Sunday early games helped narrow down the playoff field

After a wild, snow-filled early round of games, the playoff picture got just a little bit clearer on the AFC side of the bracket, and the NFC bracket tightened up just a bit. Let’s reset our brackets plugging in the current standings.

Seeds:

AFC

NFC

1

Broncos (10-2)

Seahawks (11-1)

2

Patriots (10-3)

Saints (9-3)

3

Bengals (9-4)

Eagles (8-5)

4

Colts (8-5)

Lions (7-6)

5

Chiefs (10-3)

Panthers (9-3)

6

Ravens (7-6)

49ers (8-4)

The Ravens avoided disaster against the Minnesota Vikings. Late in the fourth quarter, both teams went nuclear, scoring touchdown after touchdown. The Ravens scored for the final time with just four seconds left on the clock, leaving no time for the Vikings to win the game. A highly controversial call of pass interference against the Vikings negated a game-ending interception, giving Minnesota fans plenty to complain about.

The Dolphins were able to survive a barn-yard desperation play by the Steelers to keep themselves right in the thick of the playoff race. On the play Antonio Brown was running in for the touchdown when he stepped out at the 13-yard line. In a play that summed up the Steelers’ season nicely, Brown has enough room and simply didn’t keep himself in bounds.

In the NFC, the Eagles are on top of the NFC East, at least for now. Should Dallas beat the Bears, the Eagles will once again be on the outside looking in, but the week 17 game between the Eagles and Cowboys will likely be the determining factor in the NFC East divisional race.

The wildcard situation in the NFC is much easier to decipher than that of the AFC. The Cardinals and the Eagles/Cowboys are all chasing the 49ers. With a 49ers loss to the Seahawks this evening, the sixth seed in the NFC could become a very cluttered place to be.

About Shane Clemons

Shane Clemons came from humble beginnings creating his own Jaguars blog before moving on to SBNation as a featured writer for the Jaguars. He then moved to Bloguin where he briefly covered the AFC South before taking over Bloguin's Jaguars blog. Since the inception of This Given Sunday, Shane has served as an editor for the site, doing his best not to mess up a good thing.

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