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NFL Playoff Picture 2020: Week 14 Standings, Super Bowl Odds and Wild-Card Hunt
December 7, 2020NFL Playoff Picture 2020: Week 14 Standings, Super Bowl Odds and Wild-Card Hunt
No ground was gained or lost in the AFC wild-card race on Sunday.
The Cleveland Browns, Miami Dolphins, Indianapolis Colts, Las Vegas Raiders and New England Patriots won their respective Week 13 games. The Baltimore Ravens can join that group with a victory over the Dallas Cowboys on Tuesday.
Those victories set up an incredible four-game push between six teams for the final three AFC playoff spots. The Buffalo Bills and Tennessee Titans could be dragged into the race, but in those scenarios, one of the current wild-card fighters would jump into the conference's top four.
While those squads are playing well, they are still another level away from the Pittsburgh Steelers and Kansas City Chiefs, who are two of the three favorites to win the Super Bowl.
The NFC wild-card race is as congested, but the quality of teams pales in comparison to the AFC, as the teams ranked seventh to 11th are .500 or worse.
On Sunday, the New Orleans Saints became the first NFC side to reach 10 wins. They still have the lowest odds to win the title out of their conference, but the Green Bay Packers are hot on their heels.
Super Bowl Odds
Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook
Kansas City (+250; bet $100 to win $250)
New Orleans (+500)
Pittsburgh (+600)
Green Bay (+800)
Los Angeles Rams (+1200)
Seattle (+1300)
Tampa Bay (+1600)
Buffalo (+2200)
Baltimore (+2800)
Indianapolis (+2800)
Tennessee (+2800)
Cleveland (+3000)
Arizona (+5000)
Las Vegas (+5000)
Miami (+5000)
Minnesota (+6000)
New York Giants (+6600)
San Francisco (+6600)
New England (+8000)
Philadelphia (+15000)
Washington (+15000)
Dallas (+17500)
Chicago (+20000)
Detroit (+32500)
Atlanta (+50000)
Carolina (+50000)
Denver (+50000)
Houston (+50000)
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AFC Standings
Division Leaders
1. Pittsburgh (11-0)
2. Kansas City (11-1)
3. Buffalo (8-3)
4. Tennessee (8-4)
Tennessee's loss to Cleveland put its AFC South advantage on thin ice.
Mike Vrabel's squad will either finish Week 13 in third or fourth place. If the Buffalo Bills lose to the San Francisco 49ers, it would move the Titans up to No. 3 on the head-to-head tiebreaker.
Buffalo needs a victory to keep the Miami Dolphins at arm's length in the AFC East. The Dolphins are currently a half-game back of the Bills. The two sides finish the season against each other in Buffalo.
Wild-Card Race
5. Cleveland (9-3)
6. Miami (8-4)
7. Indianapolis (8-4)
8. Las Vegas (7-5)
9. Baltimore (6-5)
10. New England (6-6)
Cleveland picked up the most important win in the AFC wild-card race on Sunday.
The Browns barnstormed through the Titans defense for 38 first-half points in their 41-35 win at Nissan Stadium.
Baker Mayfield and Co. hold a one-game advantage over Miami and Indianapolis. That is a good buffer to have with Baltimore and Pittsburgh still left on the schedule.
Cleveland could set the pace atop the wild-card race if it wins one of those games and sweeps the New York teams in Weeks 15 and 16.
If the Browns remain in fifth and the Titans hold on to the AFC South crown, they could be in line for a rematch in the first round of the postseason.
While there should be at least two wins in Cleveland's future, Miami has a hard path just to get to one. It hosts Kansas City and New England in the next two weeks and closes with trips to Las Vegas and Buffalo.
Miami's final three contests will provide some clarity to the competition since head-to-head record is the first tiebreaker.
At the moment, the Dolphins lead the Colts due to a superior conference record. Las Vegas would hold the same tiebreaker over Baltimore if the Ravens beat Dallas on Tuesday.
The Raiders and Colts square off in Week 14's most important game for the wild-card race. Jon Gruden's team could finish with a head-to-head tiebreaker over Cleveland, Indianapolis and Miami if they win.
NFC Standings
Division Leaders
1. New Orleans (10-2)
2. Green Bay (9-3)
3. Los Angeles Rams (8-4)
4. New York Giants (5-7)
New Orleans and Green Bay continued their winning ways against two of the worst teams in the NFC.
The Saints held the Atlanta Falcons to a single touchdown to complete the season sweep over their NFC South rival.
Green Bay defeated the Philadelphia Eagles by double digits to move its conference record to 7-2. That mark will not matter if the Packers are level with the Saints at the end of the season due to their head-to-head win over New Orleans.
The Los Angeles Rams benefited from that tiebreaker to move back into the NFC West lead by way of their win over the Arizona Cardinals and the Seattle Seahawks' surprising loss to the New York Giants.
Wild-Card Race
5. Seattle (8-4)
6. Tampa Bay (7-5)
7. Minnesota (6-6)
8. Arizona (6-6)
9. San Francisco (5-6)
10. Chicago (5-7)
11. Detroit (5-7)
Seattle dropped from the division lead to the top wild-card position after its Week 13 home defeat.
The Seahawks could reach the 10-win mark before their Week 16 clash with the Rams with games against the New York Jets and Washington Football Team in the next two weeks.
Victories in the next two games would help the Seahawks steer clear of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who were one of two teams with a Week 13 bye.
If Seattle and Tampa Bay remain one game better than the rest of the pack, there will only be one wild-card spot open in the NFC.
San Francisco needs a win to remain level with the Minnesota Vikings and Arizona, but it will not move into the No. 7 spot because of a head-to-head loss to the Cardinals. The 49ers can erase that loss by earning a season split in Week 16.
Minnesota does not play San Francisco and Arizona. As of Sunday night, the Vikings hold the lead over the Cardinals through the best win percentage in common games tiebreaker.
The Vikings could help put the Chicago Bears and Detroit Lions out of their meager playoff hunts if they finish divisional play with two wins. They may need those two victories since the Buccaneers and Saints are the other two squads on their schedule.
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