NFC Playoff picture after Lions best Vikings, Falcons fall to Seahawks in Week 7
Before anyone had touched a football in NFL Week 7, we already knew that the NFC Playoff picture was going to look the clearest it has at any point prior in the 2024 season. That, of course, started with the Detroit Lions (sans Aidan Hutchinson) going on the road to face a Minnesota Vikings team that came off their bye week undefeated.
The Lions, fresh off lambasting the Cowboys a week ago, didn't stop rolling. They got into a duel with their divisional rivals but a field goal in the final 30 seconds sealed their fate. But that wasn't all, the Green Bay Packers were in a dogfight of their own with the Houston Texans while a pair of could-be contenders with the Atlanta Falcons and Seattle Seahawks squared off.
And after Sunday with the Lions getting that win, the Packers getting a win of their own, and the Seahawks clipping the Falcons on the road, we have quite a shake-up with what the NFC Playoff picture now looks like.
Updated NFC Playoff picture: Lions take over No. 1 seed after beating Vikings
NFC Standings | Team | Record (Playoff Berth) |
|---|---|---|
1 | Detroit Lions | 5-1 (NFC North Leader) |
2 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 4-2 (NFC South Leader) |
3 | Washington Commanders | 4-2 (NFC East Leader) |
4 | Seattle Seahawks | 4-3 (NFC West Leader) |
5 | Minnesota Vikings | 5-1 (Wild Card) |
6 | Green Bay Packers | 4-2 (Wild Card) |
7 | Chicago Bears | 4-2 (Wild Card) |
8 | Philadelphia Eagles | 4-2 |
9 | Atlanta Falcons | 3-3 |
10 | Dallas Cowboys | 3-3 |
11 | San Francisco 49ers | 3-3 |
12 | Arizona Cardinals | 2-4 |
13 | New Orleans Saints | 2-5 |
14 | New York Giants | 2-5 |
15 | Los Angeles Rams | 1-4 |
16 | Carolina Panthers | 1-5 |
As mentioned, the Lions giving the Vikings loss number one on the year vaults Detroit not just into the top spot of the NFC North but to the top of the NFC Playoff picture as well. The Lions have looked like the best team in the league over the past few weeks and did nothing to change that by clawing out a win in Minnesota.
Speaking of that NFC North, though, the division looks far and away like the strongest in the entire league. If the season ended today, all four teams in that division would get into the postseason as the Packers maintained their hot start, especially with Jordan Love getting his feet back under him, as they got past the Texans in Week 7 with a narrow win. The Bears, meanwhile, are on bye in Week 7 but their 4-2 record behind Caleb Williams still has them in the mix.
The two biggest surprises, though, remain in the NFC East and NFC West. The San Francisco 49ers, playing the Chiefs in Week 7, have been having their share of hiccups without Christian McCaffrey, thus leading to a 3-3 record and currently sitting as only No. 11 in the standings. Meanwhile, the Seahawks, with their win over the Falcons on Sunday, took over the top spot in the division. In the NFC East, no one saw Jayden Daniels and the Commanders having this much early success and, similarly, few expected both the Cowboys and Eagles to look as worrisome as they have.
Of course, we aren't even at the midway point of the regular season and, moreover, the trade deadline in just over two weeks looms exceptionally large in how it could shake up the NFC Playoff picture moving forward.
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