A couple of weeks later, things aren't necessarily any more clear, although a few more teams have locked up their berths, and one team has locked up a division title.
AFC
In: Broncos [x] (11-3), Chiefs [x] (11-3), Colts [y] (9-5)
In the hunt: Patriots (10-4), Dolphins (8-6), Bengals (9-5)
Outside looking in: Ravens (7-6), Chargers (7-7), Steelers, (6-8) Jets (6-8)
The Broncos and Chiefs still have not settled things. Denver owns the tiebreaker - KC needs to win, and needs Denver to lose at least one more game. Before Denver's loss to the Chargers at home, I would have thought that unthinkable. Still, despite stumbling, Denver is the favorite to host the AFC title game - should they get there.
The Colts are in by virtue of clinching their division, but will need plenty of help to earn a wildcard round bye. Stranger things have happened. Who'd have thunk a 5 loss team would be the first to clinch their division, while divisions featuring teams with two and three losses are still in question?
The Patriots loss to the Dolphins was huge - had the Patriots won, they had a real possibility of home field advantage, but now they need some help from Denver and KC. With the win, the Fins are in, for now.
The Ravens have a chance tonight to close the gap with the division-leading Bengals. With some help, they can still win the AFC North, and they still have a chance of taking over the wildcard seat that the Dolphins currently occupy.
While the Steelers and Jets aren't mathematically eliminated, they need a whole bunch of help to get in.
NFC
In: Seahawks [x] (12-2)
In the hunt: Saints (10-4), Eagles (8-6), Bears (8-6), Panthers (10-4), 49ers (10-4)
Outside looking in: Cardinals (9-5), Lions (7-6), Packers (7-6-1), Cowboys (7-7)
The Seahawks control their own destiny for the division, the first round bye, and home field advantage throughout; they hold the head-to-head tiebreakers against the Saints and Panthers, and can only lose a tie-breaker to the 49ers by losing their remaining two games and SF winning theirs. The NFC road to the Super Bowl still goes through Seattle.
SF needs help to win the NFC west in the form of two Seattle losses, otherwise the best they'll get is a wildcard berth.
Next week's Saints v. Panthers game should settle the dispute of the NFC South, and decide who's going to get a bye, and who's going to have to settle for a wildcard. Neither team can earn home field throughout, but in terms of the division title and a bye, both control their own destiny - for now.
At the bottom of the pile, the Cardinals need some help from SF to get in, and the Lions, Packers and Cowboys are still in contention for their hotly contested divisions. Each team needs to win and needs some help from the outside - and the scenarios are more complicated than I care to go into at the moment. To the delight of Lions fans, the Packers' hopes are kept alive, thanks to keeping themselves in a close game, and Tony Roma's implosion on Sunday. Apparently Roma's postseason choking came a little early this year.
While the NFC North and East aren't quite as up for grabs as they were, there's still a lot of uncertainty - and it will be entertaining to see how it unfolds.
AFC
In: Broncos [x] (11-3), Chiefs [x] (11-3), Colts [y] (9-5)
In the hunt: Patriots (10-4), Dolphins (8-6), Bengals (9-5)
Outside looking in: Ravens (7-6), Chargers (7-7), Steelers, (6-8) Jets (6-8)
The Broncos and Chiefs still have not settled things. Denver owns the tiebreaker - KC needs to win, and needs Denver to lose at least one more game. Before Denver's loss to the Chargers at home, I would have thought that unthinkable. Still, despite stumbling, Denver is the favorite to host the AFC title game - should they get there.
The Colts are in by virtue of clinching their division, but will need plenty of help to earn a wildcard round bye. Stranger things have happened. Who'd have thunk a 5 loss team would be the first to clinch their division, while divisions featuring teams with two and three losses are still in question?
The Patriots loss to the Dolphins was huge - had the Patriots won, they had a real possibility of home field advantage, but now they need some help from Denver and KC. With the win, the Fins are in, for now.
The Ravens have a chance tonight to close the gap with the division-leading Bengals. With some help, they can still win the AFC North, and they still have a chance of taking over the wildcard seat that the Dolphins currently occupy.
While the Steelers and Jets aren't mathematically eliminated, they need a whole bunch of help to get in.
NFC
In: Seahawks [x] (12-2)
In the hunt: Saints (10-4), Eagles (8-6), Bears (8-6), Panthers (10-4), 49ers (10-4)
Outside looking in: Cardinals (9-5), Lions (7-6), Packers (7-6-1), Cowboys (7-7)
The Seahawks control their own destiny for the division, the first round bye, and home field advantage throughout; they hold the head-to-head tiebreakers against the Saints and Panthers, and can only lose a tie-breaker to the 49ers by losing their remaining two games and SF winning theirs. The NFC road to the Super Bowl still goes through Seattle.
SF needs help to win the NFC west in the form of two Seattle losses, otherwise the best they'll get is a wildcard berth.
Next week's Saints v. Panthers game should settle the dispute of the NFC South, and decide who's going to get a bye, and who's going to have to settle for a wildcard. Neither team can earn home field throughout, but in terms of the division title and a bye, both control their own destiny - for now.
At the bottom of the pile, the Cardinals need some help from SF to get in, and the Lions, Packers and Cowboys are still in contention for their hotly contested divisions. Each team needs to win and needs some help from the outside - and the scenarios are more complicated than I care to go into at the moment. To the delight of Lions fans, the Packers' hopes are kept alive, thanks to keeping themselves in a close game, and Tony Roma's implosion on Sunday. Apparently Roma's postseason choking came a little early this year.
While the NFC North and East aren't quite as up for grabs as they were, there's still a lot of uncertainty - and it will be entertaining to see how it unfolds.
