Yesterday we took a look at who will be making the playoffs in the AFC. And, as promised, today we are going to look at the NFC.

NFC East – Philadelphia Eagles
The East has two teams that have a chance at making the playoffs this year. (Sorry Washington, its not you.) With the exception of the 49ers, the Cowboys have had a pretty easy schedule so far. And, while the Eagles have had more good opponents, they havent played anyone over .500. The weird thing about the Cowboys is they have either looked like the best team in the league or completely embarrassed themselves. Where as the Eagles have been reliably winning week after week. And I know some people are saying that the loss to the Jets means that Philly arent who we thought they were, but I still think they are. Because the Jets might be good. More on them next week. In the end, this division will be determined when the Cowboys and Eagles go head to head weeks 10 and 14.

NFC North – Detroit Lions
Weve seen 5-1 from the Lions, in my sons lifetime. In 2011 the Lions had a first time head coach, in his third season, who was full of passion and enthusiasm. They had a top 5 offense. And, despite going 5-5 the rest of the season, they got a wildcard spot and promptly got destroyed by the New Orleans Saints. Despite the similarities (I could go on for a while on that) this is not that Lions team. Is Dan Campbell a better head coach than Jim Schwartz? I dont know yet. Is Goff better than Stafford? Im not sure. But, what I am sure of, is this Lions defense is great. And because the defense is great, the offense doesnt have to take as many risks. And that is why I still think this Lions team goes 12-5, if not better. More on that in two weeks. There is the off chance the Packers get their shit together and rally but the Lions have a 2.5 game lead on them and have already won in Lambeau. Not to mention, of their remaining 11 games, only two are against teams with winning records.

NFC South – Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The South does not have a representative in the top 10 of our power rankings. They dont even have an A Tier team. Their only B Tier team is the Buccaneers. I honestly dont know who wins this division, but I do know that none of them are getting a wildcard spot. We might be looking at a 1-11 Panthers team that hasnt been eliminated yet kind of situation.

NFC West – San Francisco 49ers
Lets put a big old asterisk on that Browns win because if you beat a good team that has injuries everyone knows it doesnt count. Seriously though, despite everyones expectations, the Browns didnt Brown it up. They plugged in and did their job. But the 49ers are still legit. Theyre point differential is off the charts and they still sit on top of our power rankings. Just not in their own category anymore. I dont think the Seahawks or Rams have what it takes to catch them. Sure the Seahawks beat the Lions and they looked amazing against the Panthers and Giants, which isnt impressive at all, but they looked bad when the Rams came to town and couldnt handle the Bengals. These two still play each other twice and if Seattle cant win both of those they wont win the division.

Wildcard – Cowboys, Rams, Seahawks
There are a few teams that are dominating the NFC right now (see above minus the Bucs) and there are a lot of teams that are not good. Like I said, the Packers could get their shit together and make a run. Perhaps the Saints or Falcons but if they do theyll wind up division winner. I dont see the Vikings or Commanders turning things around. I just dont know who else will show up. Who knows, injuries will happen and a team can win or lose on any given Sunday.