We’re kicking off our weekly NFL playoff picture amid chaos, confusion and pandemonium.
The Patriots leapfrogged the Bills in the AFC East, in the process prompting a few of us to wonder if they aren’t the current favorite to win the AFC.
No team has exemplified this unpredictable season better than the Titans, who won seven of their first nine games despite facing the NFL’s most difficult schedule over that stretch.
Regardless of whether the Colts can catch them, it’s difficult to view the Titans as the clear-cut AFC favorite when two of their losses have come to the Texans and Jets — who have a combined record of 4-16.
The Ravens woke up to news Sunday morning that quarterback Lamar Jackson would be unavailable for their Week 11 game due to an illness, prompting the first career start of backup Tyler Huntley at Chicago.
Five consecutive wins — and six in their past seven games — have not only given them a division advantage but also put them within reasonable range of the top seed in the AFC.
The Patriots have a fortuitous home game against the AFC-leading Titans this week then play the Bills twice in a three-game stretch next month.
It’s hard to know exactly which way to overreact to the Chiefs’ victory Sunday over the Cowboys.
Just making it through 10 games didn’t seem a certainty when the season began, but he has the Bengals’ offense humming, most recently with a 32-point outburst in Sunday’s victory over the Raiders.
But in the biggest sign yet that they are turning a corner under coach Brandon Staley and quarterback Justin Herbert, the Chargers stopped doing Chargers things long enough to retake the lead.
Among a small group of preseason Super Bowl favorites and winners in five of their first seven games, the Bills have crashed hard at midseason.
Sunday’s 26-point home loss to the Colts, in which Buffalo allowed five touchdowns to running back Jonathan Taylor, was gutting for a team that has prided itself on playing physical run defense.
The Steelers are winless in their past two games, with a tie against the Lions followed by a loss Sunday night in Los Angeles to the Chargers.
The Colts have won three consecutive games and five of their past six, but prior to Sunday, the quality of the teams they beat wasn’t too impressive.
It’s incredible that the Browns have won six games given the obvious impact quarterback Baker Mayfield’s left shoulder injury is having on his performance.
They have lost three in a row and are back to .500 after a 5-2 start, with a quick turnaround to play on the road Thursday against Dallas.
The Broncos will return from a bye with a .500 record, but consecutive games against the Chargers and Chiefs will likely knock them further from the AFC wild-card race.
Let’s tip our cap to the Cardinals, who have traveled quite a journey since their last-minute loss in Week 8 to the Packers.
In most scenarios, the Packers with Aaron Rodgers are a legitimate Super Bowl contender.
The Packers are still in really good shape in the NFC North, leading the Vikings by 2½ games, with a Week 17 matchup against Minnesota at Lambeau Field looming.
The Cowboys have lost two of their past three games after a 6-1 start, including a 14-point home loss to the Broncos and a 10-point road loss to the Chiefs.
The Super Bowl champions are hoping to break a mildly alarming two-game losing streak on Monday night.
It has been a quick tumble for the “all-in” Rams, who have fallen from the top spot in the NFC to the wild-card picture with two consecutive losses.
They better hope they get it figured out, because their upcoming schedule includes not only the Packers but the Cardinals, Vikings, Ravens and 49ers.
Both are key categories for tiebreakers, and their 4-2 NFC record is the reason they are ahead of the Saints and 49ers in the NFC playoff standings.
At the moment, at least, the Saints sure don’t look like a playoff team.
There is some hope for stabilization, if tailback Alvin Kamara can get back on the field soon.
The 49ers have won three of their past four, prompting FPI to actually like their chances of overtaking the Saints for a better spot in the wild-card race.
FPI is only giving them a 38.5% chance to make the playoffs, but when you see two games apiece against Washington and the Giants remaining, as well as a matchup against the Jets, you see a pretty favorable schedule for staying in the wild-card race.
Can the Panthers really be a playoff contender with a quarterback they signed out of free agency and inserted into the starting lineup within two weeks? Cam Newton might be Superman, but he isn’t a magician.