How unsettled is the NFL playoff race? With one game remaining in Week 14, not a single team has qualified for the postseason.
Although the Colts have a difficult remaining schedule, they are atop five other six-loss teams in the conference.
The Patriots entered their bye week knowing they would come out of it atop the AFC no matter what happened in between.
It was the Titans’ fifth consecutive victory over the Jaguars and their eighth in the teams’ past nine matchups.
Remember, the Titans have the NFL’s easiest strength of schedule the rest of the way; their remaining games are against the Steelers, 49ers, Dolphins and Texans.
Nothing happened Sunday to stop growing public sentiment that the Chiefs will once again finish the season at the top of the AFC.
Even before losing Sunday to the Browns, the Ravens were a sleeper candidate to drop out of the playoff picture entirely by the end of the campaign.
The Chargers have won two consecutive games, scoring 78 points in the process and setting themselves up for a massive opportunity Thursday night against the Chiefs.
The AFC South title might be beyond their grasp — the Titans are basically up three games with four remaining because of their head-to-head sweep — but the Colts are now in good position for one of the AFC’s three wild-card spots.
The Bills have only one game remaining against a team with a winning record — the Patriots in two weeks — and FPI is still giving Buffalo a really good chance to hang onto one of the wild-card spots.
The Browns managed a season split with the Ravens, eliminating a head-to-head tiebreaker with them if it were to come to that for an AFC North title.
The Broncos have now won four of their past six games and have a chance to jump another playoff contender when they take on the Bengals in Week 15.
The Steelers are down to an 11% chance to make the playoffs, according to FPI, after their terrible performance Thursday night in Minnesota.
The NFC West title could come as early as next week, if the Cardinals first beat the Rams on Monday then get either a win or a Rams loss in Week 15.
The Packers have won consecutive games since losing two of three last month, in the process putting themselves in position to take over the top spot in the conference if the Cardinals slip up.
The Buccaneers could clinch both a playoff berth and the NFC South with a win at home against New Orleans.
Then Dallas would need to win a strength of victory tiebreaker with the Eagles, which would require wins by five of the following six teams: Cardinals, Bengals, Chargers, Dolphins, Vikings and Patriots, according to ESPN Stats & Information research.
Whether it happens in Week 15 or not, the Cowboys’ pending division title appears inevitable.
Even then, FPI would give them only an 8% chance to win the division, given a remaining schedule that includes three opponents who are pushing for playoff spots: the Vikings, Ravens and 49ers.
Regardless, the Rams currently have a 94% chance of making the playoffs and could lock it up in Week 15 if they first beat Arizona on Monday.
Most importantly, it allowed them to put a game’s worth of distance between them and the five NFC teams with 6-7 records, and FPI has their playoff odds at 79%.
The 49ers could put away one of those teams next week if they defeat the Falcons, but it won’t be easy sledding.
Washington missed a chance to make the NFC East a bit more interesting on Sunday when its comeback effort fell short at FedEx Field.
Now, in an NFC field that includes five 6-7 teams, FPI is giving Washington a 26% chance to grab one of the wild-card spots.
The Vikings would have been all but out of the playoff race had the Steelers completed their comeback Thursday night.
The Eagles return from their bye week very much still in the playoff race, in large part because they have two games remaining against Washington.
All credit to the Falcons for staying in the race with an undermanned team in the first year of coach Arthur Smith’s tenure.