NFL Playoff Picture: Current Playoff Teams That Are on the Brink of Collapsing

There are only four weeks left in the NFL's regular season, but for many teams I'm sure they wished that the playoffs started tomorrow.

Unless you're the Green Bay Packers or San Francisco 49ers, there's a good chance that you're holding on for dear life if you're currently in the playoff picture.

That appears to be the case for many teams, but a wing and a prayer won't be enough to make the postseason at this point. Several non-playoff teams are lying in the weeds at this very moment, so the playoff picture a month from now is likely to look very different.

Here are three current playoff teams on the verge of a collapse.

Chicago Bears

At 7-5, the Chicago Bears currently occupy the No. 5 spot in the NFC. After a tough loss to the Kansas City Chiefs and significant injuries to quarterback Jay Cutler and running back Matt Forte, however, it doesn't look good in terms of Chicago maintaining its position, especially with teams like the Detroit Lions and New York Giants lurking.

Chicago certainly has the defense to be a playoff team, but offense is going to be a huge issue moving forward—especially after scoring only three points against Kansas City.

Quarterback Caleb Hanie is far too mistake-prone and simply isn't the steady hand that a playoff team needs. Also, the loss of Forte means that the vast majority of the Bears' offensive production is out of the lineup.

To make matters worse, the Bears have some tough games remaining on their schedule, including dates against the Denver Broncos and undefeated Green Bay Packers. You can't write Chicago off completely because of its defense, but it isn't going to be winning games if it can't put up more than three points on offense.

Cincinnati Bengals

Prior to the season, I'm not sure anyone thought that the Cincinnati Bengals would be anywhere near contending for a spot in the postseason. Thanks to a very underrated defense and an ever-improving offense led by rookie quarterback Andy Dalton and rookie wide receiver A.J. Green, the Bengals currently hold the last wild-card spot in the AFC at 7-5.

The issue for the Bengals, however, is that there are four other 7-5 teams in the conference, including the New York Jets, Tennessee Titans, Oakland Raiders and Denver Broncos. With all of those teams on equal footing, the Bengals will have to outplay all of them over the season's final month.

That certainly isn't an impossibility, but it won't be easy with Cincinnati's relative lack of experience.

The Bengals were also exposed a bit this past week by the Pittsburgh Steelers in a 35-7 loss. With the Houston Texans and Baltimore Ravens still on the schedule, it will be tough for Cincinnati to finish better than 2-2, and I think that will allow the Jets to sneak into the playoffs.

Dallas Cowboys

Despite the fact that the New York Giants have lost four consecutive games and relinquished a once-comfortable NFC East division lead to the Dallas Cowboys, Dallas looks to be in line for one of its annual choke jobs.

The Cowboys lost a very tough game against the Arizona Cardinals in overtime last week, meaning the Giants truly control their own destiny.

New York has been stuck in a rut, but the Giants rose to the occasion against the undefeated Green Bay Packers last week, losing on a last-second field goal. Even in defeat, the Giants' confidence could be higher than it has been in quite some time, which doesn't bode well for the Cowboys as the teams have two head-to-head matchups remaining.

There is no question that the Cowboys have the talent to get the job done, but with only a one-game lead on New York, I can very easily see things slipping away.

If quarterback Tony Romo plays the way he is capable of down the stretch, then Dallas should be fine, but we have seen the Cowboys fall apart too many times before, and I think this will be another chapter.