NFL playoff standings 2016: Seahawks clinch, Packers trying to make late charge in NFC

Heading into Week 15, the Dallas Cowboys were the only NFC team to clinch a postseason berth. That’s no longer the case.

The Seahawks (9-4-1) wrapped up an NFC West title with a Thursday night victory over the lowly Los Angeles Rams to secure a playoff spot. They’ll play out their season against Arizona and San Francisco while trying to clinch a first-round bye. Seattle made progress there by leapfrogging the Lions for the No. 2 seed on Sunday.

For the rest of the conference, there was a lot to be decided on Sunday.

The Vikings (7-7) entered the week with a chance to gain ground on the NFC North-leading Lions. Instead, they took a beating at home from the Colts. It knocked them from just outside the playoffs to the bottom of the contenders. It’s an especially tough beat with Detroit (9-5) falling to the Giants in New York.

While the Lions have fended off Minnesota for most of the season, they’ll get a new challenge in the final two weeks of the season with a Packers team that is one of the hottest in the league right now. Green Bay (8-6) sneaked out of Chicago with a 30-27 victory at Solider Field and is now within striking distance of the Lions, who it’ll face in Week 17. Making Detroit’s path to the postseason tougher is a trip to Dallas next week. Meanwhile, Green Bay gets a Minnesota team at home with it’s season just past the brink of falling apart.

Atlanta’s victory over the 49ers keeps the Falcons ahead in the NFC South race. The Bucs’ loss to the Cowboys not only dropped them out of a tie with Atlanta, but it also booted Tampa out of the final wild card spot for an entire day. After Washington lost to the Panthers on Monday night, the Bucs jumped right back in the No. 6 spot.

With the Giants’ victory, the NFC East has all but assured itself of sending at least two teams to the postseason, yet there’s a bit of jockeying left, even after the Cowboys improved to 12-2 Sunday night.

Here are the NFC standings in Week 15. The AFC standings can be found here.

Just outside: Green Bay Packers (8-6), Washington (7-6-1), Minnesota Vikings (7-7), New Orleans Saints (6-8)