Here’s a look at the updated NFL Playoff Picture, NFC Playoff Picture, and NFC Wild Card standings after the early Week 17 games.
It’s a new year, but the same old mess is present in the NFL game picture.
Just when things seemed to be settling into place in the NFC, it all came to a grinding halt after Christmas. The Philadelphia Eagles fall apart without Jalen Hurts, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers slowly come back to life on offense, and
Most importantly, after Week 17, there is only one playoff ticket left to be punched and a handful of teams to fight for.
Since the Jalen Hurts loss, the Eagles are 0-2 and are now in danger of not only losing their top seed in the NFC but a return to the Wild Card. The Dallas Cowboys remain hot on the heels of Philly with one game left in the season to capitalize on their rivals’ late-season stumble.
After two straight losses, the Eagles are still in control of their way to the top seed but they need to beat the Giants next week to do so. What looked like a race that was closed weeks ago will now come down to the final week of the season. The Vikings can steal their first seed with a win over the Packers & Bears, and a loss to the Cowboys next week.
If we’re talking about teams that can secure the top seed, the Cowboys need a win next week and a loss by the Eagles to leapfrog the Vikings and win the #1 bracket.
Meanwhile, in the chaos at the top of the NFC, the 49ers have their eyes on the Vikings in an effort to secure the second seed. San Francisco went the exact opposite direction for the Eagles after losing their starting quarterback as Brock Purdy belted the team on the back and carried them to an undefeated record in his watch.
At the bottom fold of the page, the NFC Wild Card image is no less messy. The New York Giants clinched one of the two remaining spots, leaving only one wild card for as many as three teams fighting to sneak into the playoffs.
The calendar has turned into a new year, but the NFL Playoff picture is no longer stable and the final stretch of the 2023 season will begin with all sorts of staged chaos from the way things ended in 2022.
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