NFL Playoff Picture Week 14: Latest AFC, NFC Standings and Bracket Scenarios

The NFL playoff picture is starting to take shape, and the NFC may be a bit more clear-cut than the AFC with four weeks to go in the season.

The Carolina Panthers are fairly secure as the No. 1 seed in the NFC with their 12-0 record. Not only are they sitting atop the NFL standings, but they have a good chance of going 16-0 based on a favorable schedule. The Panthers have two games remaining with the slumping Atlanta Falcons and one game each with the New York Giants and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Rank	Team	Record	Skinny
1	Carolina Panthers	12-0	On track for perfect regular season
2	Arizona Cardinals	10-2	First-round bye is likely
3	Green Bay Packers	8-4	Not as secure as they appear right now
4	Washington Redskins	5-7	Could survive as NFC East champ
5	Minnesota Vikings	8-4	Steady to this point
6	Seattle Seahawks	7-5	Surging at the right time
7	Tampa Bay Bucs	6-6	Don't count them out ...
8	Atlanta Falcons	6-6	... Count to 10 on slumping Birds
9	N.Y. Giants	5-7	Pitiful game management has them on the outside
10	Philadelphia Eagles	5-7	Can win over Pats save these underachievers?

The Arizona Cardinals appear to have a good chance at the No. 2 seed with their 10-2 record. They hold a three-game lead over the Seattle Seahawks in the NFC West, and they are also two games ahead of the Green Bay Packers (8-4). Finishing as the No. 2 seed would give the Cardinals a bye in the NFC Wild Card Round of the postseason.

Green Bay has a tiebreaker edge over the Minnesota Vikings in the NFC North, and that division winner will not receive a bye unless the Cardinals slump and either one of the two NFC North teams goes on a winning streak to catch the Cardinals.

Alex Brandon/Associated Press

Then there's the NFC East, which for years was the most competitive and regularly the best division in the NFL. Those days are long over, as the Washington Redskins, New York Giants and Philadelphia Eagles all have 5-7 records and a one-game lead over the Dallas Cowboys. The Redskins are technically in first place at this point because they have the current tiebreaker edge.

The winner of that division will finish as the No. 4 seed, meaning that the first wild-card team may have a huge advantage because it gets to face a weak division champion. Currently, the Vikings are that No. 5 seed, while the Seattle Seahawks (7-5) are holding down the No. 6 spot.

Tampa Bay and Atlanta are both 6-6 and chasing that final wild-card spot in the NFC. It would be difficult to see either one passing Seattle at this point since Pete Carroll's team is playing its best football of the season.

Ron Schwane/Associated Press

The Cincinnati Bengals, Denver Broncos and New England Patriots are leading the way in the AFC with 10-2 records, but the defending Super Bowl champion Patriots would have the No. 3 seed and be forced to play in Wild Card Weekend if the season ended today.

Both the Bengals and Broncos have tiebreaker edges over the Patriots, but the Patriots still control their own destiny since the Bengals and Broncos will meet in Week 16 at Denver.

Rank	Team	Record	Skinny
1	Cincinnati Bengals	10-2	Must finish strong against tough schedule
2	Denver Broncos	10-2	Confrontation with Bengals looming
3	New England Patriots	10-2	Winning out means first-round bye
4	Indianapolis Colts	6-6	Trying to hang on despite troubled season
5	Kansas City Chiefs	7-5	Andy Reid's best coaching job
6	N.Y. Jets	7-5	May have just enough to earn postseason spot
7	Pittsburgh Steelers	7-5	Trying to make their move
8	Buffalo Bills	6-6	Talent is there; consistency is not
9	Houston Texans	6-6	Best chance is as AFC South champs

The Bengals also host the Pittsburgh Steelers this week, and that divisional game appears to be a huge challenge since the 7-5 Steelers (currently the No. 7 seed and outside of the playoff structure) are coming off a 45-point effort against Indianapolis. Additionally, the Steelers usually play well in Cincinnati, winning 12 of their last 14 games in the Queen City.

The Steelers are trying to catch and pass the No. 5-seeded Kansas City Chiefs and No. 6-seeded New York Jets. Both of those teams are also 7-5, and they hold tiebreaker edges over the Steelers.

The Buffalo Bills and Houston Texans are 6-6, and both are still in the playoff race if the Steelers, Jets and Chiefs stumble.

The Texans may have a better chance to get into the playoffs as the AFC South champions. The Texans and Colts are tied at 6-6 for the division lead, but the Colts are in first place as a result of their head-to-head win over the Texans earlier this season.

Houston will have a chance to rectify that situation when it goes to Indianapolis in Week 15.