NFL Playoff Picture 2017: Week 9 Standings, Wild-Card Info and Super Bowl Odds

For a lot of teams, the 2017 NFL season reached its halfway point in Week 8. September and October separate the playoff contenders from the rest of the pack, with the final two months of the regular season going a long way toward separating the Super Bowl contenders from the also-rans.

Most of the division races remain compelling with no clear favorites. Only the Pittsburgh Steelers and Philadelphia Eagles have division leads by at least two games. Three divisions feature teams at the top with the same number of losses.

Despite this parity across the NFL, there have been plenty of surprises and disappointments through eight gameweeks that have altered the Super Bowl landscape.

Here are the updated division standings and Super Bowl odds with one game left in Week 8 on Monday night.

NFL Standings

AFC East

1. New England Patriots (6-2)

2. Buffalo Bills (5-2)*

3. Miami Dolphins (4-3)

4. New York Jets (3-5)

AFC North

1. Pittsburgh Steelers (6-2)

2. Baltimore Ravens (4-4)

3. Cincinnati Bengals (3-4)

4. Cleveland Browns (0-8)

AFC South

1. Tennessee Titans (4-3)

2. Jacksonville Jaguars (4-3)*

3. Houston Texans (3-4)

4. Indianapolis Colts (2-6)

AFC West

1. Kansas City Chiefs (5-2)

2. Denver Broncos (3-3)

3. Los Angeles Chargers (3-5)

4. Oakland Raiders (3-5)

NFC East

1. Philadelphia Eagles (7-1)

2. Dallas Cowboys (4-3)

3. Washington Redskins (3-4)

4. New York Giants (1-6)

NFC North

1. Minnesota Vikings (6-2)

2. Green Bay Packers (4-3)

3. Detroit Lions (3-4)

4. Chicago Bears (3-5)

NFC South

1. New Orleans Saints (5-2)

2. Carolina Panthers (5-3)*

3. Atlanta Falcons (4-3)

4. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2-5)

NFC West

1. Seattle Seahawks (5-2)

2. Los Angeles Rams (5-2)*

3. Arizona Cardinals (3-4)

4. San Francisco 49ers (0-8)

*Denotes wild-card team

Updated Super Bowl LII Odds

New England Patriots (+325)

Pittsburgh Steelers (+700)

Kansas City Chiefs (+900)

Philadelphia Eagles (+900)

Seattle Seahawks (+1,000)

Atlanta Falcons (+1,600)

Minnesota Vikings (+1,600)

Los Angeles Rams (+1,800)

Dallas Cowboys (+2,000)

New Orleans Saints (+2,200)

Green Bay Packers (+3,300)

Carolina Panthers (+3,300)

Detroit Lions (+3,300)

Tennessee Titans (+3,300)

Oakland Raiders (+3,300)

Denver Broncos (+4,000)

Houston Texans (+4,000)

Jacksonville Jaguars (+4,000)

Washington Redskins (+4,000)

Miami Dolphins (+6,600)

Los Angeles Chargers (+6,600)

Buffalo Bills (+6,600)

Tampa Bay Buccaneers (+10,000)

Baltimore Ravens (+10,000)

Cincinnati Bengals (+10,000)

Chicago Bears (+10,000)

Arizona Cardinals (+15,000)

New York Giants (+50,000)

Indianapolis Colts (+50,000)

New York Jets (+50,000)

San Francisco 49ers, Cleveland Browns (N/A)

Biggest Week 8 Winner: Houston Texans

Stephen Brashear/Associated Press

The Houston Texans and Seattle Seahawks gave the 2017 NFL season the shot of adrenaline it needed Sunday, with the Seahawks pulling out a thrilling 41-38 victory on Russell Wilson's touchdown pass to Jimmy Graham with 21 seconds remaining.

This felt like the kind of game both teams needed to win, but if either could afford to lose, it was the Texans because the AFC South is not a division that has a runaway contender. The Tennessee Titans and Jacksonville Jaguars occupy the top spot with matching 4-3 records.

The Texans have games against the Indianapolis Colts, Rams, Arizona Cardinals, Baltimore Ravens and San Francisco 49ers coming up. This was a game they needed to see whether they were ready to compete with a possible Super Bowl contender.

Houston was on the road in the most difficult stadium for visitors to play in, and the Texans were seconds away from pulling off the victory.

Beyond the outcome of the game, Texans rookie Deshaun Watson is rapidly moving up the quarterback rankings every time he plays. He lit up a Seattle defense that was allowing an NFL-best 15.7 points per game and third-lowest opponent completion percentage (55.6) through the first seven weeks.

Watson finished with 402 passing yards, four touchdowns and three interceptions, setting and tying NFL records in the loss:

The Texans still have work to do—especially on defense, with Whitney Mercilus and J.J. Watt out for the season—but Watson has given them the short- and long-term answer at quarterback they have been seeking for years.

Even in defeat against a good Seahawks team, it's still easy to see the Texans emerging as a contender in the AFC during the season's second half. 

Biggest Week 8 Loser: Oakland Raiders

Brett Carlsen/Getty Images

The Oakland Raiders were thought to have saved their season after escaping Week 7 with a 31-30 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs that featured two untimed downs at the end of the game.

Instead, despite having extra time to prepare for Week 8 against the Buffalo Bills, the Raiders laid an egg in a 34-14 loss that dropped their record to 3-5 overall and into a tie with the Los Angeles Chargers for last in the AFC West.

The Athletic's John Middlekauff summed up how things stand for the Raiders halfway through the 2017 season:

Buffalo's defense forced four turnovers in the game, including two interceptions from Raiders quarterback Derek Carr.

Even though Carr's 314 passing yards looks a good stat on the surface, Pro Football Focus noted he wasn't doing much to contest a Buffalo secondary that was without injured cornerback E.J. Gaines.

"Nearly half of his yards came after the catch, and 25 of his 31 completions came on passes that traveled fewer than 10 yards past the line of scrimmage," PFF wrote. "He was off-target on several throws and forced a few others into tight or double coverage that resulted in pass breakups."

One week after Amari Cooper seemed to find his swagger with 210 yards against the Chiefs, he had 48 yards on five receptions. The third-year wide receiver has averaged fewer than 10 yards per reception in six of Oakland's eight games this season.

The Raiders returned most of the pieces from last year's offense that led them to 12 wins and ranked seventh in the NFL with 26 points per game. They are only averaging 21.1 points through eight games in 2017.

Carr wasn't available for Week 5 against the Baltimore Ravens because of a back injury, but the Raiders have been held under 20 points in two of the three games since his return.

The Bills have proved themselves to be a good team, with a 5-2 record, and a legitimate threat to the New England Patriots in the AFC East. Those teams have two head-to-head matchups this season, so we will see then whether Buffalo is ready to take the leap.

The Raiders, on the other hand, need to find some consistency over their final eight games if they want to get back into playoff contention after another loss in which they looked bad.

Odds according to OddsShark.