NFL Wild Card race 2013: Week 8 standings
By Mike Dyce
We’re about to the midway point of the season and the playoff picture is starting to take shape. Divisional races are still close for the most part and the Wild Card chase is in full effect. So we’re going to lay out to you the playoff scenarios if the season had just ended last night after Monday Night Football.
In the NFC, the divisional champs would be the Seattle Seahawks (West), the New Orleans Saints (South), the Green Bay Packers (North), and the Dallas Cowboys (East). Those teams would also be seeded in that order with the Seahawks and the Saints getting first-round byes.
The Wild Card race would be close as well. San Francisco 49ers would get the first Wild Card spot while the second would go to the Detroit Lions. The Lions and Chicago Bears have identical records and are essentially tied, but the head-to-head win percentage tie-breaker gives the nod to the Lions. Carolina was one win shy of making it a messier three-way tie.
In the AFC, the divisional champs would be the Kansas City Chiefs (West), the Cincinnati Bengals (North), Indianapolis Colts (South), and the New England Patriots (East). The Chiefs and the Bengals would get first-round byes. The Bengals, Colts, and Patriots all have identical records.
The Bengals get the second seed with a tie breaker based on best win percentage in conference games. The Bengals are 3-1 in the conference while the Colts are 3-2 and the Patriots are 2-2. That same conference win percentage in conference games gives the Colts the third seed over the Patriots.
Denver, and their one-loss record, get the first Wild Card spot. The San Diego Chargers and New York Jets, each with a 4-3 record, are tied for the last Wild Card spot. They haven’t played head-to-head, and they have the same conference record, so the Chargers would get the nod based on strength of victory.