With three weeks remaining in the 2015 NFL regular season, here’s a breakdown of the playoff picture…
AFC right now
1. Patriots (11-2)
2. Bengals (10-3)
3. Broncos (10-3)
4. Colts (6-7)
5. Chiefs (8-5)
6. Jets (8-5)
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7. Steelers (8-5)
8. Raiders (6-7)
9. Bills (6-7)
10. Texans (6-7)
11. Jaguars (5-8)
With Denver and Cincinnati scheduled to meet in Week 15, the Bengals without Andy Dalton and Denver forced to travel to Pittsburgh this week, the 11-2 Pats should coast to the top seed. And it’s hard not to give a sizable edge to the Broncos, who host Cincy, in the race for that other bye.
AFC projection
1. Patriots (14-2)
2. Broncos (13-3)
3. Bengals (11-5)
4. Colts (8-8)
5. Steelers (11-5)
6. Chiefs (10-6)
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7. Jets (9-7)
8. Bills (8-8)
9. Texans (7-9)
10. Jaguars (7-9)
11. Raiders (7-9)
The Colts should beat Houston this week and hang on in the weak AFC South. No reason to think the Steelers and Chiefs can’t win out, although we’re giving Kansas City one loss (maybe in Baltimore). Regardless, they’ll get through because the Jets are likely to finally fall off.
NFC right now
1. Panthers (13-0)
2. Cardinals (11-2)
3. Packers (9-4)
4. Redskins (6-7)
5. Seahawks (8-5)
6. Vikings (8-5)
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7. Bucs (6-7)
8. Falcons (6-7)
9. Eagles (6-7)
10. Giants (6-7)
I think if the Panthers beat the Giants, they go 16-0. But if they lose, they may rest more starters and could fall to the Falcons or Bucs. Regardless, they’re the No. 1 seed. Arizona has a very tough schedule to finish up and should drop at least one more game. Beyond that, the Packers should easily finish off the the Vikings, who are losing water in the NFC North. And while I think the NFC East is a toss-up between Washington and the Giants, I still don’t trust the Redskins to win on the road.
NFC projection
1. Panthers (14-2)
2. Cardinals (13-3)
3. Packers (11-5)
4. Giants (8-8)
5. Seahawks (11-5)
6. Vikings (9-7)
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7. Bucs (8-8)
8. Falcons (7-9)
9. Redskins (7-9)
10. Eagles (7-9)
The Seahawks and Vikings are basically locked in as wild-card teams, barring a real collapse from Minnesota. It’s really looking like the Vikes will have back-to-back games at Lambeau. Under these circumstances, we’d be in for four closely-contested wild-card games.
