With two weeks to go, eight teams have already nailed down playoff berths and three more teams, the Texans, Cowboys and Vikings, can lock in playoff berths this weekend.
Baltimore and New England are on track to get the first two seeds in the AFC, but the battle for the top two seeds in the NFC is wide open with four teams, the Seahawks, Packers, Saints and 49ers, at 11-3.
The 49ers created the tie by losing to Atlanta on the final play when the replay official ruled Julio Jones had scored the winning touchdown after the officials first ruled he was stopped short of the goal line.
Positives
—The Atlanta Falcons seem to be trying to save Dan Quinn’s job by showing they haven’t quit on their coach. They posted their fourth win in the last six games by upsetting San Francisco.
—The Texans are a hard team to figure. They upset New England, were then drilled by the Broncos, but came back to beat the Titans to put themselves in a good position to win their division.
—The Cowboys and Eagles both won, beating the Rams and Redskins to remain tied at 7-7 and setting up a showdown this weekend with the division lead at stake. Dallas clinched with a victory while the Eagles have to win their last two to win the division.
—The Packers and Vikings both won, beating the Rams and the Chargers to remain one game apart in the NFC North with the Packers at 11-4 and the Vikings at 10-4. They play next Monday night.
—Drew Brees became the all-time leader in touchdown passes as he threw four against the Colts to boost his total to 540, moving him one ahead of Peyton Manning. But he’s only two ahead of Tom Brady. And he had just one incompletion as he completed 29 of 30 passes.
Negatives
—The Rams are not only not likely to back to the Super Bowl, they’re not likely to make the playoffs after being routed by the Cowboys to fall to 8-6. They need to win their last two and the Vikings to lose their last two to get a wild card spot.
—The score looked impressive as the Patriots beat the Bengals, 34-13, but they don’t look like a Super Bowl team. They were actually outgained in yardage, 315 to 291. And Brady passed for only 128 yards, but the Patriots won on five turnovers.
—The Browns continued to be one of the most disappointing teams in the league. After all the hype in the offseason, they didn’t challenge for the playoffs. They lost to the Cardinals in the battle of Oklahoma Heisman Trophy winners Kyler Murray and Baker Mayfield and the best the Browns can do now is finish .500.
—The Panthers recently fired coach Ron Rivera but they committed three turnovers in a loss to the Seahawks. The Panthers are now 5-9. It may be the coach wasn’t the problem.
—The Lions fell to 3-10-1 with the loss to the Bucs as Jameis Winston torched them for a career high 458 yards. But the Ford family announced that GM Bob Quinn and coach Matt Patricia will be back at least for one more year. Probably another wasted year. Quinn fired Jim Caldwell, who went 9-7, to hire Patricia.