NFL Playoff Predictions 2011: Picking Each Division Winner Plus Wild Cards

The NFL playoff picture has not changed a whole lot from Week 7 to Week 8 with there being only a couple of upsets, but there are a few game results that may have altered the race some.

The biggest upset of Week 8 was the St. Louis Rams' dominant victory over the New Orleans Saints, 31-21.

This really means nothing for the Rams, because at 1-6 they are pretty much out of the playoff race. However, this loss could could be costly to the Saints, who are now 5-3 with the 4-3 Buccaneers and Falcons both on their tail in the NFC South.

Right now the NFC South is looking like it could get a wild card, but if the Saints drop a couple more games and fall below, they run the risk of missing the playoffs.

The other big game was the the Pittsburgh Steelers' win over the New England Patriots. The victory for the Steelers gave tied records to Pittsburgh, Baltimore and Cincinnati in the AFC North.

For New England, the loss put them even with Buffalo at 5-2 atop the AFC East.  

The other game that could be critical would be if the Kansas City Chiefs pull off the upset against the San Diego Chargers on Monday Night Football.

Right now the Chargers are atop the AFC West at 4-2, but a loss would put them tied with the Oakland Raiders at 4-3.

Now, onto the current playoff predictions.

AFC East

No one would have guessed it, maybe not even Buffalo, but the Bills are currently atop the AFC East.

Tied with New England at 5-2, the Bills currently edge out the Patriots for the top spot due to their head-to-head victory.

AFC East Wild Card

The AFC East is a three-man race, with it being one of the divisions which will receive a wild card.  

Right now that wild card would go to the New England Patriots.

With a loss to the Steelers on Sunday, the Patriots dropped to 5-2, tying their record with the Buffalo Bills.  

However, the Bills win the head-to-head tie-breaker, giving them first place.

The New York Jets are close behind both teams, down just one game.

AFC North

Again, the AFC North is a total dog fight right now with Pittsburgh, Baltimore and Cincinnati all sitting at 5-2.

The Steelers currently lead the division with a half-game lead over Baltimore despite losing to them in their head-to-head matchup.

Next week will be a critical game when Pittsburgh and Baltimore face off for the top spot.

AFC North Wild Card

With such a battle brewing and so many good teams, the AFC North is the other AFC division which would receive the wild card if the season were to end today.

The Baltimore Ravens would not be a guarantee for that spot, as they are tied with Cincinnati, but given the history and experience of the Ravens, we give the edge to Baltimore right now.

AFC South

The Houston Texans are alone atop the AFC South with a 5-3 record and a current two-game win streak.

The Titans are right on their heels at 4-3, but the Texans defense has looked great and their offense has the potential to be very dangerous.

Currently, the AFC South would not receive a wild card and the Texans would be the only team from the division to make the playoffs.

AFC West

The AFC West is another close race, with the Chargers currently edging out the Raiders by one game. 

However, the Chargers play the Chiefs in the Monday night game this week, and thus, things could change depending on the outcome.

If the Chargers lose to the Chiefs they will be tied with the Raiders at 4-3.

This will be an interesting race, as the AFC West will be a division which does not receive a wild card.

NFC East

The New York Giants are currently alone atop the NFC East leading the Dallas Cowboys by two games.

The Giants' gap got a little bit wider Sunday night when the 2-4 Eagles pulled off a huge win over the 3-3 Cowboys by a score of 34-7.

The Giants have the Eagles to thank for their two-game lead.

NFC North

The NFC North is another dominant division, but thankfully for the Green Bay Packers, they're the most dominant team in the NFL right now.

At 7-0, the Packers have a two-game lead over the Detroit Lions and are without a question the current Super Bowl favorites.

NFC North Wild Card

The Detriot Lions are currently in second place in the NFC North at 6-2 and would receive a wild card bid into the playoffs.

The Lions' season is off to a great start, but they have a spot to protect with the Bears close behind at 4-3 and a big Week 9 matchup against Chicago.

As the Lions found out a couple weeks ago when they had to make a comeback to defeat the Minnesota Vikings, no team should ever be taken lightly.

NFC South

The NFC South is another three-way race division, with the Saints, Bucaneers and Falcons all battling it out.

The Saints are currently holding onto a one-game lead at 5-3, but after getting their butts whooped by the 1-6 Rams on Sunday, they need to sharpen up quickly or their playoff dreams could go down the toilet in a hurry.

NFC South Wild Card

The NFC South is the other division in the NFC which would receive a wild card, and if the playoffs were tomorrow this spot would go to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

The Buccaneers are currently tied record-wise with the Atlanta Falcons, but with a win head-to-head, Tampa gets the tiebreaker.

This is will be a spot to watch closely as Atlanta has largely underachieved thus far this season and Tampa Bay is currently very much injury-plagued. 

NFC West

At 6-1 the San Francisco 49ers are atop the NFC West by a wide margin, which is easily the worst division in the league.

With a four-game lead and the next closest team being the Seattle Seahawks at 2-5, it's safe to say the 49ers have this spot locked down; at least for now.