The NFL was pretty wild in Week 10, as so many good teams suffered tough losses, and plenty of the league’s worst came away with surprising wins. There is parity like never before in the league this year, and that showed up in a big way in Week 10. And as the dust settles, we now have a slightly clearer picture of where teams stand in the playoff hunt.
NFL Week 10 Playoff Picture
The Buffalo Bills might be the biggest losers from this surprising weekend of action. Not only did they get blown out by the lowly Miami Dolphins, which was a major shock in and of itself, but they had to watch the New England Patriots get a huge win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, too. That puts a little more distance and a little more wind behind the sails of a New England division title.
Speaking of those Buccaneers, they may have lost, but they dodged a major bullet. The Atlanta Falcons lost in overtime to the Indianapolis Colts, which pushed them further into the basement in the NFC South. The Carolina Panthers had a chance to move to within half a game of Tampa, but an embarrassing, inexplicable, inexcusable loss to the New Orleans Saints means Tampa stays exactly the same despite a tough loss.
In the AFC North, things got a whole lot more interesting. The Pittsburgh Steelers lost to the Los Angeles Chargers, which helps Los Angeles boost its division title hopes even though the Denver Broncos got another ugly win on Thursday. But with the Steelers losing, a Baltimore Ravens win over a feisty Minnesota Vikings team pushed them to one game back after their 1-5 start. The playoffs seem much more plausible for Baltimore now.
The Colts’ overtime win over Atlanta helps continue their march for the AFC’s top seed, although Denver, Los Angeles, and New England are all in the running after also winning on Sunday. In the NFC, the West is shaping up to be a true battle. The Los Angeles Rams and Seattle Seahawks, who bludgeoned the Arizona Cardinals, are 7-2 and have the best records in the NFC. Also in the mix are the Philadelphia Eagles, who have yet to play and are 6-2, and the Green Bay Packers, who face the Eagles tonight on Monday Night Football. That matchup will be absolutely crucial to seeding, although the Eagles are comfortably leading their division anyway.
The Packers, however, have no room to breathe. A huge win over the Washington Commanders pushed the Lions to within 21 percentage points of first place (thanks to the Packers having a tie on their record), so a loss by Green Bay would be catastrophic. The Chicago Bears, who enjoyed a comeback win over the New York Giants, are also 6-3, so a loss by Green Bay would send them plummeting to third in their division, which would be a shock after starting 5-1-1.
The wild card is even more complicated in both leagues. All the above-mentioned teams that are within striking distance of their division leaders are in the wild card hunt, obviously. The Chargers, Bills, and Jacksonville Jaguars (who suffered an improbable loss after leading 29-10 in the fourth quarter) currently hold the three spots in the AFC. In the NFC, the Rams, Lions, and Bears are in, but they are followed closely by several teams.
Still in the hunt in the AFC are:
- Kansas City Chiefs
- Houston Texans
- Baltimore Ravens
In the NFC, it’s crowded:
- San Francisco 49ers
- Carolina Panthers
- Minnesota Vikings
Losses this week by the Panthers and Vikings mean they’re probably a long shot to make it, especially in the Panthers’ case. They have a gauntlet (Tampa Bay twice, San Francisco, Seattle, and the Rams) remaining, so they’re likely to fade from view entirely.
