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Updated NFL standings, playoff picture: Saints continue to roll

By John Buhler

NEW ORLEANS, LA - NOVEMBER 19: Drew Brees
NEW ORLEANS, LA - NOVEMBER 19: Drew Brees /
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With just Monday Night Football between the Atlanta Falcons and Seattle Seahawks remaining, let’s check out the updated NFL standings and playoff picture.

Week 11 of the 2017 NFL season definitely had some interesting games on the slate. With a lot of teams bunched together in the standings, this week helped us create a little more separation in divisional and wild card races.

The only game we have left on the slate this week is Monday Night Football between a pair of NFC teams in the Atlanta Falcons (5-4) and the Seattle Seahawks (6-3). While this game will impact the NFC standings depending on who wins this game, let’s take a look at the updated NFL standings through Sunday night.

Here are the divisional races and the teams that would make wild card spots if the season ended today.

AFC East

  1. New England Patriots (8-2)
  2. Buffalo Bills (5-5)
  3. Miami Dolphins (4-6)
  4. New York Jets (4-6)

New England leads Buffalo by three games in the AFC East standings. Both Miami and New York are four games back of the Patriots. Once again, this looks to be another cakewalk of a division title for New England. Will Buffalo, Miami or New York ever get it together?

AFC North

  1. Pittsburgh Steelers (8-2)
  2. Baltimore Ravens (5-5)
  3. Cincinnati Bengals (4-6)
  4. Cleveland Browns (0-10)

Pittsburgh leads Baltimore by three games in the AFC North race. Cincinnati is four games back of the Steelers. Winless Cleveland is eight games back and has been eliminated from the divisional race. Barring any unforeseen collapse, Pittsburgh should have this division wrapped up in the next few weeks or so.

AFC South

  1. Jacksonville Jaguars (7-3)
  2. Tennessee Titans (6-4)
  3. Houston Texans (4-6)
  4. Indianapolis Colts (3-7)

Jacksonville has a one-game lead over Tennessee in the AFC South race. Houston is three games back of the Jaguars. Indianapolis is now four games back of Jacksonville. Jacksonville has taken sole possession of first place in the AFC South after its win over Cleveland on Sunday, coupled with Tennessee’s loss to Pittsburgh on Thursday night.

AFC West

  1. Kansas City Chiefs (6-4)
  2. Los Angeles Chargers (4-6)
  3. Oakland Raiders (4-6)
  4. Denver Broncos (3-7)

Kansas City may have lost four of five games, but remains in first place in the AFC West. The Chiefs are two games up on both Los Angeles and Oakland. Denver is three games back of the Chiefs in the AFC West race. This division has massively disappointed thus far. It might be the worst in football, but then again, nobody is out of it.

So in the AFC, Pittsburgh would have home-field advantage as the No. 1 seed. They have a better record versus the AFC over New England, who would get a first-round bye as the No. 2 seed. Jacksonville would be the No. 3 and Kansas City would be the No. 4 seed.

The two wild card teams in the AFC would be Tennessee and Baltimore as the No. 5 and No. 6 seeds, respectively. Baltimore has a better record in the AFC than Buffalo and would get the final playoff spot because of it.

NFC East

  1. Philadelphia Eagles (9-1)
  2. Dallas Cowboys (5-5)
  3. Washington Redskins (4-6)
  4. New York Giants (2-8)

Man, is Philadelphia good or what? The Eagles led the Cowboys by four games in the NFC East race. Washington is five games back of Philadelphia. New York has been eliminated from contention in the NFC East race at seven games back with six remaining.

NFC North

  1. Minnesota Vikings (8-2)
  2. Detroit Lions (6-4)
  3. Green Bay Packers (5-5)
  4. Chicago Bears (3-7)

Minnesota leads Detroit by two games in the NFC North standings. Green Bay is three games back of the Vikings in the divisional race. Chicago finds itself five games back of the Minnesota in the NFC North. This looks to be Minnesota’s division to lose, but Detroit isn’t going away and should keep things interesting the rest of the way. These two rivals play in Detroit on Thanksgiving.

NFC South

  1. New Orleans Saints (8-2)
  2. Carolina Panthers (7-3)
  3. Atlanta Falcons (5-4)*
  4. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (4-6)

New Orleans holds a one-game lead over Carolina in the NFC South standings. Atlanta is 2.5 games back of the Saints. The Falcons could stay two back with a win over Seattle or fall to three back with a loss to the Seahawks. Tampa Bay is four games back of the Saints. The NFC South has emerged as the best division in football through 11 weeks.

NFC West

  1. Los Angeles Rams (7-3)
  2. Seattle Seahawks (6-3)*
  3. Arizona Cardinals (4-6)
  4. San Francisco 49ers (1-9)

Los Angeles has a half-game lead over Seattle in the NFC West standings. A win over Atlanta for the Seahawks gives Seattle the division lead by virtue of having the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Rams. Should Seattle lose, the Seahawks would be just a game back of Los Angeles. Arizona is three games back of the Rams. San Francisco is six games back of Los Angeles.

Heading into Monday Night Football, this would be your playoff picture in the NFC. Philadelphia has home-field advantage as the No. 1 seed. Minnesota would get a first-round bye as the No. 2 seed by virtue of the head-to-head tiebreaker over New Orleans. The Saints would be the No. 3 seed. Los Angeles is the No. 4 seed entering Monday night.

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The two wild card teams in the NFC as of Sunday night would be Carolina at No. 5 and Seattle at No. 6. A win over Atlanta puts Seattle as the No. 4 seed with Los Angeles dropping down into Wild Card position. Should the Falcons beat Seattle, Atlanta would be the No. 6 seed with head-to-head tiebreakers over both Detroit and Seattle.

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