What are we to think of the NFC playoff picture right now?

[Why Not Us]

1. San Francisco 49ers - 5-0 - Nobody believes they're for real yet do they? At least not a #1 seed
2. New Orleans Saints - 5-1 - If there defense plays like this when Brees is back, they'll be your #1 with a bullet

3. Green Bay Packers - 4-1 - Record looks good, they're nothing special
4. Philadelphia Eagles - 3-3 - Beneficiary of a bad division but once they get all their pieces back could be good

5. Seattle Seahawks - 5-1 - Bunch of Ws against weak teams, Wilson is MVP right now with 17 TDs and 0 INTs
6. Minnesota Vikings - 4-2 - Capable of laying a turd against anyone, can Cousins consistently perform in November

7. Carolina Panthers - 4-2 - Another backup QB playing well with the great white hype on an unbelievable tear
8. Detroit Lions - 2-1-1 - They're the Lions
9. Chicago Bears - 3-2 - Can they Trubinski to be a functioning QB
10. Dallas Cowboys - 3-3 - Can look unstoppable and the like the worst team in the NFL
11. Los Angeles Rams - 3-3 - SB hangover with Gurley looking pedestrian

Looks pretty wide open, the NFC looks to have a bunch of teams that are not dominant by any stretch.

[Beef Supreme]

Kinda sucks that our two losses are in the division.

Get them back at home and hang losses back on them.


Nobody’s really separated themselves yet. The power is in the AFC.

[Hornets]

Teams I fear most right now are the Saints and the Seahawks. Saints not missin a beat with Teddy and Wilson looks to be having an MVP season. No one else really stands out right now but gotta admit I haven't seen the 49ers but they obviously are off to a great start. Can't see us having a chance to beat Saints or Seahawks in a road playoff game.....

[PurpleHaze]

Teams I fear most right now are the Saints and the Seahawks. Saints not missin a beat with Teddy and Wilson looks to be having an MVP season. No one else really stands out right now but gotta admit I haven't seen the 49ers but they obviously are off to a great start. Can't see us having a chance to beat Saints or Seahawks in a road playoff game.....

I've heard Brees has slowed down the end of the year the past two years. With him rested and if the Saints are still a top seed when he comes back the Saints will be very scary.

[Tommy_Hawk]

There's a lot of parity going on this year. Seems like the teams with proficient ground games and solid defenses are leading the pack. Maybe the league is transitioning into a TOP league.

[RubeTube]

There are only two "High powered" teams.

Patriots and Chiefs

The rest is wide open.

[RubeTube]

Under my estimation...

Vikings end up with a bye week.

BOOK IT!!

#HOIST

[D_H]

There are only two "High powered" teams.

Patriots and Chiefs

The rest is wide open.

KCs D is horrible but when the QB is 100% [he is NOT now] they are unreal.

[bubu dubu.]

Packers are better than we want to give them credit for. They seem worse to us, because we are used to them having an elite offense. They are winning games in different ways this year, and Rodgers is still capable of carrying them when they need it.

[RubeTube]

Packers are better than we want to give them credit for. They seem worse to us, because we are used to them having an elite offense. They are winning games in different ways this year, and Rodgers is still capable of carrying them when they need it.

They are a decent team. We are still more talented though. Hopefully Detroit beats them.

[bubu dubu.]

Packers are better than we want to give them credit for. They seem worse to us, because we are used to them having an elite offense. They are winning games in different ways this year, and Rodgers is still capable of carrying them when they need it.

They are a decent team. We are still more talented though. Hopefully Detroit beats them.

On talent alone, Vikings are a top 5 team. Unfortunately for the Vikings, talent alone does not make a team great. Vikings are working out some kinks right now. Packers on the other hand are soaring. In the end, maybe some adversity is good for the team, but right now, I'd rather be in the Packers position.

[Night Train]

C'mon, what's there to think about? It's week 6 for crying out loud, have 11 more weeks to go before the playoffs, lots of shits going to go down between now and then. Bump this in week 13 or so.

[-Jaymo-]

Packers are better than we want to give them credit for.

No, they really aren’t. Their run D is atrocious, and if not for two absolutely boneheaded plays by Trubisky and Cousins, they are 2-3 right now.

[hategreenticemase]

Packers are better than we want to give them credit for.

No, they really aren’t. Their run D is atrocious, and if not for two absolutely boneheaded plays by Trubisky and Cousins, they are 2-3 right now.

This. I started to reconsider maybe they are better than expected with what they did at Dallas, but Dallas is appearing very avg now.

Pack have a long way to go before we need to be too worried. They may get beat tonight.

[Thrillkill]

Kinda sucks that our two losses are in the division.

Get them back at home and hang losses back on them.


Nobody’s really separated themselves yet. The power is in the AFC.

What doesn't suck is we didn't get beat in either game. We straight up beat ourselves. We will crush both teams at home.

Limit mistakes and we are one of the top teams in all of football.

[Beef Supreme]

Kinda sucks that our two losses are in the division.

Get them back at home and hang losses back on them.


Nobody’s really separated themselves yet. The power is in the AFC.

What doesn't suck is we didn't get beat in either game. We straight up beat ourselves. We will crush both teams at home.

Limit mistakes and we are one of the top teams in all of football.

I think I agree. But I’m not ready to underestimate this team’s ability to lay an egg in a big game.

[Hector]

Packers running game doesn't look like a joke anymore, but Minnesota should be able to have the Packer and Bear games at the end of the year be meaningful.

I thought it was cool that the pick the Raiders got for Mack (Josh Jacobs) was the one that made their defense look foolish. Viking blueprint for that game.

[Hector]

Packers running game doesn't look like a joke anymore, but Minnesota should be able to have the Packer and Bear games at the end of the year be meaningful.

I thought it was cool that the pick the Raiders got for Mack (Josh Jacobs) was the one that made their defense look foolish. Viking blueprint for that game.

[The Replacements]

1. San Francisco 49ers - 5-0 - Nobody believes they're for real yet do they? At least not a #1 seed
2. New Orleans Saints - 5-1 - If there defense plays like this when Brees is back, they'll be your #1 with a bullet

3. Green Bay Packers - 4-1 - Record looks good, they're nothing special
4. Philadelphia Eagles - 3-3 - Beneficiary of a bad division but once they get all their pieces back could be good

5. Seattle Seahawks - 5-1 - Bunch of Ws against weak teams, Wilson is MVP right now with 17 TDs and 0 INTs
6. Minnesota Vikings - 4-2 - Capable of laying a turd against anyone, can Cousins consistently perform in November

7. Carolina Panthers - 4-2 - Another backup QB playing well with the great white hype on an unbelievable tear
8. Detroit Lions - 2-1-1 - They're the Lions
9. Chicago Bears - 3-2 - Can they Trubinski to be a functioning QB
10. Dallas Cowboys - 3-3 - Can look unstoppable and the like the worst team in the NFL
11. Los Angeles Rams - 3-3 - SB hangover with Gurley looking pedestrian

Looks pretty wide open, the NFC looks to have a bunch of teams that are not dominant by any stretch.

I like the Saints and Seahawks so far but it's a long season.

[Face The Facts]

Count how many teams we play with winning records.
Mark those as losses.
If we have 10 wins or more, playoffs.

[Dude]

The power is in the AFC.

Just curious how you come to that conclusion. (Sorry about the wall of text but I went down the rabbit hole)

The NFC is 19-10 against the AFC. If you take the Falcons out of the mix the NFC is 19-7.

The Patriots are by far the NFL favorite right now, but they've played one of the softest records I've ever seen to this point- Pittsburgh, Miami, NYJ, Buffalo, Washington, and the Giants (10-23 combined records, 10-17 when taking the Pats games out of it). I'd still probably take the Patriots over any NFC team on a neutral field, but still...

It seems to me that with the exception of the Patriots, Bills, and Texans (4-2 v the NFC), the AFC is underwhelming this year, while at the same time the NFC is full of surprises with how well the Lions, 49ers, Panthers (sans Cam), Saints (sans Brees), packers, and Seahawks (12-1 v the AFC) are doing right now given what was expected coming into the season. To me, clearly the balance of power is in the NFC.

The NFC playoff picture is very interesting right now. For example, if the Lions beat the packers tonight they'll be in first place of a division without a team with a losing record while everyone thought they'd be the doormat. The 49ers have been great and their win yesterday was huge, but they still have to fend of Seattle and I wouldn't give up on the Rams just yet. The Saints and Panthers continue to win without their former MVP starting quarterbacks. Somebody has to win the East, right? Etc, etc...

Every division in the NFC looks like it's going to be a battle. 11 teams have legitimate genuine playoff aspirations with more than a third of the season already gone. That's much more than what the AFC has going on right now. I think the Patriots are the only team that can challenge whoever comes out of the NFC in the Superbowl right now, and even that is in question until they get through their upcoming schedule.

[twgerber]

Count how many teams we play with winning records.
Mark those as losses.
If we have 10 wins or more, playoffs.

Depend on what week in the year you decide to count the teams with winning recors. Philly had a winning record coming into this game.

[Beef Supreme]

The power is in the AFC.

Just curious how you come to that conclusion. (Sorry about the wall of text but I went down the rabbit hole)

The NFC is 19-10 against the AFC. If you take the Falcons out of the mix the NFC is 19-7.

The Patriots are by far the NFL favorite right now, but they've played one of the softest records I've ever seen to this point- Pittsburgh, Miami, NYJ, Buffalo, Washington, and the Giants (10-23 combined records, 10-17 when taking the Pats games out of it). I'd still probably take the Patriots over any NFC team on a neutral field, but still...

It seems to me that with the exception of the Patriots, Bills, and Texans (4-2 v the NFC), the AFC is underwhelming this year, while at the same time the NFC is full of surprises with how well the Lions, 49ers, Panthers (sans Cam), Saints (sans Brees), packers, and Seahawks (12-1 v the AFC) are doing right now given what was expected coming into the season. To me, clearly the balance of power is in the NFC.

The NFC playoff picture is very interesting right now. For example, if the Lions beat the packers tonight they'll be in first place of a division without a team with a losing record while everyone thought they'd be the doormat. The 49ers have been great and their win yesterday was huge, but they still have to fend of Seattle and I wouldn't give up on the Rams just yet. The Saints and Panthers continue to win without their former MVP starting quarterbacks. Somebody has to win the East, right? Etc, etc...

Every division in the NFC looks like it's going to be a battle. 11 teams have legitimate genuine playoff aspirations with more than a third of the season already gone. That's much more than what the AFC has going on right now. I think the Patriots are the only team that can challenge whoever comes out of the NFC in the Superbowl right now, and even that is in question until they get through their upcoming schedule.

Good take. I was thinking mostly of the Pats and that KC would right the ship... but maybe they won’t.

[flexbuffchest]

[Ash Ketchum]

There's really no team in the NFC that I would say is a 100% lock to beat the Vikings on any given Sunday, maybe once the Saints get Brees back.

[Philo Beddoe]

There are only two "High powered" teams.

Patriots and Chiefs

The rest is wide open.

KCs D is horrible but when the QB is 100% [he is NOT now] they are unreal.

Vikings will steam roll Chiefs. They can't stop the run. Cook will get 7 yards every time he touches it.

[Joe Bag 'O Donuts]

Check out @NickOlsonNFL’s Tweet:

Hmmm...wonder what changed this season.

[Why Not Us]

There are only two "High powered" teams.

Patriots and Chiefs

The rest is wide open.

KCs D is horrible but when the QB is 100% [he is NOT now] they are unreal.

Vikings will steam roll Chiefs. They can't stop the run. Cook will get 7 yards every time he touches it.

I'm in on that bet when they play in a few weeks. How many points are you giving me if I take the Chiefs?

[Angry Waters]

I think we're clearly under-estimating the 49ers right now. They're averaging almost 30 points per game. Their defense is playing at suffocating level right, giving up a COMBINED 10 points in their last two outings--against what were/are supposed to be two of the league's top offenses. If it's a "show me" league, I don't know what else they need to do. I'd still put the Saints as the favorite right now, though.

[PurpleFloyd]

Well the refs just handed the packers a win against Detroit. Those two (non) hands to the face penalties and the no pass interference call where the guy got it across the chest were fucking terrible.