2008 NFL's Playoff Picture After Week 14

By Derek Lofland

NFC East: The New York Giants have clinched the NFC East. They will be one of the top two seeds in the NFC, unless they lose out and the Vikings win out.

The Giants control their own destiny for home-field throughout the playoffs. The winner of the Giants and Panthers' game in a couple weeks should determine who the NFC’s No. 1 seed is.

The loser should be the No. 2 seed. The Cowboys are 8-5 and in second place. The Philadelphia Eagles are 7-5-1 in third place. The Redskins are in last at 7-6. All the teams are still mathematically alive for the playoffs.

The Cowboys finish with New York, Baltimore, and @ Philadelphia. The Eagles finish with the Cleveland Browns, @ Washington Redskins, and Dallas Cowboys. The Redskins finish at @Cincinnati, Philadelphia, and @ San Francisco.

Only one of these three teams should make the playoffs, barring an AFC South collapse. The key divisional games should sort out who emerges as the second-place team.

The Cowboys have the most difficult of the three schedules. The Redskins and Eagles are comparable. There are just too many possibilities to sort the three contenders. Philly is playing the best ball right now, coming off back-to-back wins over Arizona and New York Giants.

The Cowboys were playing better winning three straight until they lost to the Steelers. They have a brutal end to the season. The Redskins are 1-4 in their last five games and for all intensive purposes out of the playoff hunt. They would need to win out with a lot of help. There are just too many teams to jump over to give them a realistic shot.

The other seven divisions >>>