NFL Playoff Picture

Heading into the final week of the regular season, the NFL playoff picture is still murky. There are nine teams that are locked into the tournament, with six more vying for three lots of real estate in the bracket. Here are my thoughts on the final three spots up for grabs and how I think they will play out.

AFC North: Either the Ravens or Steelers will win the division while the other will miss the playoffs entirely. The Ravens just need to beat the Browns OR have the Steelers lose to the Bengals and Baltimore is in. The Steelers need to beat Cincinnati AND have the Ravens lose to the Browns. As well as the Browns are playing at the moment, and even though they will be going all out to finish above .500 for the first time in what feels like a lifetime, I think John Harbaugh guides the Ravens to the divisional crown and the Steelers are left dumbfounded as they watch the playoffs from home.

AFC Wild Card/AFC South: The Texans are already in the playoffs, but should they lose on Sunday to Jacksonville, Houston will be a Wild Card team and the winner of the Titans-Colts game will win the division. If the Texans win, as they should, then the winner of the Titans-Colts game will be the second AFC Wild Card. Either way, the Sunday Night game between Indianapolis and Tennessee is for a playoff spot. Andrew Luck has returned to the Andrew Luck of old and has been carving defenses. I expect no different Sunday night in Nashville. The Titans have become too run-dependent and it appears that Marcus Mariota may have entered Jameis Winston territory in terms of potential franchise quarterbacks gone wrong. I like Indy by a pretty significant margin in primetime.

NFC Wild Card: It’s funny, the two teams that were competing to go to the Super Bowl last season from the NFC, the Vikings and the Eagles, are now competing for the final playoff spot in 2018. With a Vikings win OR an Eagles loss, Minnesota is in. With an Eagles win AND a Vikings loss, Philly will have a chance to defend their throne. Minnesota plays Chicago and the Bears will be playing hard in hopes of securing a bye. I believe that Matt Nagy’s squad will come out victorious and bury their divisional rivals while the Eagles and Nick Foles will do the same, thus setting the table for another magical run in the playoffs for Philadelphia fueled by their backup quarterback.