NFL Playoff Picture: Pretenders That Will Be Exposed in December

December is almost here, which in the NFL means that it is time to start breaking down potential playoff contenders, pretenders, matchups and everything in between. 

One of the best races in the league every year is for the wild card spots. Ever since the league switched to the four-division format with two wild card spots available, things have always seemed to come down to the final game in Week 17. 

Right now there are at least 10 teams competing for the final four wild-card spots. We know things won't end up that way, and some of those contenders are going to hit a wall these final five weeks. 

Here are three teams that are in contention now that will not make it into the playoffs. 

New York Giants (6-5)

Three weeks ago, the Giants were 6-2 and sitting pretty in the NFC East with a three-game lead over the Dallas Cowboys. 

How quickly the tables have turned. The Giants have lost three straight and the Cowboys are one of the hottest teams in the league. 

Another late-season collapse is going to cost them a playoff berth, and Tom Coughlin will likely lose his job. 

The schedule has been brutal—at New England, at San Francisco, vs Philadelphia, at New Orleans—and it does not let up soon. They host Green Bay this week and go to Dallas in Week 14. 

They will likely come out of this stretch 6-7 before hosting Washington in Week 15. 

Chicago Bears (7-4)

The Bears were on top of the world two weeks ago after defeating San Diego, but they quickly fell back down to earth when it was revealed that Jay Cutler would miss the rest of the season. 

They followed up that crushing blow with a loss at Oakland in which Caleb Hanie looked lost and confused throughout the game. 

Cutler, it turns out, was more important to the Bears offense than any of us ever gave him credit for. 

The schedule would seem to work in their favor, with only two games against teams over .500—Denver and Green Bay—they could steal a few wins to get to 10.

I don't see it right now, and I think that they will be lucky to finish with eight victories when all is said and done. 

Denver Broncos (6-5)

The Broncos would have an easier path to the playoffs by winning the AFC West, but for the purposes of this argument we are going to look at their wild-card chances. 

They are behind the three teams in the AFC North, but they do hold a tiebreaker over the Jets thanks to their head-to-head victory. 

Unfortunately, their schedule gets tougher as we flip the calendar to December. They were able to coast by with an easy slate of games this month, but that won't be the case anymore. 

Games at home against Chicago and New England, as well as traveling to Minnesota and Buffalo, will spell the end of Tebow's magical run. 

But they have nothing to be ashamed of. If you would have told this team, before the season, that they would be over .500 entering December, they would have signed up for that in a heartbeat.