NFL Playoff Standings: Seattle Seahawks Take Over Playoff Spot In NFC
NFL playoff standings just got much better for the Seattle Seahawks. In the updated NFL playoff standings, the Seahawks have moved past the Atlanta Falcons for the sixth seed in the NFC. In what nearly amounted to a must-win game for the Seahawks, the team came up huge against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday, November 29. The 39-30 victory came at a price though.
On the way to this important win over the Steelers, the Seattle Seahawks may have lost tight end Jimmy Graham. Graham had to be taken off the field in the third quarter with an apparent leg injury. He was immediately taken to team doctors to undergo tests, but it did not look good. The end result could be the Seahawks have to play the rest of the regular season without Graham, but the team has not made an official statement yet.
In the updated NFL standings, the Seattle Seahawks caught up to the Atlanta Falcons in the NFC. After the Falcons lost to the Minnesota Vikings earlier in the day, it dropped the team to 6-5 on the season. Due to tie-breakers in the NFL playoff standings, the Seahawks now pass the Falcons for that sixth seed. It also helped the Seahawks that the Tampa Bay Buccaneers lost and fell to 5-6, taking the Bucs further back in the conference standings.
The Arizona Cardinals squeaked out a 19-13 victory over the San Francisco 49ers, improving the team to 9-2 on the season. The Cardinals maintain a big lead in the NFC West as a result, keeping control of the second seed in the conference as well. The 11-0 Carolina Panthers are still the top seed, with the 8-3 Minnesota Vikings at No. 3 and the 5-6 Washington Redskins at No. 4. The other wild card spot in the NFC belongs to the 7-4 Green Bay Packers.
In the AFC, the 10-0 New England Patriots still maintain control of the conference. The 9-2 Cincinnati Bengals hold the No. 2 spot and the 8-2 Denver Broncos at No. 3 so far. The late Sunday night game is New England vs. Denver, so a shift could take place in the NFL playoff standings based on the pending result. The No. 4 seed in the AFC is currently the Indianapolis Colts with a 6-5 record to lead the AFC South.
There is now a big log jam for the two wild card slots in the AFC, with the Houston Texans (6-5) and Kansas City Chiefs (6-5) currently holding the slight edge. The New York Jets (6-5) and Pittsburgh Steelers (6-5), as well as the Oakland Raiders (5-6), will need some help to move up the NFL playoff standings again.
With just five weeks left in the NFL regular season, the playoff picture is really starting to take shape. It took a while for the Seattle Seahawks to finally make a move in the NFC, but the team is starting to play good football at the right moment. Now the Seahawks have a tough game against the Minnesota Vikings (on the road) in Week 13 that could further decide how the NFC shakes out. Both teams know how important a victory is, with the Seahawks needing to secure a wild card and the Vikings trying to win the NFC North.
In the Week 13 NFL schedule, there are a number of important games, including Indianapolis vs. Pittsburgh, Dallas vs. Washington, and Atlanta vs. Tampa Bay. The NFC East is completely up for grabs, with the Washington Redskins and New York Giants at 5-6, followed by the Philadelphia Eagles at 4-7, and the Dallas Cowboys at 3-8. The Cowboys actually have a shot to still win the NFC East, despite sharing the worst record in the conference. It predicts many more changes to the NFL playoff standings in the final weeks of the season.
[Photo by: Otto Greule Jr/Getty Images]
