NFL Playoff Picture 2018: Seahawks, Ravens Own Wild-Card Spots, Broncos, Titans Among Teams Lurking

A few teams contending for NFL wild-card spots picked up key victories in Week 13. The Baltimore Ravens and Seattle Seahawks took one step closer toward making the postseason, while teams like the Denver Broncos, Tennessee Titans and Miami Dolphins avoided what would’ve been disastrous losses.

You can pretty much pencil the Kansas City Chiefs, New England Patriots, Houston Texans and Los Angeles Chargers into the AFC playoff picture. The Pittsburgh Steelers are right there with a 7-4-1 record, though they are only a half-game ahead of the Ravens in the AFC North after two straight losses.

Over in the NFC, the Los Angeles Rams have clinched the NFC West and the New Orleans Saints have a magic number of one to win the NFC South. The Chicago Bears are in control of the NFC North and would need a significant collapse to miss the playoffs. The Dallas Cowboys are in control of the NFC East with an important “Monday Night Football” matchup between the Washington Redskins and Philadelphia Eagles pending.

The race for the final AFC wild-card spot should come down to the wire. Baltimore has a one-game lead over the Indianapolis Colts, who were upset by the Jacksonville Jaguars Sunday. The Ravens are also a game ahead of the Broncos, Titans and Dolphins. Baltimore faces a difficult schedule with upcoming road games against the Chiefs and Chargers.

Two losses for Baltimore would open the door for Denver and Tennessee, both of whom have an easy upcoming schedule. The Broncos should be favored in the next three weeks against the San Francisco 49ers, Cleveland Browns and Oakland Raiders, and they will host a Chargers’ team in Week 17 that might have nothing on the line. The Titans might be favored in home games against the Jaguars, Redskins and Colts. Tennessee visits the New York Giants in their only remaining road game.

Baltimore owns the head-to-head tiebreaker over both Denver and Tennessee.

Let’s assume the Cowboys hold on in the NFC East. It’ll likely be the Seahawks, Minnesota Vikings, Carolina Panthers and the winner of Monday night’s game fighting for the NFC’s two wild-card spots.

Seattle jumped into the No.5 seed by improving to 7-5 with a dominant Week 13 win over San Francisco. The Seahawks host the Vikings in a key matchup next week. They could come close to punching their ticket to the postseason with a win over Minnesota. The Seahawks face the 49ers, Chiefs and Arizona Cardinals to close out the season.

The Seahawks already own the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Panthers, whom they beat in Week 12. Carolina is on a four-game losing streak with two games remaining against New Orleans.

The Green Bay Packers and Cincinnati Bengals virtually eliminated themselves from playoff contention with Week 13 losses.