NFL playoff picture Week 15: Buccaneers, Titans in position to host NFL postseason games
In recent weeks, we've highlighted the best divisions in football, taking a look at the NFC East and AFC East and how every team in those divisions is right in the thick of the NFL playoff race.
Now it's time to look at the worst divisions in the NFL and how they relate to the NFL playoff picture.
And two divisions stand apart in being bad.
Those divisions? The NFC South and AFC South.
NFL Week 15 picks: 49ers vs. Seahawks | Colts vs. Vikings | Ravens vs. Browns | Dolphins vs. Bills | Falcons vs. Saints | Steelers vs. Panthers | Eagles vs. Bears | Chiefs vs. Texans | Cowboys vs. Jaguars | Lions vs. Jets | Cardinals vs. Broncos | Patriots vs. Raiders | Titans vs. Chargers | Bengals vs. Buccaneers | Giants vs. Commanders | Rams vs. Packers
In the NFC South, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are just 6-7 on the season, but would currently host a playoff game thanks to being the leader of that division.
The Atlanta Falcons and Carolina Panthers are both 5-8 and one game behind the Buccaneers in the division.
The New Orleans Saints, at 4-9, are just two games back.
The winner of that division will host the No. 1 NFC Wild Card team in the NFL Wild Card playoff round. Right now that would be the 10-3 Dallas Cowboys.
NFL Week 15 odds: 49ers vs. Seahawks | Colts vs. Vikings | Ravens vs. Browns | Dolphins vs. Bills | Falcons vs. Saints | Steelers vs. Panthers | Eagles vs. Bears | Chiefs vs. Texans | Cowboys vs. Jaguars | Lions vs. Jets | Cardinals vs. Broncos | Patriots vs. Raiders | Titans vs. Chargers | Bengals vs. Buccaneers | Giants vs. Commanders | Rams vs. Packers
The AFC South isn't much better.
The Tennessee Titans lead that division after three straight losses with a 7-6 record. The other teams in that division are the 5-8 Jacksonville Jaguars, the 4-8-1 Indianapolis Colts and the 1-11-1 Houston Texans.
The winner of that division will host the No. 1 AFC Wild Card team in the first round of the playoffs. That would currently be the 9-4 Cincinnati Bengals.
NFL power rankings Week 15:San Francisco 49ers, Cincinnati Bengals NFL's hottest teams
The top seed in each conference gets a bye in the wild card round of the NFL postseason and the other division winners get the No. 2 through No. 4 seeds.
The No. 5, No. 6 and No. 7 seeds go to the non-division winners with the best records.
It's looking like a couple of teams with far superior records are going to end up having to play road games in the first round of the NFL playoffs against the winners of the NFC South and AFC South as the NFL rewards division winners with home-field advantage in the opening round of the NFL playoffs.
Here's how the NFC and AFC playoffs would look if the postseason began after NFL Week 14 (with the New England Patriots and Arizona Cardinals still set to face off on Monday Night Football).
How to watch:NFL Week 15 schedule, television information
NFC playoff picture after Week 14:
No. 1 Philadelphia Eagles (12-1) - NFC East leader
No. 2 Minnesota Vikings (10-3) - NFC North leader
No. 3 San Francisco 49ers (9-4) - NFC West leader
No. 4 Tampa Bay Buccaneers (6-7) - NFC South leader
No. 5 Dallas Cowboys (10-3) - Wild Card
No. 6 Washington Commanders (7-5-1) Wild Card
No. 7 New York Giants (7-5-1) - Wild Card
In the hunt:
Seattle Seahawks (7-6)
Detroit Lions (6-7)
Green Bay Packers (5-8)
Carolina Panthers (5-8)
Atlanta Falcons (5-8)
NFC playoff matchups right now:
No. 7 New York Giants at No. 2 Minnesota Vikings
No. 6 Washington Commanders at No. 3 San Francisco 49ers
No. 5 Dallas Cowboys at No. 4 Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Notes: The Commanders win a tie breaker over the Giants because of their better win percentage in division games.
Super Bowl odds:NFL Week 14 betting odds for every NFL team to win 2023 Super Bowl
AFC playoff picture after Week 14:
No. 1 Buffalo Bills (10-3) - AFC East leader
No. 2 Kansas City Chiefs (10-3) - AFC West leader
No. 3 Baltimore Ravens (9-4) - AFC North leader
No. 4 Tennessee Titans (7-6) - AFC South leader
No. 5 Cincinnati Bengals (9-4) - Wild Card
No. 6 Miami Dolphins (8-5) - Wild Card
No. 7 New England Patriots (7-6) - Wild Card
In the hunt:
Los Angeles Chargers (7-6)
New York Jets (7-6)
Jacksonville Jaguars (5-8)
Las Vegas Raiders (5-8)
Cleveland Browns (5-8)
Pittsburgh Steelers (5-8)
AFC playoff matchups right now:
No. 7 New England Patriots at No. 2 Kansas City Chiefs
No. 6 Miami Dolphins at No. 3 Baltimore Ravens
No. 5 Cincinnati Bengals at No. 4 Tennessee Titans
Notes: The Bills win a tie breaker over the Chiefs because of their win over Kansas City. The Ravens win a tie breaker over the Bengals because of their win over Cincinnati. The Patriots win a tie breaker over the Chargers based on AFC win percentage after Patriots eliminated Jets with head-to-head tie breaker.
Reach Jeremy Cluff at jeremy.cluff@arizonarepublic.com. Follow him on Twitter @Jeremy_Cluff.
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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: NFL playoff picture Week 15: Buccaneers, Titans lead bad divisions
