5 NFL Teams That Are Fighting for Their Playoff Lives

There are just two weekends left in the NFL’s regular season, and the playoff picture is starting to find some focus, even though things are a little murky still.

Only three NFC teams have earned playoff spots; four teams have done it in the AFC.

By the end of play Saturday, that number figures to rise dramatically. What we don’t know yet is who those with still-active pulses will be.

There’s our list of the top five teams that are scrambling to stay alive.

5. San Diego Chargers (at Detroit)

The Chargers spent most of the season turning the ball over and probably shouldn’t be in the running for a playoff berth in Week 16.

However, the fingers have a little more stick to them, and San Diego has won three in a row coming into Sunday’s game in Detroit.

Still, the Chargers are one game behind the Denver Broncos in the AFC West, and they have a toughie in Detroit. It’s true that the Lions are roaring less now than at the beginning of the season, but it’s win now or perhaps go into Week 17 having to beat the Raiders in Oakland to get into the playoffs.

4. Seattle Seahawks (vs. San Francisco)

If the defending NFC West champion Seahawks, who started the season 2-6, including a loss in San Francisco, are going to salvage a return to the playoffs, they need to beat the 49ers today.

Seattle has won five of its last six, including three in a row, with a punishing ground game that is getting better all the time and a defense that has forced 18 turnovers in the last six games. Marshawn Lynch has set a franchise record by scoring in 10 consecutive games.

The trouble is that the 49ers aren’t the best matchup for the Seahawks. San Francisco has turned the ball over less than any team in the NFL, and the 49ers have allowed the fewest rushing TDs in the league this year.

And by fewest, we mean zero.

3. Philadelphia Eagles (at Dallas)

The owners of a 6-8 record, the Eagles are in as desperate a situation as possible.

They have to do more than just beat the Cowboys in Big D to keep January dreams alive. Philadelphia must ask for the New York Jets to beat the New York Giants for them, and that’s asking plenty.

The upside, if there is one, is that the Eagles will know before their game starts if their season still has any life left in it.

Philadelphia is showing some signs of muscle flexing of late with wins over the Dolphins and Jets, but has it come too late?

2. Arizona Cardinals (at Cincinnati)

The Cardinals are trying to win five consecutive games for the first time in over three decades. If they don’t, they run the risk of having their postseason hopes vanish.

At 7-7, Arizona is in a rather precarious playoff position.

There are 10 NFC teams with at least seven wins, so it’s probably going to take nine wins to make the playoffs. After facing the 8-6 Bengals in Cincinnati on Saturday, the Cardinals have another seven-win team—Seattle—on the horizon to close it out.

1. Detroit Lions (vs. San Diego)

The Lions have had a nice season so far, with nine wins, and they play in a conference where only three teams have already locked up a playoff berth.

That being said, after a 5-0 start, they are just 4-5, so it’s not like they are hitting on all cylinders. But the Lions are facing as much of a must-win as anybody this weekend.

They are down to play the Packers in Green Bay next week, which would be an onerous task for a team trying to make it to the 10 win-level for the first time since 1995. So, beating the Chargers this weekend is a paramount importance.

The good news is that the Lions may be starting to warm up again. They’ve won two in a row. The bad news is the two teams they’ve beaten aren’t exactly champions: the Vikings and the Raiders.