NFL playoff picture: Vikings add to NFC North lead vs. Lions to open Week 12

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Which NFL teams are positioned to make the playoffs after the games of Week 11? How are the seeds looking for the current division leaders and wild-card hopefuls?

Based on the standings and taking into account tiebreakers, here are how things are looking in the AFC and NFC after Monday night's game between the Falcons and Seahawks.

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NFL playoff picture

AFC

No. 1 seed — Steelers (8-2): First place, AFC North. Pittsburgh rebounded from its Week 10 escape in Indianapolis to throttle Tennessee on Thursday night. That guarantees the Steelers will stay ahead of the Patriots going into Week 12. The teams are still headed toward a winner-take-top-seed showdown at Heinz Field in Week 15. What's left: vs. GB, at CIN, vs. BAL, vs. NE, at HOU, vs. CLE

No. 2 seed — Patriots (8-2): First place, AFC East. New England beat Oakland in Mexico City to keep pace with Pittsburgh. With a three-game lead, the division is pretty secure. The Patriots also put more distance between themselves and the Chiefs, who beat them in Week 1. What's left: at OAK, vs. MIA, at BUF, at MIA, at PIT, vs. BUF, vs. NYJ

No. 3 seed — Jaguars (7-3): First place, AFC South. Jacksonville ripped Cleveland with its defense and had a great week with Tennessee and Kansas City both losing to jump up from No. 6. Don't look now, but the Jaguars have a shot to run the table and put heat on the Patriots and Steelers. They already beat the latter. What's left: at ARI, vs. IND, vs. SEA, vs. HOU, at SF, at TEN

No. 4 seed — Chiefs (6-4): First place, AFC West. The Chiefs suffered a horrendous overtime loss to the Giants. So much for being a lock to beat a bad team after a bye under Andy Reid. The free-fall into a middling AFC playoff team continues, and now the Chiefs suddenly need to worry more about the division, too. What's left: vs. BUF, at NYJ, vs. OAK, vs. LAC, vs. MIA, at DEN

No. 5 seed — Titans (6-4): Second place, AFC South. Tennessee lost its slight edge over Jacksonville, and now it stands a full game back in the division. What's left: at IND, vs. HOU,  at ARI, at SF, vs. LAR, vs. JAX

No. 6 seed — Ravens (5-5): Second place, AFC North. Baltimore got here by shutting out Green Bay and Buffalo losing to the Chargers. It holds the tiebreaker at .500 with a better conference record. What's left: vs. HOU, vs. DET,  at PIT, at CLE, vs. IND, vs. CIN

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Who's right behind: Bills (5-5), Chargers (5-6), Dolphins (4-6), Jets (4-6). Buffalo decided to start Nathan Peterman in Los Angeles, and the results were predictable. Los Angeles carried over the momentum of routing the Bills in doing the same against Dallas. Miami and New York still are the highest in the pecking order of six teams with the same sub-.500 record.

Who's just about out: Browns (0-10), Broncos (3-7), Colts (3-7), Raiders (4-6), Texans (4-6), Bengals (4-6). Cleveland has company from Denver and Indianapolis near the bottom, while those other three teams are truly playing out the string.

NFC

No. 1 seed — Eagles (9-1): First place, NFC East. Philadelphia beat Dallas to pretty much secure the NFC East, but it still has no breathing room for the top seed with an undefeated conference record that's only slightly better than that of both Minnesota and New Orleans. What's left: vs. CHI, at SEA, at LAR, at NYG, vs. OAK, vs. DAL

No. 2 seed — Vikings (9-2): First place, NFC North. The Vikings took care of business Thursday in Detroit to build a three-game lead in the division. What's left: at DET, at ATL, at CAR, vs. CIN, at GB, vs. CHI

No. 3 seed — Saints (8-2): First place, NFC South. New Orleans came through with a huge comeback against Washington to stay a full game up over Carolina in the division. It will get a direct shot at the Rams next week. What's left: at LAR, vs. CAR, at ATL, vs. NYJ, vs. ATL, at TB

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No. 4 seed — Rams (7-3): First place, NFC West. Los Angeles got whipped in Minnesota, but got a break with Seattle losing to Atlanta, keeping the division lead. The Rams have nothing easy ahead, and likely need to split witth the Seahawks to win the division. What's left: vs. NO, at ARI, vs. PHI,  at SEA, at TEN, vs. SF

No. 5 seed — Panthers (7-3): Second place, NFC South. Carolina will stay here during its bye regardless of what happens Monday night. If the Seahawks win, the Panthers would be ahead of the No. 6 Rams. If the Seahawks lose, the Panthers would be ahead of the No. 6 Falcons. What's left: at NYJ, at NO, vs. MIN, vs. GB, vs. TB, at ATL

No. 6 seed — Falcons (6-4): Third place, NFC South. Atanta got a monstrous Monday night win at Seattle to jump back into wild-card position. With two left against New Orleans and one left against Carolina, the division is also suddenly in reach. The schedule is loaded with home games, including the next three in a row. What's left: vs. TB, vs. MIN, vs. NO, at TB, at NO, vs. CAR

Who's right behindSeahawks (6-4), Lions (6-5), Packers (5-5), Cowboys (5-6), Redskins (5-6), Cardinals (4-6). Detroit blew a big chance Thursday at home vs. MInnesota. Dallas also fell flat against the Chargers. Seattle fell down here by losing to Atlanta, blowing a chance to take back first place in the NFC West. The Seahawks' better playoff ticket now looks to be through the division title.

Who's just about out: 49ers (1-9), Giants (2-9), Bears (3-7), Buccaneers (4-6). Good for the Giants and Bucs to get off the mat against AFC opponents. Good for the Bears to fight against the Lions until the end. Good for the 49ers to enjoy a much-needed bye.

Author(s)
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Vinnie Iyer is an NFL writer at The Sporting News