NFL Playoff Picture Week 8: Panthers move in, Dolphins fall out
By Josh Hill
The NFL Playoff picture is starting to take shape, and right now there are intriguing matchups across the board.
We’re halfway through the season, and it’s time to start thinking about the playoffs. With as much parity as there’s been this year in the league, just about every team outside of Cleveland, San Francisco and the Giants are still in the playoff hunt.
Of course, as the weeks go on the stragglers will fall out of the crowd. Tampa Bay and Indianapolis are on life support, and another loss for teams like Oakland or Arizona could prove to be fatal. For now, the field is as wide open for possibly the last time this year as the tightening of the screws forces the cream to rise to the top.
Here’s a look at the AFC side of things after Week 8’s Sunday late action:
1. Patriots (6-2)
2. Steelers (5-2)
3. Chiefs (5-2)
4. Titans (4-3)
5. Bills (5-2)
6. Jaguars (4-3)
Right now the Wild Card matchups would be Kansas City hosting Jacksonville, and Tennessee hosting Buffalo.
Wild Card: Chiefs vs. Jaguars
While the Chiefs seem like a much better team than the Jaguars, last season saw Blake Bortles come in and nearly win in Arrowhead. Of course, a playoff atmosphere is much different even if Kansas City has long struggled with the postseason success for basically the franchise’s entire existence. It’s the last 30 years that have been particularly painful, and the curse continues. Kansas City has one just a single playoff game in over two decades, which means there’s no such thing as a sure thing with the Chiefs.
Wild Card: Titans vs. Bills
A rematch of the Music City Miracle is a tune we can all dance to. Buffalo has been absent from the playoffs since the 1999 season, but Sean McDermott has coached up a team that is as ready as any previous incarnation to break that streak. The defense is swarming, and the offense has enough firepower and talent to keep the team in games. If there’s a team to worry about not living up to the moment, it’s the Titans. There’s a chance Tennessee could fall out of first place, which would mean all sorts of turmoil for a team already barely hanging on.