Breaking Down the Chances of 5 Wild-Card Candidates

While many NFL teams remain very much in the thick of things in their respective divisions, for some of the teams that belief is as much mirage as reality, while other teams have already resigned themselves to the fact that a wild-card berth is their best chance at a spot in the second season.

With that in mind here's a look at five potential wild-card contenders and whether they have a realistic shot at advancing or should feel more like a certain very warm snowball.

1. Cincinnati Bengals

After a very promising 6-2 start to the season the Cincinnati Bengals have now dropped consecutive games to division rivals Baltimore and Pittsburgh, and assuming that one of the AFC wild-card spots will go to either the Ravens or Steelers, Cincinnati has an uphill battle to a playoff spot ahead of them given their brutal second-half schedule.

PLAYOFF ODDS: 25 percent

2. Atlanta Falcons

The Atlanta Falcons downed the Tennessee Titans 23-17 in Week 10 to improve to 6-4, and with a favorable schedule down the stretch outside a Yuletide matchup with the New Orleans Saints, the Falcons playoff aspirations, while not exactly healthy, aren't on life support just yet.

Playoff Chances: 35 percent

3. Dallas Cowboys

One week after annihilating the Buffalo Bills (which seems to be the "in" thing to do in the NFL right now) the Dallas Cowboys needed overtime to beat a Washington Redskins squad that can't decide which one of their quarterbacks sucks less in yet another Jerry Jones sponsored production of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.

Playoff Chances: Jekyll 40 Percent, Hyde 0 Percent

4. Detroit Lions

It took one barn burner of a game to do it, but the Detroit Lions got off the skid this week with a wild win over the Carolina Panthers Sunday, and I think a lot of questions about whether or not Detroit is going to be a playoff team will be answered Thursday as we're all sitting down to get our grub on.

Playoff Chances: 60 percent

5. Chicago Bears

The Chicago Bears appear to be trending in the right direction, winning five games in a row, and if running back Matt Forte and that defense keep playing the way they have the Bears should get a shot at making another run at the NFC Championship game.

Playoff Chances: 70 percent