NFL Playoff Picture Week 13: Updated AFC, NFC Wild-Card Scenarios, Predictions

According to the Pro Football Hall of Fame website, 10 NFL wild-card teams have made the Super Bowl since 1975, with six of them winning outright. The last team to do so was the 2010 Green Bay Packers, who won three road games before beating the Pittsburgh Steelers in Super Bowl XLV.

It will be interesting to see if any wild-card teams topple the favorites en route to the Lombardi Trophy. Until then, here's a look at the latest standings, in addition to some wild-card scenarios and predictions.

AFC Standings

Division Leaders

1. Pittsburgh Steelers (9-2)

2. New England Patriots (9-2)

3. Tennessee Titans (7-4)

4. Kansas City Chiefs (6-5)

Wild Card

5. Jacksonville Jaguars (7-4)

6. Baltimore Ravens (6-5)

Out of Playoffs

7. Buffalo Bills (6-5)

8. Cincinnati Bengals (5-6)

9. Los Angeles Chargers (5-6)

10. Oakland Raiders (5-6)

11. New York Jets (4-7)

12. Miami Dolphins (4-7)

13. Houston Texans (4-7)

14. Indianapolis Colts (3-8)

15. Denver Broncos (3-8)

16. Cleveland Browns (0-11): Eliminated

AFC Wild-Card Scenarios and Predictions

A look at the standings doesn't reveal the whole AFC wild-card scenario picture. At first glance, it would seem like the Baltimore Ravens have a tenuous lead on the wild-card spot as they hold a tiebreaker over the Buffalo Bills and just a one-game advantage on three other teams.

However, the Bills still need to play the 9-2 New England Patriots twice. The Ravens schedule is much easier and includes a date with the winless Cleveland Browns.

Baltimore also has edges on the Cincinnati Bengals and Oakland Raiders by virtue of beating both in head-to-head matchups earlier this season.

The Los Angeles Chargers are flying up the standings after starting 0-4, and the guess here is that they end up making the playoffs thanks to their stellar pass defense and the emergence of wideout Keenan Allen over the past two weeks.

However, the Ravens may not need to worry about them at all, as the Chargers could well jump over the Kansas City Chiefs for the division lead. 

Kansas City is just 1-5 in its past six games, with the lone win coming against the 3-8 Broncos. At this rate, it's hard seeing the Chiefs making the playoffs, let alone winning the division.

Given all of these factors, the pick is for the Ravens to hold onto a wild-card spot, with the Chargers leaping over them into a No. 4 seed by virtue of the AFC West crown.

The other wild card will go to the Jacksonville Jaguars, who lost to the AFC South-leading Tennessee Titans earlier this year and have to travel to face them on the road in Week 17.

However, the Jags have some winnable games in December that should keep them in the playoff conversation, namely a date with the 3-8 Indianapolis Colts at home on Sunday.

NFC Standings

Division Leaders

1. Philadelphia Eagles (10-1)

2. Minnesota Vikings (9-2)

3. Los Angeles Rams (8-3)

4. New Orleans Saints (8-3)

Wild Card

5. Carolina Panthers (8-3)

6. Atlanta Falcons (7-4)

Out of Playoffs

7. Seattle Seahawks (7-4)

8. Detroit Lions (6-5)

9. Dallas Cowboys (6-6)

10. Green Bay Packers (5-6)

11. Arizona Cardinals (5-6)

12. Washington Redskins (5-7)

13. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (4-7)

14. Chicago Bears (3-8)

15. New York Giants (2-9): Eliminated

16. San Francisco 49ers (1-10): Eliminated

NFC Wild-Card Scenarios and Predictions

At this rate, it's hard seeing any team with a current record of 5-6 or worse winning a wild-card spot simply because there is a plausible scenario out there where each of the six NFC postseason teams finishes the regular season with 11-5 records or better.

Furthermore, any six-loss team will have to jump over no fewer than three teams in the standings, so the chances are bleak for anyone in the NFC with a .500 record or worse.

The Detroit Lions have the easiest schedule down the stretch, as they don't play a team with a record better than 6-5. However, they are a full game plus a head-to-head tiebreaker behind the 7-4 Atlanta Falcons for the final playoff spot. And then the pesky Seattle Seahawks are sitting right between the two.

Given that the Falcons beat the Seahawks and obtained the key head-to-head tiebreaker, we could well see three NFC South teams make the postseason this year. The Panthers, Falcons and Saints each have games against the 4-7 Tampa Bay Buccaneers, whose pass defense has been giving up monster games of late. Barring any upsets, they should each come away with another win.

On the flip side, the Saints and Falcons still need to face off twice, and the Panthers must play each of them once more. If one of those teams ends up on the short end of the stick in those divisional matchups, then we could see Seattle jump over one (or even both) NFC South wild-card teams.

The problem with Seattle is that its schedule is no walk in the park, either, as it still needs to play the 10-1 Philadelphia Eagles, 8-3 Los Angeles Rams and 7-4 Jacksonville Jaguars. The latter game is on the road.

The guess here is that the Panthers and Falcons hold serve and earn the fifth and sixth seeds, respectively, while Seattle misses the playoffs for the first time since 2011.