The Wild NFC Playoff Picture

This week I would like to highlight the extremely competitive NFC playoff picture. As of now, there are 10 teams battling for the 7 playoff spots as well as no clear front runner in any division. I am going to highlight each division today and make predictions for how the NFC Playoff picture will look when everything is all said and done. 


NFC East

Possibly the weakest division on this list, the Eagles at 8-5 and Cowboys at 6-6-1 are in a race for the division. Both teams have proven to be extremely inconsistent with neither proving it's true supremacy. I don’t believe both teams will make the playoff as the Wild Card picture is extremely tight this year. So whoever wins the division will make the playoffs. 


With the two already splitting their season series we also won’t see a late season matchup to determine the division. I predict that the Cowboys will win all 4 of their final games and end with a 10-6-1 thus winning the NFC East over the eagles who will end with a 10-7 record and miss the playoffs. . 


NFC South

Who would've thought that the Carolina Panthers would have a chance to win the division against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers who were 6-2 at one point this season. The Bucs have just been bad through the second half of the season, they have consistently underperformed and lacked production on offense, despite getting key players like Chris Godwin and Bucky Irving back from injury.  As for the Panthers, they have a few pretty impressive wins against the Cowboys, Packers and Rams. This team can definitely with playoff caliber teams. 


With these teams playing each other week 16 and 18, we will see who will take the division. I also believe that whichever team wins the division will be the only one to make the playoffs due to the competitiveness of the wild card bracket. At the end of the day, I think the Bucs will find a way to finish out the season on top of the NFC South. 


NFC North

With the best Packers-Bears matchup of maybe the century now in the rear-view mirror, we now see the Packers with a clear advantage to win the north. I do believe it is going to stay that way, meaning the Bears and Lions will be fighting for a place in the very competitive 3 team wild card bracket. Unfortunately, I think only one of these teams are going to make the playoffs and that will be decided by a crucial week 18 matchup between these two.


The Lions certainly are the more experienced team of the two, however the Bears have shoed steady progression throughout the year. I do believe the Lions will ultimately win the final game and stamp their ticket to the post leaving the Bears a (most likely) 10 win non-playoff team. 


NFC West

This division is wild. Here's my hot take on this division: whoever wins the NFC West will hold the number 1 seed in the NFC Playoff Picture. This division is still very winnable for the 49ers, Seahawks and Rams. Each team has a real chance to win the division. And based on my previous predictions, whoever doesn't win the NFC West will have a Wild Card spot.


Each team has a fairly easy schedule to finish out the season, which makes this prediction so much harder. However, the team that has the best chance of winning the NFC West and getting the number 1 seed is LA Rams. They have shown time and time again that they are an elite team (unless they're playing the Panthers).


So here are my official NFC Playoff Predictions with 4 weeks left in the season.

1. LA Rams

2. Green Bay Packers

3. Dallas Cowboys

4. Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Wild Card

5. Seattle Seahawks

6. Chicago Bears

7. San Francisco 49ers


What do you think of these predictions? What would you change?


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