NFL playoff picture: NFC, AFC playoff races tighten ahead of NFL Week 13 games
Jeremy CluffWeek 12 of the 2021 NFL season really muddied the AFC and NFC playoff waters.
Several teams in both conferences are really close to being in position for postseason berths, setting up a very intriguing NFL Week 13 and beyond.
The Arizona Cardinals still hold the No. 1 seed in the NFC playoffs.
The Baltimore Ravens now hold the top spot in the AFC.
But there are a lot of teams fighting for spots in the NFL postseason.
NFL Week 13 picks, predictions, odds:
- Cowboys at Saints | Giants at Dolphins | Colts at Texans
- Vikings at Lions | Eagles at Jets | Cardinals at Bears
- Chargers at Bengals | Bucs at Falcons | Jaguars at Rams
- Washington Football Team at Raiders | Ravens at Steelers
- 49ers at Seahawks | Broncos at Chiefs | Patriots at Bills
- Arizona Republic's NFL Week 13 picks | Playoff picture
- Point spreads, money lines, over/unders | TV schedule
The top seed in each conference gets a bye in the playoffs and the other division winners get the No. 2 through No. 4 seeds.
The No. 5, No. 6 and No. 7 seeds go to the non-division winners with the best records.
More:NFL Week 13 schedule: TV information, how to watch all 14 Week 13 NFL games in 2021 season
More:NFL Week 13 odds: Point spreads, money lines, over/unders for Week 13 NFL game betting
NFC playoff picture after Week 12:
- No. 1 Arizona Cardinals (9-2)
- No. 2 Green Bay Packers (9-3)
- No. 3 Tampa Bay Buccaneers (8-3)
- No. 4 Dallas Cowboys (7-4)
- No. 5 Los Angeles Rams (7-4)
- No. 6 San Francisco 49ers (6-5)
- No. 7 Washington Football Team (5-6)
In the hunt:
- Minnesota Vikings (5-6)
- Atlanta Falcons (5-6)
- New Orleans Saints (5-6)
- Philadelphia Eagles (5-7)
- Carolina Panthers (5-7)
- New York Giants (4-7)
- Chicago Bears (4-7)
NFC playoff matchups right now:
- No. 2 Packers vs. No. 7 Washington Football Team
- No. 3 Buccaneers vs. No. 6 49ers
- No. 4 Cowboys vs. No. 5 Rams
Notes: The Washington Football Team wins a tie breaker over the Falcons and Vikings on win percentage in conference games after a division tie breaker eliminated the Saints based on head-to-head win percentage.
NFL Week 13 television information:
- Cowboys at Saints | Giants at Dolphins | Colts at Texans
- Vikings at Lions | Eagles at Jets | Cardinals at Bears
- Chargers at Bengals | Bucs at Falcons | Jaguars at Rams
- Washington Football Team at Raiders | Ravens at Steelers
- 49ers at Seahawks | Broncos at Chiefs | Patriots at Bills
- NFL Week 13 schedule: How to watch all 14 games
AFC playoff picture after Week 12:
- No. 1 Baltimore Ravens (8-3)
- No. 2 New England Patriots (8-4)
- No. 3 Tennessee Titans (8-4)
- No. 4 Kansas City Chiefs (7-4)
- No. 5 Cincinnati Bengals (7-4)
- No. 6 Buffalo Bills (7-4)
- No. 7 Los Angeles Chargers (6-5)
In the hunt:
- Las Vegas Raiders (6-5)
- Denver Broncos (6-5)
- Indianapolis Colts (6-6)
- Pittsburgh Steelers (5-5-1)
- Cleveland Browns (6-6)
- Miami Dolphins (5-7)
AFC playoff matchups right now:
- No. 2 Patriots vs. No. 7 Chargers
- No. 3 Titans vs. No. 6 Bills
- No. 4 Chiefs vs. No. 5 Bengals
Notes: The Patriots take a tie breaker over the Titans on head-to-head win percentage. The Bengals take a tie breaker over the Bulls on win percentage in conference games. The Chargers take a tied breaker over the Broncos and Raiders on win percentage in division games.
More:NFL power rankings: Arizona Cardinals in a tier of their own entering NFL Week 13
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Last week:NFL playoff picture: Arizona Cardinals vault back into top spot after NFL Week 11 victory
Reach Jeremy Cluff at jeremy.cluff@arizonarepublic.com. Follow him on Twitter @Jeremy_Cluff.
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