NFL Playoff Picture 2015: Week 13 Standings, Wild-Card Info and Super Bowl Odds

With the calendar about to hit December, the NFL playoff push has finally begun. Division leaders look to create separation from the rest of the pack, while wild-card hopefuls can't afford to have an off-game the rest of the year. 

There are some division leaders who can already breathe easy. New England and Carolina will both cruise to division titles. Cincinnati righted the ship on Sunday against St. Louis, boosting its lead in the AFC North to three games.

Once you get past those three teams, though, the NFL is a jumbled mess. Four of the five remaining division leaders don't have more than a two-game lead, with the AFC South and NFC East boasting ties. 

Here are the current division standings and Super Bowl odds with one more game left to play in Week 12. 

AFC East	Super Bowl 50 Odds	NFC East	Super Bowl 50 Odds
AFC North	Super Bowl 50 Odds	NFC North	Super Bowl 50 Odds
AFC South	Super Bowl 50 Odds	NFC South	Super Bowl 50 Odds
AFC West	Super Bowl 50 Odds	NFC West	Super Bowl 50 Odds
1. New England Patriots (10-1)	+250	1. Washington (5-6)	+15000
2. New York Jets (6-5)	+15000	2. New York Giants (5-6)	+1400
3. Buffalo Bills (5-6)	+15000	3. Philadelphia Eagles (4-7)	+10000
4. Miami Dolphins (4-7)	+30000	4. Dallas Cowboys (3-8)	+15000
1. Cincinnati Bengals (9-2)	+1400	1. Minnesota Vikings (8-3)	+1600
2. Pittsburgh Steelers (6-5)	+1000	2. Green Bay Packers (7-4)*	+1200
3. Baltimore Ravens (3-7)	+75000	3. Chicago Bears (5-6)	+6600
4. Cleveland Browns (2-8)	+200000	4. Detroit Lions (4-7)	+15000
1. Indianapolis Colts (6-5)	+3300	1. Carolina Panthers (11-0)	+550
2. Houston Texans (6-5)*	+10000	2. Atlanta Falcons (6-5)	+7500
3. Jacksonville Jaguars (4-7)	+10000	3. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (5-6)	+15000
4. Tennessee Titans (2-9)	+75000	4. New Orleans Saints (4-7)	+30000
1. Denver Broncos (9-2)	+1400	1. Arizona Cardinals (9-2)	+550
2. Kansas City Chiefs (6-5)*	+3300	2. Seattle Seahawks (6-5)*	+1600
3. Oakland Raiders (5-6)	+20000	3. St. Louis Rams (4-7)	+20000
4. San Diego Chargers (3-8)	+200000	4. San Francisco 49ers (3-8)	+100000

*Denotes wild card

NFC Wild-Card Prediction

The NFC wild-card battle is clear at the No. 5 spot, with the Green Bay Packers holding a one-game edge over the Seattle Seahawks and Atlanta Falcons. The Packers have an additional edge over the Seahawks by virtue of their head-to-head win in Week 2. 

However, this isn't the Green Bay team everyone expected to see. The offense has been off since the bye in Week 7, save for a 30-point outburst against Minnesota in Week 11. The Packers are averaging just 19.6 points per game over the last five weeks. 

Coming into the season, the Packers would have had a built-in reason for not having the same offense because star wide receiver Jordy Nelson tore his ACL in the preseason. That doesn't hold up, though, because they started the year 6-0 and were averaging 27.3 points per game. 

Packers head coach Mike McCarthy told reporters, per Genaro C. Armas of the Associated Press (via Yahoo Sports), that his team does not believe in the past as an indicator of future success. 

''Let's make it clear—we've been successful here, and success, you don't own success, it's rented. And you've got to earn it each and every day,'' McCarthy said.

Working in Green Bay's favor to at least maintain a wild-card spot is three consecutive games against Detroit, Dallas and Oakland. The Lions did defeat the Packers on Nov. 15, but there's too much talent on Green Bay's roster, starting with Aaron Rodgers, to spin so far out of control that they miss the playoffs. 

Ted S. Warren/Associated Press

The NFC team to watch is Seattle, which has won four of its last five games after a 2-4 start. The Seahawks haven't played a difficult schedule during this run, beating San Francisco twice and Dallas, but Sunday's win over Pittsburgh was a huge boost to their playoff chances. 

It also helps that the teams directly behind Seattle for the final playoff spot are Atlanta, Tampa Bay, New York and Chicago. The Falcons have fallen apart after their 5-0 start, losing five of their last six games. 

Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan has been particularly problematic, with SportsCenter tweeting out an alarming stat:

Tampa Bay, New York and Chicago are all under .500, so trying to make a compelling playoff case for anyone in that trio is painful. 

The Seahawks will get their chance to prove they are still capable of beating good teams with next week's showdown against Minnesota and a Week 17 matchup against NFC West rival Arizona, but they also catch a break with Baltimore, Cleveland and St. Louis sandwiched in the middle. 

AFC Wild-Card Prediction

Ed Zurga/Associated Press

The AFC playoff picture is prettier than the NFC's by virtue of having eight teams in the mix, all of them currently over .500. The Kansas City Chiefs and Houston Texans are currently the wild cards, as the Texans are also tied atop the AFC South with Indianapolis. 

The Chiefs may be the quietest potential playoff team in the AFC, because nothing they do is really sexy. Head coach Andy Reid has rallied his team after losing star running back Jamaal Charles for the season to a knee injury. 

Even though Alex Smith is an easy punching bag because he's so conservative with the ball—to the point he can look scared trying to throw past the line of scrimmage—the former No. 1 overall pick has found a friend in Jeremy Maclin. The NFL's official Twitter provided evidence of their connection:

Kansas City's schedule is setting up nicely to give it a shot at finishing with at least 10 wins. The Chiefs have Oakland twice, Baltimore, San Diego and Cleveland left. Those four teams have combined for a 13-29 record this season. 

Houston, on the other hand, is facing an uphill battle over the next three weeks, with a road game at Buffalo, at home against New England and at Indianapolis looming. That stretch will ultimately determine where the Texans end up.

Even coming off a loss at Seattle in Week 12, the Pittsburgh Steelers still look like the most dangerous potential wild-card team because of their offensive firepower. Ben Roethlisberger had 456 yards passing against the Seahawks, for example. 

B/R Insights noted how special Big Ben's accomplishment against the Seahawks was:

"

Ben Roethlisberger threw for 456 yards against the @Seahawks, the most Seattle has ever allowed to an opposing QB in a single game.

— B/R Insights (@BR_Insights) November 30, 2015"

There is a huge question about Roethlisberger's health coming out of the game, as Ed Bouchette of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported the Steelers star quarterback is in the concussion protocol after self-reporting a problem. 

With Roethlisberger, the Steelers' remaining schedule featuring Indianapolis, Cincinnati, Denver, Baltimore and Cleveland doesn't look bad. Without him, well, things could get out of hand in a hurry. 

The New York Jets have the defensive talent to make a run, especially with a schedule featuring the Giants, Titans and Cowboys in the next three weeks, but the final two games against New England and Buffalo are troublesome. 

The Steelers have more talent than the Chiefs and Jets, so it would be an upset if they didn't make the postseason. Kansas City is going to get in by virtue of having a soft schedule. It is hard to pencil in enough wins for a team like the Jets, Raiders or Bills to catch the Chiefs.