We are pushing quickly towards the final stretch of the NFL season. With six more weeks of regular season play, the playoff picture has started to take shape. For some other teams – and cities – preparation for next year is the only thing that matters at this stage.
New York’s (fractured) State of Mind
Very early on this week, it was announced that the Giants would be benching quarterback Daniel Jones. Not too surprising, as this move has been discussed for weeks.
However, the benching was for third-string quarterback Tommy DeVito; not backup Drew Lock.
With the move being made reportedly for “financial reasons” it looks like the Giants will be getting an early jump at one of the top quarterbacks this offseason; be it free agency or the NFL Draft.
Checking in on their next door neighbor, the Jets fired their general manager in the following days. Aaron Rodgers is now officially the second most powerful person in that organization.
A new regime will debut next season for the Jets, and as things stand it looks like Rodgers still plans to return as well.
With the Giants and Jets sitting with both eight losses a piece, the rest of the year will likely be dedicated to building towards the future. Good thing they both got extra assets at the trade deadline!
The Playoff Push
In Week 12, we can now begin to picture what that playoff bracket will look like come January. The way divisions shake out down the stretch will determine a lot.
Starting with the AFC, the Chiefs still project to be the first seed after suffering their first loss of the season last Sunday.
The Chiefs-Bills matchup is always must see-tv, and this one was no different. A late Josh Allen touchdown run was enough to hand the Chiefs their first loss in almost a full calendar year.
The head-to-head win will serve Buffalo well from a seeding standpoint, as they currently have a big lead over the AFC East. They will need more help taking the Chiefs down, however.
The Steelers beat the Ravens this past weekend to cement their standing at first in the AFC North, which has them slotted at the 3 seed.
The fourth seed and final division leader at the moment is the Houston Texans, who just got back Nico Collins to help them return to the playoffs.
Their biggest competition for the division crown is a Colts team that has turned back to second-year quarterback Anthony Richardson after just two games.
The division came down to the wire last season, so you can’t quite count them out just yet.
The AFC West is actually fairly competitive this year, with both the Broncos and Chargers projected to get Wild Card spots. The division isn’t out of reach for either team, but both look to be in good shape regardless.
The Ravens are arguably one of the league’s most stacked rosters and led by the arguable MVP frontrunner. But a slow start in comparison to Pittsburgh keeps them from pushing for that first seed.
The Broncos will be the interesting team to see if they hold onto that 7 seed. It isn’t exactly too late for the Dolphins or Bengals to head up and take that spot, but time will tell.
After yet another close loss to the Chargers, the Bengals have no margin for error at this point. They’ll have to come out swinging next week out of the bye to make it back to the postseason.
NFC Playoff Picture
The AFC has the Chiefs, and the NFC has the Lions as their front runner.
Also at 9-1, it looks like it will be Detroit and Philly fighting for home-field advantage in January. A lot can change, but those look to be the two best teams in the NFC at the moment.
The NFC West has been a roller coaster all year, but the Cardinals are currently riding high off of a four game win streak. Atlanta lost position of the third seed after getting thrashed by the Denver Broncos.
Seattle will take on Arizona two of the next three weeks. Following a thrilling victory over the 49ers, these two games will determine a lot for the NFC West division title.
As for the NFC South, the Falcons still look to be in prime position to win that division. The showing against Denver was less than stellar (putting it nicely), but their division rivals are dealing with a slew of injuries (and the Panthers are just… the Panthers.)
So the NFC North might be too good.
The way things stand, it will be very surprising if two of the wild card teams do not come from that division. The division is still up for grabs, but the two who lose it will almost certainly be in the playoffs.
Unlike the AFC, everyone else on the outside looking in is still very much alive for their division race.
The Seahawks, 49ers and Rams are all tied at 5-5 a game behind the Cardinals. Seattle has the inside track, but any of those teams could win the NFC West this year.
The Commanders could still push for the division, but signs of a disturbing trend for their offensive coordinator look to be rearing their ugly head once again.
The Jayden Daniels led offense appears to be cooling off after a hot start, so they’ll have to right the ship with the Eagles taking back control of that division.
Playoff Previews in Week 12?
Now that we know who is still in the picture, there’s several matchups this coming weekend that will be huge from a seeding standpoint.
The early slate doesn’t have many (if any) of them. We do have the Commanders and Chiefs looking to bounce back against the Cowboys and Panthers respectively in the noon window.
Fox also has their B team calling Commanders-Cowboys… for some reason. Seems like a waste of Joe Davis and Greg Olsen if you ask me.
As for our Metlife pairs, the Jets are on bye week. As for the New York Giants, Tommy Devito will make his 2024 debut against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
For games with non-blowout potential, the Dolphins-Patriots games should be a fun AFC East showdown between Drake Maye and Tua Tagovailoa.
For those playoff previews, the majority of them revolve around the NFC West. In some way, shape or form, that division holds the key for this week.
The playoff previews begin in the afternoon window. We’ve gone over it several times, but the NFC West lead is on the line in Seattle when they take on the Cardinals.
Despite being tied with the Rams and 49ers at 5-5, some Geno Smith heroics earned Seattle the right to challenge for a lead following another game winning drive for the veteran quarterback.
They face a Cardinals team that comes out of the bye week and is riding a four game win streak. They’re plenty battle tested, and quarterback Kyler Murray is playing some of the best football in his career.
Head coaches Mike McDonald and Jonathan Gannon are among the youngest in their profession. And yet, it is those two who will be going head to head Sunday afternoon to help clear up a still wide-open NFC West race.
At the same time, their division rival 49ers will be in Lambeau Field taking on the Packers. These two teams met in the postseason last year, and could be destined to once again.
The final NFC West team will take on the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday Night Football. Saquon Barkley is coming off his best stretch of play in Philly, and will look to keep the Eagles flying in a showdown against the Rams.
The final two primetime games of the weekend will take place in Los Angeles. The Baltimore Ravens look to bounce back from a loss against the Pittsburgh Steelers, and will take on the Los Angeles Chargers.
The Chargers have picked up their level of play as of late. Quarterback Justin Herbert is playing at a very high level, and rookie wide receiver Ladd McConkey is emerging as his much needed go-to guy.
These two were big in their efforts to beat the Bengals, which put Joe Burrow and company on the outside looking in for the wild card race.
A lot can change for the playoff picture over the next few weeks, but it looks like some of the surprises we saw early in the year are not quite paper tigers.
It will be interesting the coming weeks to see what teams stay hot, as well as which ones will heat up at the right time.
Playoff football is almost among us, and this stretch will see the true contenders emerge just in time for that Super Bowl run.
