now, if it weren't for the Detroit Lions. Matthew Stafford has his team peaking as well, as they have won six of their last eight contests and lead a furious race for the NFC wild card. But everyone is still looking up at the Packers, as Mike Jurecki of Fox Sports noted:
Most of the other teams atop their divisions in the NFC know the Packers' pain when it comes to holding off playoff-bound foes in their respective divisions. The NFC West can especially relate.
The Arizona Cardinals looked poised to run away with the division despite Seattle and San Francisco's presence, but that's not the lock that it once was largely due to the Seahawks' surge. Seattle improved to 9-4 with a big win in Philadelphia and controls its fate in the NFC West with a trip to Arizona looming.
It's not a time for playoff hopefuls to lose head-scratchers, though, which is just what the 49ers did in Week 14 with a loss to Oakland. At 7-6, San Francisco's hopes for yet another NFC title game appearance are fleeting.
The NFC East can also relate. The Eagles and Cowboys each control their fate heading into a key Week 15 showdown. Either can move into position to win the division with a victory, as ESPN's Adam Caplan noted:
Both Dallas and Philadelphia will remain in contention for a wild-card spot with a loss, but it will be a dogfight to get there with Detroit and either Seattle or Arizona in position to do the same.
The NFC South was saved for last—not because it's the best, but because, well, it's the worst.
A 7-9 team cracking the postseason is looking more and more likely, with Atlanta's loss to Green Bay dropping all of the NFC South teams to 5-8 or worse. The Saints also sit at 5-8, while the Panthers improved to 4-8-1 with a resounding win in New Orleans in Week 14.
All three teams are still in position to make a playoff push with wins down the stretch, as each has two divisional matchups in its three remaining games. But the rest of the conference wonders—is it too late to forgo an NFC South champion for a third wild-card team?
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