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NFC Playoff Picture if the season ended today

By Scott Rogust

ARLINGTON, TEXAS - NOVEMBER 14: Dak Prescott #4 of the Dallas Cowboys celebrates his rushing touchdown against the Atlanta Falcons during the third quarter at AT&T Stadium on November 14, 2021 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Richard Rodriguez/Getty Images)
ARLINGTON, TEXAS - NOVEMBER 14: Dak Prescott #4 of the Dallas Cowboys celebrates his rushing touchdown against the Atlanta Falcons during the third quarter at AT&T Stadium on November 14, 2021 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Richard Rodriguez/Getty Images) /
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With Week 10 of the NFL season almost in the books, how does the NFC playoff picture look if the campaign were to end today.

If the 2021 NFL season has shown us anything, it is that there is no clear Super Bowl favorite 10 weeks in especially in the NFC. The has been no separation from the top teams in the conference, giving teams sitting at or below .500 hope of sneaking into the playoffs in the next seven weeks.

Based off the Week 10 results, just how does the playoff picture look in the NFC if the season were to end today? We have you covered.

Note: This was written prior to Monday night’s Los Angeles Rams-San Francisco 49ers game.

NFC Playoff Picture: NFL Division Standings after Week 11

NFC East standings

  1. Dallas Cowboys (7-3)
  2. Philadelphia Eagles (5-6)
  3. Washington Football Team (4-6)
  4. New York Giants (3-6)

NFC North standings

  1. Green Bay Packers (8-3)
  2. Minnesota Vikings (5-5)
  3. Chicago Bears (3-7)
  4. Detroit Lions (0-9-1)

NFC South standings 

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

NFC West standings

  1. Arizona Cardinals (9-2)
  2. Los Angeles Rams (7-3)
  3. San Francisco 49ers (5-5)
  4. Seattle Seahawks (3-7)

The Cardinals no longer ranks as the top seed in the NFC after they were defeated 34-10 by the  Panthers on Sunday. The Packers now own the No. 1 spot due to their win over the Cardinals back in Week 8 and the fact that they shut out the Seahawks 17-0 on Sunday.

After being embarrassed by the Denver Broncos, the Cowboys and Dan Quinn’s defense destroyed the Atlanta Falcons 43-3 on Sunday. That, and the fact that the Buccaneers lost 29-19 to the Washington Football Team, allowed the Cowboys to move up to the third seed. Tampa Bay now ranks fourth.

Matchups if the NFL Playoffs started today after Week 11

Here’s what the NFL Playoffs would look like on the AFC side of things if the postseason started today.

  • (1) Arizona Cardinals  — First-round bye
  • (2) Dallas Cowboys vs. (7) New Orleans Saints
  • (3) Green Bay Packers vs. (6) Minnesota Vikings
  • (4) Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. (5) Los Angeles Rams

Teams on the bubble:

  • (8) San Francisco 49ers
  • (9) Philadelphia Eagles
  • (10) Carolina Panthers

NFL Playoff format: How many teams make the postseason?

This year, seven teams will make the playoffs out of both the AFC and NFC.

NFL schedule: How many games are there?

There are 18 weeks, and 17 games per team on the NFL schedule.

NFL tiebreaker scenarios

For division and Wild Card record ties, here is how seeding will be decided, per NFL.com. Here is how teams are seeded:

  1. The division champion with the best record.
  2. The division champion with the second-best record.
  3. The division champion with the third-best record.
  4. The division champion with the fourth-best record.
  5. The Wild Card club with the best record.
  6. The Wild Card club with the second-best record.
  7. The Wild Card club with the third-best record.

Breaking a tie within the division or Wild Card becomes way more complicated, and is decided by any combination of head-to-head record, division record or conference record.

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