The NFC's Wild WildCard Race

With week 9’s Sunday games in the rearview mirror, we’re closer to the end of the regular season than the start. The NFC playoff picture has begun to take shape, and it’s a wild one. With that said, let’s compare and contrast the current NFC playoff picture to what I believe the NFC playoff picture will look like after the regular season.

Current NFC Playoff Picture:

Division Leaders:

1. DET (7W-1L)

2. WSH (7W-2L)

3. ATL (6W-3L)

4. ARI (5W-4L)

Wildcard Teams:

5. MIN (6W-2L)

6. PHI (6W-2L)

7. GB (6W-3L)

My Predicted Final NFC Playoff Picture:

Division Leaders:

1. DET 

2. PHI

3. ATL 

4. SF

Wildcard Teams:

5. GB

6. WSH

7. MIN

1. Detroit Lions (Currently 7W-1L):

This pick doesn’t require much explaining. The Lions are far and away the best team in the NFC. After a fluke loss to Tampa Bay in week 2, Detroit has turned on the burners. Over the following 6 games, Detroit has been undefeated, outsourcing their opponents 216-108, exactly double the point total. This past Sunday, the Lions faced what was supposed to be their biggest test yet. They traveled to Green Bay to face a great Packers team, in a hostile Lambeau Field environment, in brutal weather conditions. Nonetheless, Dan Campbell’s boys put up another dominant performance and beat Green Bay by a comfortable margin. I see no reason to say they won’t finish the season as the top seed in the NFC.

2. Philadelphia Eagles (Currently 6W-2L):

After a concerning start, the Eagles have found their recipe for success. The Eagles are currently on a 4-game winning streak, in which they’ve held opposing offenses to 14.75 points per game. The key has been ball-controlled football. Over these 4 games, the Eagles have had a run-heavy offense, and have only turned the ball over a single time. Staying ahead of the chains and winning the field position battle has allowed them to control the game on both sides of the ball. Unless they shoot themselves in the foot, the Eagles are a very difficult football team to beat. With a relatively easy remaining schedule, I expect the Eagles to stay hot through the remainder of the regular season. 

3. Atlanta Falcons (Currently 6W-3L):

The Atlanta Falcons have built their offense the right way. After assembling a good offensive line and collecting explosive skill players, this past offseason, the Falcons inserted their quarterback by signing Kirk Cousins. It took Cousins a few weeks to get adjusted, but since week 4, the Falcons offense has been electric, putting up 28.67 points per game. The NFC South is a weak division, with the Falcons being the only team with a winning record in the division. The Falcons aren’t a top-tier team but I can’t imagine any of their division rivals will steal the division from them.

4. San Francisco 49ers (Currently 4W-4L):

While the Arizona Cardinals currently hold a 0.5-game lead in the NFC West, I doubt it’ll last. Everything that can go wrong, has gone wrong for the 49ers in 2024. However, despite many injuries and multiple blown leads, the 49ers have kept their head above the water. Between that and the NFC West being a weak division, I expect the 49ers to swipe it away from the Cardinals. The Cardinals are the only NFC West team with a winning record, and they’re only a single game over even. Hence, the 49ers will only need to go 10W-7L or 9W-8L to win the division. The 49ers have managed to go 4W-4L despite the absence of Christian McCaffrey. Per 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan, McCaffrey can potentially be back on the field as soon as next week. In accordance, I expect the 49ers to have a better second half of the season, implying that they’ll finish with a record of 9W-8L or better. While they’re too far behind to compete for a wildcard spot, their division is still wide open.

5. Green Bay Packers (Currently 6W-3L):

While the Packers’ record implies that they’re only a solid team, they’re right up there in the top tier with the Lions and Eagles. 2 of Green Bay’s 3 losses came against the previously mentioned Lions and Eagles, outside of those games they’re 6W-1L. Green Bay has played great football despite facing an incredibly difficult schedule and their star quarterback, Jordan Love missing 2 and a half games with an injury. Between Love getting an extra week of rest in their upcoming bye week, and their remaining schedule being somewhat easier, I expect the Packers to have an even more successful second half.

6. Washington Commanders (Currently 7W-2L):

After an incredible start to the Jayden Daniels era in Washinton, the Commanders have begun to show small signs of slowing down. In each of their past 2 games, the Commanders have escaped with close 1-score victories over sub-par teams. In addition, since exiting Washington’s week matchup against the Panthers with a rib injury, Jayden Daniels hasn’t been as dynamic with his legs. Before the injury, Daniels ran for 4 touchdowns and 53.67 yards per game. In the past two weeks, Daniels hasn’t run for a touchdown and has run for only 43.5 yards per game. A rookie quarterback rarely has a smooth debut season, there will always be bumps along the way. Between the injury and Washington’s challenging remaining schedule, I expect Jayden Daniels to have a slightly less smooth second half. Nonetheless, he will still lead Washington to the playoffs and win Rookie of the Year. 

7. Minnesota Vikings (Currently 6W-2L):

Sam Darnold and the Minnesota Vikings shocked the world by getting off to a 5W-0L start. However, over the past few weeks, they’ve slowed down. Nonetheless, I’m not overly concerned by the Vikings’ rough stretch. In week 7, Minnesota lost a well-fought battle to the best team in the NFC, the Detroit Lions. Detroit tends to tire out their opponents, as over the past two years, almost all of the teams that played the Lions lost the following week. Hence, it wasn’t surprising when the Vikings lost their week 8 matchup to the Los Angeles Rams. In Detroit’s week 9 game against the Colts, their defense made the veteran Joe Flacco look inexperienced and foolish. Their offense was concerning in the first half before they woke up and scored 21 points in the first half. In conclusion, the Vikings are a good team, simply not the 5W-0L team we thought they were. While the Vikings are a legitimate playoff team, they’re the 3rd-best team in the NFC North division. In accordance, they will lose some games in the second half of the season.