Many of the Week 10 games are now complete and the NFL playoff pictures are getting more and more clearer every Sunday. The biggest news this Sunday is that the Detroit Lions got one step closer to hosting their first playoff game in over 20 years, the Bengals are keeping the door open for the Cleveland Browns and Baltimore Ravens, the Seattle Seahawks kept themselves atop the NFC and the Indianapolis Colts took a major tumble against the St. Louis Rams.
NFL playoff picture 2013: Seahawks remain on top, Lions take sole possession of 1st in the North
Playoff races got a little more defined on Sunday afternoon but there are plenty of implications remaining in Week 10 as the late afternoon games march on.
Kevin C. Cox
With the late afternoon games currently underway and carrying some significant weight in terms of how these standings will look by the evening, here is an early look at the playoff standings as of Sunday afternoon.
NFC Playoff Seedings:
1. Seattle Seahawks (9-1)
2. New Orleans Saints (6-2)
3. Detroit Lions (6-3)
4. Dallas Cowboys (5-4)
5. San Francisco 49ers (6-2)
6. Carolina Panthers (5-3)
The 49ers and Panthers are currently playing against each other in San Francisco, giving the winner a major edge in the race for a Wild Card berth. The Cowboys and Saints face off on Sunday Night Football. If New Orleans falls to Dallas, the Seahawks will have a two-game lead for the No. 1 seed and they face the Saints at home in Week 13 on Monday Night Football.
Seattle already carries a tiebreaker over the 49ers for beating them in Week 2 and their rematch happens in San Francisco in Week 14.
The Lions went into Chicago and beat the Bears, 21-19, giving them sole possession of first place in the NFC North, as the Packers lost, 27-13, to the Eagles in their first game without Aaron Rodgers.
Other teams in contention are the Chicago Bears (5-4), Green Bay Packers (5-4), Philadelphia Eagles (5-5) and the Arizona Cardinals (4-4, currently playing the Texans).
AFC Playoff Seedings:
1. Kansas City Chiefs (9-0)
2. New England Patriots (7-2)
3. Indianapolis Colts (6-3)
4. Cincinnati Bengals (6-4)
5. Denver Broncos (7-1)
6. New York Jets (5-4)
The Chiefs stay on top during their bye week but saw the Colts and Bengals fall further from possibly catching them in the overall standings. The Broncos currently lead, 7-0, over the San Diego Chargers, a team that is looking at a possible Wild Card berth with its 4-4 record.
The Bengals had a chance to keep pace with the New England Patriots but ended up losing to the Ravens, 20-17, in overtime. Cincinnati has now lost two in a row. Meanwhile, Indianapolis had a great chance to move up but got embarrassed at home, losing 38-8 to the Rams.
Other teams in AFC contention are the Miami Dolphins (4-4), Cleveland Browns (4-5), Ravens (4-5) and Tennessee Titans (4-5).
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