NFL Playoff Picture
Going into week 15, six teams have a chance to clinch a playoff berth or clinch their division
Dec 13, 2006
With the Chicago Bears and San Diego Chargers winning their division titles last week, the playoff hunt is officially on and every game is huge from here on out.
Thursday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday night will have some pretty intense matchups this week starting with the Seatlle Seahawks taking on the struggling San Francisco 49ers. With a win or a tie, Seattle will take the NFC West title and destroy any playoff hopes for the 49ers.
On Saturday night, the Dallas Cowboys take on the hot and cold Michael Vick and the Atlanta Falcons. If Dallas gets the win, Minnesota loses or ties their game against the Jets and New Orleans wins or ties against the Redskins, Dallas will win NFC East title. The New Orleans Saints on the other hand only have to get the win on Sunday against Washington to take the NFC South title.
Then there is the AFC, arguably the best conference with the most talented teams and the front runner to have the team that will win the Super Bowl. There are three teams in the AFC with chances to take their division Sunday and Monday. The First team is no stranger to big games and the playoffs in the New England Patriots. Tom Brady and the Patriots will be taking on Houston, which is no real challenge, but the Texans have surprised some teams (they beat Jacksonville twice) this year and should not be taken for granted. With a victory and a Jets loss to the Vikings, the Patriots will win the AFC East title yet again and be headed to the playoffs.
The Baltimore Ravens and the Indianapolis Colts are the other two teams from the AFC that will take their shot at a playoff berth in week 15. The Ravens will be taking on the lowly Cleveland Browns, who have already been eliminated from playoff contention and should not pose too much of a threat to Baltimore and their strong defense. If the Ravens win and Cincinnati loses or ties, Baltimore will have the AFC North locked. This is where the Colts come into play with the matchup of the week on Monday night, against the red-hot Cincinnati Bengals who have won four straight and show no signs of slowing down. If the Colts pull off a victory, which they have not been able to do in the last two games, Indianapolis will have the AFC South wrapped up and Peyton Manning will get another chance to prove himself in the playoffs.
At the end of this long football week, we should have a pretty clear NFL playoff picture and can start hoping for great matchups, like Colts vs Patriots or Chargers vs Colts. It will be interesting to see how it ends up.
