So, how can the Bengals clinch a playoff berth now?

1. Cincinnati win, plus a Buffalo loss or tie, and a New York Jets loss OR
2. Cincinnati win, plus a Buffalo loss or tie, and a Jacksonville Jaguars loss.

Either one of those scenarios give us a playoff spot. Here's the rest of the NFL.

AFC EAST
New England can clinch the division with a win or a Jets loss.

AFC North
Baltimore has clinched the division title.

AFC South
Indianapolis has clinched the division title. However with a win and a Baltimore loss, the Colts will clinch a first-round bye.

AFC West
San Diego has clinched the division title.

San Diego can clinch homefield advantage with:

1. San Diego win and a Baltimore loss or tie OR
2. San Diego tie plus a Baltimore loss plus a Colts loss or tie.

OK, first things first. The shocking news I must convey to Cardinals fans, Browns fans, Lions fans, Texans fans, Raiders fans, Buccaneers fans and Redskins fans, is that you're out. I know, I know. The chance was there, but take it from an old Bengals fan -- there's always next year.

First-Round Bye
San Diego can clinch a first round bye with a win and a Colts loss.

AFC North
Baltimore can clinch the division with a win Sunday against Cleveland AND a Cincinnati loss at Indianapolis.

AFC East
New England can clinch the division with a win Sunday against Houston AND a New York Jets loss at Minnesota.

AFC South
Indianapolis can clinch the division if Jacksonville loses AT Tennessee. Even if the Colts lose Monday, if Denver loses then the Colts clinch a playoff berth.

AFC West
San Diego has clinched the division.

NFC Homefield Advantage
Chicago can clinch homefield advantage if Chicago wins and New Orleans loses.

NFC First-Round Bye
New Orleans can clinch the second first round bye with a win, a Dallas loss, a New York Giants loss and a Seattle loss.

NFC East
Division can't be clinched.

NFC North
Chicago has clinched the division.

NFC South
New Orleans can clinch the division with a win. If they don't, then if Atlanta and Carolina loses, New Orleans wins the division anyway.

NFC West
Seattle can clinch the division with a win.

What a defining weekend. Of the five 7-5 teams still contending for AFC Wild Card spots, only Cincinnati and Jacksonville won. Cincinnati is ranked #5 and Jacksonville is ranked #6. The Jets, Broncos and Chiefs all lost and are one game from those 6-7 teams.

ESPN.com
NFL.com

Now, it's official from NFL.com.

The SBN Nation ran a round-table discussing the playoffs -- hosted at the Turf Show Times (Rams blog). Most of us agreed that the division leaders will win their respective divisions. It's the wild card spots that generate the most debate. Personally, I think the Jets will win one spot with the league's biggest fluff schedule. As if I'm not homer enough, I predicted the Bengals will pick up the second wild card spot simply because they have the momentum of the remaining AFC teams. Here's my playoff picture:

AFC

NFC

Did you know: Detroit and Oakland are officially eliminated from playoff contention. Who knew?

AFC North

Baltimore can clinch a playoff berth if the Ravens win and Cincinnati, New York (Jets) and Denver loses. Also, Baltimore clinched the strength of victory tie-breaker over the Jets.

AFC East

The New England Patriots can clinch the division title if they win and the Jets lose.

AFC South

The Indianapolis Colts can clinch their division with a win. If they lose, they still can clinch a playoff spot if the Jets, Bengals, Broncos and Chiefs lose.

AFC West

San Diego can clinch their division if they win and Kansas City either loses or ties. If San Diego ties, then they'll need a Chiefs loss to take the division.

NFC East

Dallas can clinch a playoff berth if the Cowboys win and the Eagles, Vikings, Rams, 49ers and Falcons all lose.

NFC North

Since Chicago already clinched the division, their next goal is a first week bye. The Bears can earn that if they win and Dallas and Seattle lose.

NFC South

New Orleans can clinch a playoff berth if they win and one of three scenarios take place.

• Vikings, Panthers and the Eagles lose.
• Vikings, Giants and the Falcons lose.
• Vikings, Eagles and Falcons lose.

NFC West

Seattle can clinch their division if they win and San Francisco loses or if the Seahawks tie, the 49ers lose and St. Louis either loses or ties.

I’m walking with a John Travolta strut this cold Antarctica morning. As I strolled past my Browns co-workers, I gave them a Tom Cruise (Top Gun if you’re lost), thumbs up. Not for them sucking so bad and getting morbid pleasure out of it. But because they actually helped us out – like someone woken out of bed to pick up his drunken friend out of jail.

Nearly everything that could have helped the Bengals and their playoff scenarios happened. The Browns beat the Kansas City Chiefs in overtime. The Seattle Seahawks kicked the game winning field goal with a few seconds to spare. The Bengals ripped the AFC North division leaders – by all things, our defense – to close within two games of the division lead.

The New York Jets benefit from having a sensationally easy schedule. They beat the Green Bay Packers 38-10 and still have the Bills (5-7), Vikings (5-7), Dolphins (5-7) and Oakland (2-10) on tap – a combined 17-31 record.

The Jacksonville Jaguars is a team no one is convinced will make the playoffs. They win convincingly one week and stink worse than three-month old cheese (i.e. Packers) in the middle of a hot Ohio afternoon. They still have the Colts (10-2), Titans (5-7), Patriots (9-3) and Chiefs (7-5) – a combined 31-17 record.

The Denver Broncos (with Cutler going 10/21 for 143 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions Sunday night) are in the middle of a three-game losing streak with the Chargers (10-2), Cardinals (3-9), Bengals (7-5) and 49ers (5-7) left – a combined 25-23 record.

The only way the Kansas City Chiefs hope to make the playoffs is having the better record. Their conference record (3-5) is the worst among the playoff hopefuls. They still have the Ravens (9-3), Chargers (10-2), Raiders (2-10) and Jaguars (7-5) – a combined 28-20 record.

Your Cincinnati Bengals have a schedule that looked rough… at first. The Steelers will be tough, but are 5-7. The Broncos (7-5) are in a miserable losing streak and don’t seem likely to rebound – that’s hopeful, by the way. The Raiders (2-10) have the potential of playing the Bengals after a 12-day stretch with three tough games and a Monday Night showdown with the Indianapolis Colts (10-2). Otherwise, other than the Colts, the Bengals are expected to win three in their final four games.

As of now, the Bengals own the fifth seed. ESPN explains that the "Bengals would be the No. 5 seed based on better conference record than the Jets, Jaguars and the Chiefs (who are ahead of the Broncos in the AFC West based on better division record)."

Playoff Picture [ESPN]
Conference Standings [NFL]

If things go poorly Thursday (i.e. Baltimore wins), the Ravens will clinch the AFC North.

In other divisional races.

• AFC South. Indianapolis can clinch the division title with a win OR a Jacksonville loss OR if both teams tie (like THAT is possible).
• NFC North. Chicago can clinch the division title if Green Bay loses tonight and Chicago wins next week. OR if Green Bay wins tonight, then Chicago ties and Green Bay loses next week.

Indianapolis can clinch a playoff berth IF

• Indianapolis ties and the Jets, Chiefs and Bengals lose OR
• Indianapolis ties and the Jets, Chiefs and Broncos lose and the Bengals tie.

After the Bengals slapped the Cleveland Browns around (a bit to my surprise), the focus went from impenetrable defense to scoreboard watching.  First, I want to say my new best friend is Roscoe Parrish of the Buffalo Bills.  Buffalo was up 17-14 when Parrish returned a punt for 82 yards putting the Bills up 24-14. Then, with 17 seconds left in the game, game tied at 24, J.P. Losman completed a 30-yard pass to Parrish to the Jacksonville 24 with ten seconds left in the game. That play enabled Bills place kicker, Ryan Lindell to kick a 42-yard field goal for the Buffalo win. Roscoe Parrish, this one’s for you.

So as of now, Denver and Kansas City own the two wild card spots. After that, it’s open season. The Jets, after their dominating 26-11 win against the Texans, are 6-5. Jacksonville’s loss dropped them to 6-5. Also, be weary of Buffalo and Miami; each at 5-6.

So after 11 games, is the playoff picture clearer? No, not at all.

The Bengals still have life left for the AFC North title. The Ravens and Bengals play this Thursday on the NFL Network (local 12 for Cincinnatians).

A few NFL notes.

The Bengals, after shutting out the Browns, now have the second best scoring defense in the AFC North. They’ve given up 233 points – Pittsburgh (254) and Cleveland (238) are worse. Baltimore is best in the division having given up 147 points after their shutout against Pittsburgh.

How awful are the Steelers playing now? Ben was sacked nine times! But I'm sure you can the pulse of Steelers nation at Behind the Steel Curtain. Depending on how they react to the loss, it may be best served to stay away if you're using a computer at work.

A note to live by for Houstonians: If David Carr throws 54 times, you’ll probably lose. Heck, they didn’t just lose, they only scored 11 points.

Frank Gore’s last three games: 159, 212 and 134. Not to be outdone, Stephan Jackson, in the same game, touched the ball 32 times for 192 total yards.

Is Carolina the worst 6-5 team in the NFL?

We discussed this slightly during the Gameday post, but what is it about Michael Vick that I’m supposed to believe is good? Is he special? No, not really. He just runs fast. Big deal. Does he have an accurate arm? If you believe a career 53.8% is good. Jim Mora Sr. called Vick a coach killer. The Atlanta organization expects us to believe that he's such a special talent, that not even the playbook can contain him. But wait, there's more. People are actually defending Vick!

The Falcons blog at AOL Funhouse says:

You make over $100 million, you better put every damned player on your back and lead the team to victory. If you can't do that much, then you're not worth the money and are just another mediocre Kyle Boller quarterback -- with speed.

The blog goes on to say "Michael Vick was the only one that showed up today and no one guy can win a game by himself." Dunn averaged a scorching 2.7 yards per carry on 19 attempts. That just tells me the Saints defense could care less about Vick's threat to pass -- justifiably so! The Vick led offense has failed to score more than 14 points since the 29 scored in Cincinnati on October 22nd and failed sevens times this season. We hear it, at least from the outside, all the time; the receivers can't catch, the linemen can't block, the offensive coordinators are horrible. Personally, I think Vick stole over $100 million from the Atlanta Falcons organization. You make that much, you better have results, not excuses. So is Vick a special talent? For the track team, yea. For the NFL, a resounding hell no.

There are two divisions in the NFC where second place has a losing record; all AFC divisions have a second place team with a winning record.

STREAKING. Baltimore has a five game winning streak -- tops in the NFL. The Michael Vick led Atlanta Falcons have a four game losing streak -- tops in the NFL.