NFL Playoff Picture 2018: Week 14 Standings, Super Bowl Odds and Wild-Card Hunt

The NFL offered some real stinkers in Week 13, including previously surging teams made to look completely lost.

Even so, the playoff landscape wasn't much altered. The inevitable happened as the Los Angeles Rams officially clinched the NFC West with a win—albeit ugly—at Detroit to improve to a league-best 11-1.

The New Orleans Saints went into Dallas on Thursday night and looked like a totally different team than we had become used to during their dominant 10-game winning streak. Even in the loss, the Saints remain in cruise control in the NFC South. Houston won its ninth-straight, and nobody is catching them in the AFC South.

The Kansas City Chiefs eked out a 40-33 win against the terrible 2-10 Raiders. With the Los Angeles Chargers improving to 9-3 on Sunday night, the AFC West is still a question mark as the two teams meet again in Week 15. This leaves the AFC wild-card picture a little more in flux than it would seem. 

The real fuzziness is in the NFC wild-card race, though, with two divisions still up for grabs and four teams hovering right around .500.

Reminder: Washington plays at Philadelphia in Monday Night Football, which could affect the standings, Super Bowl odds and NFC wild-card race.

NFL Standings

AFC 

Division Leaders 

1. Kansas City (10-2) 

2. Houston Texas (9-3)

3. New England Patriots (9-3)

4. Pittsburgh Steelers (7-4-1)

Wild-Card Hunt

5. Los Angeles Chargers (9-3) 

6. Baltimore Ravens (7-5)

7. Miami Dolphins (6-6)

8. Indianapolis Colts (6-6)

9. Denver Broncos (6-6)

10. Tennessee Titans (6-6)

11. Cincinnati Bengals (4-7)

12. Cleveland Browns (4-7-1)

13. Buffalo Bills (4-8)

14. Jacksonville Jaguars (4-8)

15. New York Jets (3-9)

16. Oakland Raiders (2-10) 

NFC

Division Leaders

1. Los Angeles Rams—z (11-1)

2. New Orleans Saints (10-2)

3. Chicago Bears (8-4)

4. Dallas Cowboys (7-5)

Wild-Card Hunt

5. Seattle Seahawks (7-5)

6. Washington Redskins (6-5)

7. Minnesota Vikings (6-5-1)

8. Carolina Panthers (6-6)

9. Philadelphia Eagles (5-6)

10. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (5-7)

11. Green Bay Packers (4-7-1)

12. Atlanta Falcons (4-8)

13. New York Giants (4-8)

14. Detroit Lions (4-8)

15. Arizona Cardinals (3-9)

16. San Francisco 49ers (2-10)

Super Bowl Odds (via OddsShark)

New Orleans Saints (+300, bet $10 to win $30)

Los Angeles Rams (+320)

Kansas City Chiefs (+600)

New England Patriots (+600)

Pittsburgh Steelers (+1000)

Chicago Bears (+1400)

Los Angeles Chargers (+1400)

Houston Texans (+2000)

Minnesota Vikings (+2000)

Dallas Cowboys (+3300)

Indianapolis Colts (+3300)

Philadelphia Eagles (+4000)

Seattle Seahawks (+4000)

Baltimore Ravens (+5000)

Carolina Panthers (+6600)

Denver Broncos (+8000)

Tennessee Titans (+8000)

Green Bay Packers (+10000)

Washington Redskins (+12500)

Cincinnati Bengals (+15000)

Cleveland Browns (+15000)

Atlanta Falcons (+25000)

Detroit Lions (+25000)

Miami Dolphins (+30000)

Jacksonville Jaguars (+40000)

New York Giants (+50000)

Buffalo Bills (+75000)

Tampa Bay Buccaneers (+75000)

New York Jets (+100000)

Arizona Cardinals (+300000)

Oakland Raiders (+300000)

San Francisco 49ers (+300000)

Wild-Card Outlook

AFC

While the play was murky league-wide in Week 13, the AFC wild-card picture got a lot clearer—starting with the Los Angeles Chargers' wild win in Pittsburgh on Sunday night.

Down 23-7 at halftime, quarterback Philip Rivers and Co. ended up beating the Steelers 33-30 on a last-second field goal that had to be tried three times thanks to two consecutive Pittsburgh offside penalties.

Put these 9-3 Chargers in any other AFC division and they're looking potentially at a first-round bye (as both New England and Houston are also 9-3 and leading their respective divisions). But those pesky 10-2 Kansas City Chiefs have L.A. firmly in the first wild-card spot, where it seems they'll stay.

Taking up the No. 6 seed at this point are the Baltimore Ravens. Rookie quarterback Lamar Jackson has stepped in for an injured Joe Flacco and won three games in a row—the latest a 26-16 win in Atlanta on Sunday. The path to the playoffs is less clear for Baltimore than the Chargers, however.

Next week, the Ravens—with either Jackson or a recovered Joe Flacco at quarterback—will travel to Kansas City. While the Chiefs showed on Sunday that their offense has taken a hit without the recently cut Pro Bowl running back Kareem Hunt, it will still be a massive test for these Ravens.

An important test, too, as the 6-6 Indianapolis Colts and Denver Broncos—also 6-6—are close behind. Indianapolis did nothing to help themselves on Sunday with a 6-0 loss to a turmoiled Jaguars team that had lost seven-straight. Contrastingly, the Broncos are surging behind rookie running back Phillip Lindsay.

In Week 16, the Ravens will travel to Los Angeles to take on the Chargers in what is shaping up to be a pivotal game. 

Lastly, what about the Tennessee Titans? Perhaps the most undiagnosable team in the AFC, the Titans sit at .500 with some impressive wins in the left column against the Texans (Week 2), Cowboys (Week 9) and Patriots (Week 10). With the AFC South firmly in Houston's grip, Tennessee is shooting for a wild-card spot. 

At the same time, and more recently, the Titans were drilled on Monday Night Football at Houston just last week. Quarterback Marcus Mariota has improved as the season has worn on, and we've seen last season what tricks Tennessee can pull once in the playoffs.

NFC

The wild-card conversation in the NFC revolves around the Seattle Seahawks. With the Los Angeles Rams clinching the NFC West in Week 13, Seattle's lone shot is in the wild-card. It's a position nobody saw this team being in as recently as Week 10. Since then, the Seahawks have pulled off three wins in a row.

The defense is no longer a Legion of Boom, but linebacker Bobby Wagner is making sure it's still stout. On the offense, quarterback Russell Wilson has thrown for eight touchdowns during Seattle's winning streak and is complemented well by running back Chris Carson. A healthy Doug Baldwin has made all the difference.

Less fortunate in the health department is Washington, who lost quarterback Alex Smith to a brutal leg injury in Week 11. Since then, Washington has failed to win with Colt McCoy at quarterback. Tonight's game at Philadelphia is crucial to the playoff hunt, especially as Dallas starts running away with the NFC East.

A stronger candidate of late for that No. 6 seed is Minnesota. The Vikings got off to a slow start in 2018 but have looked more in recent weeks like the team they were projected to be. That said, losing in New England on Sunday was a major blow—doubly when considering Chicago was upset by the Giants.

Having already lost to Chicago in Week 11, the NFC North rivals' matchup in Week 17 could decide the division. Will Bears starting quarterback Mitchell Trubisky be back and healthy from a shoulder injury? More pressingly—not to mention within their own control—how will the Vikings fare at Seattle in Week 14?

Teams that were once firmly in the mix look completely out of it post-Week 13. The Carolina Panthers laid an egg at Tampa Bay on Sunday behind a four-interception performance from quarterback Cam Newton—marking the team's fourth loss in a row. While still 6-6, Carolina still has to play the Saints twice this season.

Don't even get us started on the 4-7-1 Green Bay Packers—their worst record since quarterback Aaron Rodgers' rookie season—who fired head coach Mike McCarthy after an abysmal loss against the visiting Arizona Cardinals. They're done. 

The defending Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles haven't been the same team we saw in 2017 since the 2018 season began, but they are not totally out of the picture yet. Again, tonight's game against Washington has big implications for both teams. 

The Eagles' remaining schedule is not favorable with dates at Dallas, Los Angeles Rams and Houston looming. In other words, it's probably safe to assume there will be a new champion come Super Bowl LIII.