NFL Playoff Picture Week 14: Breaking Down AFC and NFC Postseason Outlook

The Philadelphia Eagles could have become the NFL's first team to officially clinch its division on Sunday Night Football in Week 13, but instead, the Eagles fell to the Seattle Seahawks 24-10 in prime time and muddied the playoff picture for the entire conference.

With the Seahawks' triumph over the mighty Eagles, the 10-2 Minnesota Vikings move into first place in the NFC.

The postseason prognosis could experience another upheaval on Monday night when the 9-2 Pittsburgh Steelers take on the 5-6 Cincinnati Bengals.

With a win, Pittsburgh would match New England's (the current No. 1 seed) 10-2 record in the AFC.

To make things even more interesting, the Steelers and Patriots meet in a head-to-head matchup in Week 15 in Pittsburgh that could very well determine the top playoff seeding in the AFC.

Let's take a look at how the NFL playoff picture breaks down prior to Monday Night Football.

AFC Playoff Picture

Adrian Kraus/Associated Press

Here is where the top six teams in the AFC stand:

1. New England Patriots (10-2)

2. Pittsburgh Steelers (9-2)

3. Tennessee Titans (8-4)

4. Kansas City Chiefs (6-6)

5. Jacksonville Jaguars (8-4)

6. Baltimore Ravens (7-5)

In the hunt: Los Angeles Chargers (6-6), Buffalo Bills (6-6)

With only weeks left to go in the 2017 regular season, surprise, surprise, the New England Patriots have once again found themselves atop the AFC after winning their eighth straight game.

The Patriots' victory over division rival Buffalo catapulted them into first place, but the Steelers can keep pace with them with a win on Monday night. 

Sometimes, teams are better than their record suggests...but other times, they're worse. Tennessee hasn't always looked like an 8-4 team, and yet here we are.

The Jacksonville Jaguars, however, are also 8-4 and right behind the Titans in the AFC South, so that race is far from over. However, it might become a matter of which team earns a wild card, as both look like playoff contenders at this point. 

After losing four games in a row, it's only because the Kansas City Chiefs started the season winning five straight that they're still leading the AFC West and included in the postseason picture.

But that might not be the case for long. 

The 6-6 Chiefs share an identical record with both the Los Angeles Chargers and Oakland Raiders—and those teams are riding winning streaks of three and two games, respectively. 

The Chiefs are trending in the wrong direction at the most pivotal point in the year, and it could cost them not only the division title, but a chance at a playoff berth, period. 

With a win over the 6-6 Detroit Lions on Sunday, the Baltimore Ravens improved to 7-5 and solidified their position in the playoff seeding.

After some early trouble, the Ravens have won three games in a row and are clearly feeling pretty happy with themselves, as this clip of Joe Flacco in his postgame presser demonstrates:

Surprising no one, the Cleveland Browns (0-12) and Indianapolis Colts (3-9) have been eliminated from playoff contention in the AFC.

NFC Playoff Picture

Gregory Shamus/Getty Images

Here's how the playoff seeding in the NFC looks heading into Week 14:

1. Minnesota Vikings (10-2)

2. Philadelphia Eagles (10-2)

3. Los Angeles Rams (9-3)

4. New Orleans Saints (9-3)

5. Seattle Seahawks (8-4)

6. Carolina Panthers (8-4)

In the hunt: Atlanta Falcons (7-5), Detroit Lions (6-6)

Seattle's win over Philadelphia had dramatic implications for the top seeding in the NFC.

Heading into Sunday Night Football, the Eagles were the conference's No. 1 seed, while the Seahawks were barely in the picture at No. 6. 

But with Seattle's statement win, the Vikings moved into first place ahead of the Eagles, and the Seahawks and Panthers swapped places so that now, suddenly, Carolina is in danger of falling out of the pack.

The 7-5 Atlanta Falcons were one of the biggest victims of the Seahawks' surge forward, but they could have helped matters for themselves by defeating the Vikings Sunday.

They didn't, and now there are already two NFC South teams in the mix ahead of them and several contenders breathing down their necks. 

The Rams would have also liked to see the Eagles come away with a win on Sunday night. Now guaranteed its first winning season in 14 years, 9-3 Los Angeles has to hold off the surging 8-4 Seahawks to keep its horns locked onto a division title.  

If the postseason started Monday, the other two seeds in the NFC would go to the NFC South's New Orleans Saints and Carolina Panthers, boxing out the aforementioned Falcons.

New Orleans has been a sleeping giant all season, and as its 353 points on the year show, it's a hard team to outscore.

Three NFC teams have been mathematically eliminated from the playoffs: the New York Giants (2-10), San Francisco 49ers (2-10) and Chicago Bears (3-9).