Today we'll take a look at the NFC playoff picture, in the very different South and West divisions. Tomorrow, after the postponed Giants and Vikings game, we'll talk about the East and North.
In the South: The Atlanta Falcons (11-2) beat the Carolina Panthers yesterday, to nobodies surprise. The Falcons are a lock for #1 seed in the NFC. They're on a league leading seven game winning streak, and the rest of their schedule is pretty soft.
Pretty soft, except for when they host the New Orleans Saints (10-3) who are on a six game hot streak, The Saints were dismissed early, but they look to be in as fine a form, as when they won the Super Bowl last year. They currently have the second-best record in the NFC. They also have the toughest remaining schedule, at least in my opinion; Away games against the Baltimore Ravens (8-4), and the Falcons, then home against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (8-5).
In the West: After yesterday's action, every team is below .500, in the mild, mild West. The San Francisco 49ers, (5-8) took the Seattle Seahawks (6-7) to the woodshed yesterday beating them 40-21, and keeping their playoff hopes alive. The St. Louis Rams (6-7), were convincingly defeated 31-13 by the Saints. The remaining schedules for these three teams, is a sort of round robin where whichever team loses the least, will take the division.
Tomorrow: We'll see how the New York Giants fare, after a crazy weekend in airports and hotels. And we'll talk about the North where the two leaders had decidedly bad days.