NFL playoff picture 2017: Where teams stand after Week 11

The NFC playoff picture took center stage in Week 11. There were two games between teams in the conference with winning records on Sunday, with another one set for Monday. The only such matchup in the AFC was Thursday when the Pittsburgh Steelers handled the Tennessee Titans, 40-17.

Week 11 was the last of the season with byes, but the Panthers were the only team in the playoff picture who didn’t play. The Colts, 49ers and Jets were the other three with Sunday off.

That left a lot of opportunity for the logjam in the NFC to get sorted out.

The AFC playoff picture doesn’t look all that different than it did coming into the week. The Patriots kept pace with the Steelers with an easy 33-8 win over the Raiders in Mexico City.

However, there were two changes: The Jaguars are now atop the AFC South after taking down the winless Browns, and the Bills dropped out of the picture this week after getting routed by the Chargers. The Ravens, who shut out the Packers in Green Bay, slid into the final wild card spot this week. Both the Ravens and Bills are 5-5, but Baltimore owns the tiebreaker because it has a better record against AFC teams.

The biggest matchup of the week was the Rams’ road trip to play the Vikings. Despite a tie game at halftime, Minnesota owned the second half and improved to 8-2 and stayed in line for a first-round bye. The Rams remained in the No. 4 spot, but the loss severely hurt their chances at a first-round bye.

Philadelphia keeps rolling and has iron grip on the top spot in the standings after dominating the Cowboys on Sunday Night Football. Not only do the 9-1 Eagles still have the best record in the NFL, but they also pretty much ended the race for the NFC East title. The Cowboys fell to 5-5, four games out of first.

The Saints solidified their standing in the NFC with their eighth straight win, shocking Washington with a late comeback win.

With the Panthers on bye, they can only sit back and watch.

Atlanta grabbed the final spot in Week 11 by beating Seattle. After the win, the Falcons, Seahawks and Lions are all 6-4, but it’s Atlanta at the top of the three-way tie thanks to head-to-head wins over both of the other teams.