NFL Playoff Scenarios: Winners and Losers from Sunday's Games
Week 13 of the NFL season is nearly complete, and with it we got a much better perspective of the playoff picture in both the AFC and NFC.
A lot of teams were able to set themselves up for a playoff appearance, and a few others shot themselves in the foot.
Here are the biggest winners and losers from Week 13's NFL games.
Winner: Pittsburgh Steelers
1 of 11
The Steelers were able to get a big come-from-behind victory over the Ravens, 13-10 on Sunday night, and they have set themselves up to win the AFC North. Also, they will soon claim one of the top two seeds in the AFC playoffs, and get a first-round bye.
They trailed most of the game but were able to get a touchdown pass from Ben Roethlisberger to Isaac Redman late in the fourth quarter to take the lead and hold off the Ravens at the end.
Pittsburgh has four games left, one against a winning team, home against the Jets in Week 15.
Their schedule sets up nicely for them to make a push for the top spot in the AFC and get home-field throughout the playoffs.
Winner: St Louis Rams
2 of 11
In the division that no one seems to want to win, the Rams have taken control of the NFC West and are well on their way to making their first playoff appearance since 2004.
They aren't the most flashy team in the league, only 6-6, but they have made significant progress from where they were as a franchise.
Prior to this year, the Rams had won six games in the last three years combined.
They do have a game at Seattle in Week 17 that could decide the winner of the division.
Aside from that game, both teams play two games against teams with winning records, and against San Francisco.
Winner: Atlanta Falcons
3 of 11
The Falcons have the best record in football at 10-2, yet there is still a sense that the Saints are the best team in the NFC South.
This team does what they have to do to win, it may not always be flashy but they get the job done.
Matt Ryan is a star at the quarterback position, leading the Falcons on (another) game-winning fourth quarter drive against Tampa Bay.
They are in the midst of three straight games on the road, where they have not been particularly strong, but they won their first test against a good Tampa team, and now the next two are at Carolina and Seattle.
Those two are winnable games for the Falcons, and they could easily go into Week 16 at New Orleans with a 12-2 record, and a chance to clinch the division.
Winner: New Orleans Saints
4 of 11
After a sluggish 4-3 start to the year, the Saints have won five games in a row, and their offense is getting into that groove that they were in last year.
They have scored at least 30 points in four straight games, and Chris Ivory has given the Saints the running game that has been missing most of the year.
Yesterday, the Bengals had them on the ropes, but couldn't finish them.
Things are starting to click for Drew Brees and co., and they will be a very dangerous team in January.
They have a very difficult four game stretch to finish the year.
They are home against St Louis, at Baltimore, at Atlanta, and home against Tampa Bay to end the year.
They will have an uphill climb to win the division, but if they go 2-2 in their last two games, they will finish 11-5 and have the inside track to one of the two wild-card positions.
Winner: Jacksonville Jaguars
5 of 11
For all the talk about the NFC West, the AFC South is not a whole lot better.
The Colts have fallen off a cliff.
The Texans are always a tease, but can never seem to take the next step.
The Titans are in disarray with the whole Vince Young-Jeff Fisher fiasco.
Yet, there are the Jaguars at 7-5, and they have the inside track to win the division.
They are very ugly to watch, they have been outscored by 43 points this year, but at the end of the day, they win more than they lose and this year, that's enough.
Their schedule to end the year gives them Oakland at home, at Indy, home against the Redskins, and at the Texans.
If they beat Indy, that would make it even more likely they win the division because they will have swept the Colts.
All the Jaguars have to do is keep plugging like they have and, like it or not, they will be the AFC North champs.
Winner: Kansas City Chiefs
6 of 11
Kansas City is going to give some team fits in the playoffs because they can run the ball and play solid defense.
I think it's time that we can say that they are going to be playing in January, because the Chargers had all the momentum in the world and folded like a cheap tent.
After appearing to be a nice story for a couple months, the Chiefs have found an identity and it's working well for them.
They have games at San Diego, at St Louis, home against Tennessee, home against Oakland.
Next week's game is going to be the key.
They have beaten the Chargers once, and another victory would effectively end the Chargers' season. If Oakland is able to win out and the Chiefs win one of their next three games, then Week 17 will decide the division.
Loser: Indianapolis Colts
7 of 11
Peyton Manning has unraveled.
He has thrown 11 interceptions in the last three games, including four returned for touchdowns. The running game is non-existent, their receivers are all hurt, the defense is not getting stops at critical times.
Everything in Indianapolis is a mess right now. With that said, they are 6-6 and only a game back in the AFC South.
Their conference record, combined with heavy competition from other teams in the AFC, make it impossible for the Colts to get a wild card, so they have to go for the division.
They had a golden opportunity to stay even with the Jaguars against a Cowboys team that is playing hard, but overall isn't very good. Instead, they coughed up the game and diminished their slim playoff chances.
They play at Tennessee on Thursday, then home against Jacksonville, at Oakland, and home against Tennessee.
Watching this team, I could see them winning all those games. I could also see them losing all four games.
Things have not gone the Colts' way this year, and they have an uphill battle to make the playoffs for the ninth straight year.
Loser: Tampa Bay Buccaneers
8 of 11
The Buccaneers had the Falcons on the ropes, they were going to put them away, and make the NFC South division a three-team race.
They were up 24-14 in the fourth quarter against the best team in the NFC. Unfortunately for them, Matt Ryan had 10 minutes to play.
The Falcons made the comeback and ripped the heart right out from Tampa Bay.
They go to Washington, home against Detroit and Seattle, and at New Orleans to end the year. T
hey would likely have to win out to have a shot to get in to the postseason, but even then they would have to hope for the Eagles/Giants NFC East loser and the Packers to lose twice to get in.
It's been a very good year for the Bucs, but yesterday probably made their postseason dreams just that: A dream.
Loser: San Diego Chargers
9 of 11
The Chargers have been the most up-and-down team in football this year.
Every year they start slowly and finish strong, and it looked like that was happening again. They came out against the Raiders and laid an egg. They looked awful, the running game completely disappeared. There was no rhythm to their game at all.
Now they have lost both games to the Raiders, so they would have to climb over two teams in the AFC West in order to get into the postseason.
They have two home games against Kansas City and San Francisco and two road games against Cincinnati and Denver.
All those games are winnable for this team but with their inconsistent nature they will likely stumble in at least one of those games, and they will need a ton of help to get in the playoffs.
Honorable Mention, Loser: Houston Texans
10 of 11
Every year we think that the Texans are going to break out and become a playoff team.
They ended last year 9-7 and started the year with a very emotional win against the Colts; things were going to turn around for them in 2010.
Here we are with four weeks to play and they are 5-7 and on the outside again.
They have a ton of talent on their team with Matt Schaub, Andre Johnson, Arian Foster, Mario Williams, et al.
Yet, every year they underachieve and never live up to that potential.
They were up against the Eagles to start the fourth quarter but gave up 14 points and lost 34-24.
Honorable Mention, Winner: Jets/Patriots Winner
11 of 11
The winner of tonight's Monday night football game will have the best record in the AFC, the inside track to a first-round playoff bye, and home-field advantage throughout the postseason.
Both teams, barring an epic collapse, will make the playoffs, but this game could determine the difference between being the number one seed or the number five seed come January.
.jpg?w=480 "49ers Eagles Football")
.png?w=480)
.jpg?w=600 "Downs: I Was Bored in CFB")
.jpg?w=600 "NFL team had 'secret meetings' before surprise draft pick")
.jpg?w=600 "New Report on Stafford's Contract Status")