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NFL playoff picture: Cowboys bolster outlook, Seahawks slide after wild shootout

Nate Davis, USA TODAY
·5 min read
18

Here's how the NFL playoff picture looks with Week 13 of the 2023 season underway:

NFC playoff picture

1. Philadelphia Eagles (10-1), NFC East leaders: They own the best record in the league, matching their 10-1 start in 2022 by winning a thrilling overtime shootout against the Buffalo Bills on Sunday. Detroit's loss on Thanksgiving gave Philly a two-game lead on its three closest pursuers. If the Eagles win Week 13's highly anticipated NFC title game rematch with San Francisco, they're going to become very difficult to dislodge from their perch. Philadelphia will become the first team to clinch a playoff spot with a win and some help (either a loss by the Rams or losses by the Lions and Packers). Remaining schedule: vs. 49ers, at Cowboys, at Seahawks, vs. Giants, vs. Cardinals, at Giants

2. San Francisco 49ers (8-3), NFC West leaders: They put a chokehold on the division by beating Seattle on Thanksgiving night. The Niners' superior record in NFC games also vaulted them over the Lions. But if they want to really make a push for home-field advantage, a win at Philadelphia is pretty much imperative. Remaining schedule: at Eagles, vs. Seahawks, at Cardinals, vs. Ravens, at Commanders, vs. Rams

3. Detroit Lions (8-3), NFC North leaders: Starting to show some cracks, especially on defense, but they still have some margin for error in their quest for first NFC North title. Remaining schedule: at Saints, at Bears, vs. Broncos, at Vikings, at Cowboys, vs. Vikings

4. Atlanta Falcons (5-6), NFC South leaders: They notched a big win Sunday in their first meeting this season with the Saints and moved to 3-0 in divisional games – potentially a huge tiebreaker down the road. Hard to expect too much from the Falcons, but a .500 finish over their final six games – which seems quite reasonable – could be enough to clinch this seed. Remaining schedule: at Jets, vs. Buccaneers, at Panthers, vs. Colts, at Bears, at Saints

5. Dallas Cowboys (9-3), wild card No. 1: They won their 14th consecutive home game Thursday night, outlasting Seattle 41-35. Dallas solidified its hold on this position – which will likely afford a matchup with a not-so-daunting NFC South champ in the wild-card round. Yet with Philadelphia their next opponent, the Cowboys will get an opportunity to draw nearer in the NFC East – possibly a first-place tie if the Niners win at the Linc on Sunday afternoon. Remaining schedule: vs. Eagles, at Bills, at Dolphins, vs. Lions, at Commanders

Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott (4) celebrates after throwing a touchdown pass to Jake Ferguson, not pictured, in the second half of an NFL football game against the Seattle Seahawks in Arlington, Texas, Thursday, Nov. 30, 2023.
Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott (4) celebrates after throwing a touchdown pass to Jake Ferguson, not pictured, in the second half of an NFL football game against the Seattle Seahawks in Arlington, Texas, Thursday, Nov. 30, 2023.

6. Minnesota Vikings (6-6), wild card No. 2: Tough loss to Chicago, though Vikes could still make a run at the NFC North given both dates with Detroit are ahead. But Minnesota needs to regroup during its bye and figure out a way to hold off that triad of clubs (Packers, Rams, Saints) just a half-game back. Remaining schedule: BYE, at Raiders, at Bengals, vs. Lions, vs. Packers, at Lions

7. Seattle Seahawks (6-6), wild card No. 3: That's four defeats in their past five outings following Thursday's heartbreaker against Dallas. The loss also drops Seattle into the NFC's final playoff position (Minnesota has a better record in conference games), only a half-game head of Green Bay, the Rams – and LA swept the 'Hawks already − and New Orleans. And the schedule only gets tougher the next two weeks for Seattle, which may be an unrecoverable nosedive. Remaining schedule: at 49ers, vs. Eagles, at Titans, vs. Steelers, at Cardinals

AFC playoff picture

1. Baltimore Ravens (9-3), AFC North leaders: After quite a bit of churn, they wound up where they started the week – in first place overall. They won't mind getting Week 13 off to rest up for the stretch drive, but it is likely to cost them in the standings – their trio of AFC losses more than the Chiefs, Jaguars or Dolphins. Remaining schedule: BYE, vs. Rams, at Jaguars, at 49ers, vs. Dolphins, vs. Steelers

Odell Beckham Jr. #3 of the Baltimore Ravens celebrates a first down reception against the Los Angeles Chargers during the second quarter in the game at SoFi Stadium on November 26, 2023 in Inglewood, California.
Odell Beckham Jr. #3 of the Baltimore Ravens celebrates a first down reception against the Los Angeles Chargers during the second quarter in the game at SoFi Stadium on November 26, 2023 in Inglewood, California.

2. Kansas City Chiefs (8-3), AFC West leaders: They continue to be well positioned to play a sixth consecutive AFC title game at Arrowhead Stadium. None of the teams left on K.C.'s schedule currently has a winning record. Furthermore, wins over Jacksonville and Miami earlier this season give K.C. a valuable tiebreaker should those clubs wind up deadlocked. Remaining schedule: at Packers, vs. Bills, at Patriots, vs. Raiders, vs. Bengals, at Chargers

3. Jacksonville Jaguars (8-3), AFC South leaders: They earned an important split with Houston on Sunday and also opened up some breathing room atop the division. The strength-of-victory tiebreaker puts the Jags ahead of Miami if a tiebreaker must be invoked. Remaining schedule: vs. Bengals, at Browns, vs. Ravens, at Buccaneers, vs. Panthers, at Titans

4. Miami Dolphins (8-3), AFC East leaders: They continue to feast on average-at-best opponents, suggesting they'll be 11-3 come Christmas Eve. Their victory in the NFL's first Black Friday game temporarily moved them to the top of the conference standings, but they ceded all of that ground back on an idle Sunday. Remaining schedule: at Commanders, vs. Titans, vs. Jets, vs. Cowboys, at Ravens, vs. Bills

5. Pittsburgh Steelers (7-4), wild card No. 1: Losses by the Browns, who have a worse division record than Pittsburgh, and Texans move the Steelers up two spots on a day when their newly led offense showed signs of life. They're only a game ahead of Indianapolis, Houston and Denver, but no reason Pittsburgh shouldn't cruise to 9-4. Remaining schedule: vs. Cardinals, vs. Patriots, at Colts, vs. Bengals, at Seahawks, at Ravens

6. Cleveland Browns (7-4), wild card No. 2: A damaging loss at Denver not only cost them positioning but could put the playing status of several key players – DE Myles Garrett, WR Amari Cooper and QB Dorian Thompson-Robinson – in jeopardy going into a touch matchup in Los Angeles. Remaining schedule: at Rams, vs. Jaguars, vs. Bears, at Texans, vs. Jets, at Bengals

7. Indianapolis Colts (6-5), wild card No. 3: A Week 2 win at Houston and a better record in conference games than Denver moves Indy ahead of the Texans and Broncos, who are both also 6-5. The Bills also still lurk a half-game back in 10th place. Remaining schedule: at Titans, at Bengals, vs. Steelers, at Falcons, vs. Raiders, vs. Texans

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: NFL playoff picture: Cowboys bolster odds, Seahawks slip up in NFC