NFL Playoff Picture 2020: Week 9 Standings, Wild-Card Info and Super Bowl Odds

A week after a tough overtime road loss to the Arizona Cardinals, the Seattle Seahawks got right back on track in Week 8 with a win over another one of their NFC West rivals.

The Seahawks held on for a 37-27 home win over the San Francisco 49ers, the NFC champions who continue to get weakened by injuries.

Seattle improved to 6-1, making it the only one-loss team in the NFC after the Green Bay Packers fell to 5-2 following their home defeat to the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday.

With Russell Wilson playing the way he has through eight weeks, the Seahawks could be one of the top Super Bowl contenders by season's end (even though their defense continues to struggle). The quarterback passed for 261 yards and four touchdowns against San Francisco, and he now has an NFL-high 26 passing touchdowns through seven games.

There are quite a few other teams that have realistic championship aspirations this season, though, and some have reached the midway point of their seasons.

Here's a look at the current NFL playoff picture, the odds for each team to win the Super Bowl and some of the key storylines to come out of this week's action.

NFL Playoff Picture

Gail Burton/Associated Press

AFC

Division Leaders

1. Pittsburgh Steelers (7-0)

2. Kansas City Chiefs (7-1)

3. Buffalo Bills (6-2)

4. Tennessee Titans (5-2)

Wild-Card Race

5. Baltimore Ravens (5-2)

6. Indianapolis Colts (5-2)

7. Cleveland Browns (5-3)

8. Las Vegas Raiders (4-3)

9. Miami Dolphins (4-3)

10. Denver Broncos (3-4)

11. Cincinnati Bengals (2-5-1)

12. Los Angeles Chargers (2-5)

13. New England Patriots (2-5)

14. Houston Texans (1-6)

15. Jacksonville Jaguars (1-6)

16. New York Jets (0-8)

NFC

Division Leaders

1. Seattle Seahawks (6-1)

2. Green Bay Packers (5-2)

3. New Orleans Saints (5-2)

4. Philadelphia Eagles (3-4-1)

Wild-Card Race

5. Arizona Cardinals (5-2)

6. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (5-2)

7. Los Angeles Rams (5-3)

8. Chicago Bears (5-3)

9. San Francisco 49ers (4-4)

10. Detroit Lions (3-4)

11. Carolina Panthers (3-5)

12. Washington Football Team (2-5)

13. Minnesota Vikings (2-5)

14. Dallas Cowboys (2-6)

15. Atlanta Falcons (2-6)

16. New York Giants (1-6)

Super Bowl Odds

Charlie Riedel/Associated Press

Kansas City Chiefs: +350 (bet $100 to win $350)

Pittsburgh Steelers: +550

Tampa Bay Buccaneers: +750

Seattle Seahawks: +800

Baltimore Ravens: +900

Green Bay Packers: +1400

New Orleans Saints: +1400

Buffalo Bills: +2000

Arizona Cardinals: +2500

Indianapolis Colts: +2500

Los Angeles Rams: +2500

Tennessee Titans: +2500

San Francisco 49ers: +3300

Philadelphia Eagles: +4000

Cleveland Browns: +5000

Chicago Bears: +6000

Las Vegas Raiders: +6000

Miami Dolphins: +7000

Los Angeles Chargers: +8000

New England Patriots: +8000

Detroit Lions: +10000

Minnesota Vikings: +10000

Carolina Panthers: +15000

Dallas Cowboys: +15000

Denver Broncos: +15000

Washington Football Team: +15000

Atlanta Falcons: +20000

Houston Texans: +20000

New York Giants: +35000

Cincinnati Bengals: +40000

Jacksonville Jaguars: +100000

New York Jets: +150000

Odds via DraftKings.

Are Dolphins a Team to Watch in AFC Wild-Card Race?

Wilfredo Lee/Associated Press

After two weeks of hype and anticipation, Tua Tagovailoa made his first career NFL start on Sunday afternoon. Coming out of their bye, the Dolphins beat the Los Angeles Rams 28-17 to win their third straight game and improve to 4-3.

However, the rookie quarterback was not a primary reason for the victory.

In fact, Tagovailoa had a bit of a quiet day. He threw his first career touchdown (an impressive three-yard strike to DeVante Parker on the final play of the first quarter) but finished 12-for-22 for 93 yards and had two carries for no yards.

It was Miami's defense and special teams that powered its victory. In the second quarter, Andrew Van Ginkel had a 78-yard fumble return touchdown and Jakeem Grant had an 88-yard punt return touchdown, which helped the Dolphins build a 28-10 lead by halftime. Miami didn't score the rest of the game, but it also only allowed one touchdown in the second half.

With seven teams from each conference making the playoffs this year, the Dolphins are in the thick of the AFC wild-card race, as they're a half-game behind the Cleveland Browns for the final postseason spot.

If the defense keeps playing well and Tagovailoa makes a bigger impact as he gets more comfortable, Miami could be a team to watch in the second half of the regular season.

Eagles Further Take Control in NFC East

Rich Schultz/Associated Press

The Eagles still have a losing record, and they're not playing great football at the moment. Yet, they still strengthened their hold on the NFC East on Sunday night with a 23-9 home win over the Dallas Cowboys that improved their record to 3-4-1.

Philadelphia won despite amassing only 222 total yards of offense and committing four turnovers. But its defense shut down a struggling Dallas offense, holding it to three Greg Zuerlein field goals and scoring a defensive touchdown on Rodney McLeod's 53-yard fumble return late in the fourth quarter.

It says quite a bit about the state of the NFC East that the Eagles have a clear lead. Washington sits at 2-5 after its bye week, Dallas fell to 2-6 and New York is 1-6 entering its Monday night matchup against Tampa Bay (which the Buccaneers are favored to win).

Still, one of these teams is not only going to make the playoffs, but they will get to host a game in the NFC Wild Card Round.

Philadelphia likely has the best chance to make an impact in the postseason (given Dallas' current state), but it will need to play a lot better than it did Sunday night to have a chance against some of the conference's better teams.

Patriots' Reign Appears to Be Nearing the End

John Munson/Associated Press

It's going to take an incredible turnaround for the Patriots to get back in the AFC East race and find a way to win their 12th straight division title. Things are not going well for New England.

After a 2-1 start, the Pats have lost four straight games, which includes Sunday's 24-21 road loss to the Bills, the current AFC East leader at 6-2. New England had the ball at the Buffalo 19-yard line with 37 seconds to go, but Cam Newton fumbled and lost it on a five-yard rush, and the Bills recovered to seal their win.

Over the past three weeks, the 31-year-old has a pair of rushing touchdowns, but he's passed for only 429 total yards while throwing no touchdowns and five interceptions. Despite those struggles, Patriots head coach Bill Belichick made it clear that he will remain the starting quarterback during his postgame press conference.

But if New England's offense doesn't start to play better soon, it's going to be too late. Not only are the Pats three-and-a-half games back of the Bills in the AFC East, but they're also two-and-a-half games behind the Browns for the seventh and final playoff berth in the conference, with several teams between them.

New England hasn't missed the postseason since 2008, when it went 11-5 with Matt Cassel at quarterback after Tom Brady suffered a season-ending injury in Week 1.

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