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NFL Playoff Picture following Sunday games

As the NFL regular season winds down, the playoffs are approaching fast, and we take a look at the playoff picture.

Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

The NFL playoff picture has gotten a bit of a shakeup following the conclusion of all but three Week 12 games. Several teams maintained their holds on a playoff spot, while others fell out of the playoff picture all together.

There's still five weeks left in the regular season, but now is the time when every game can be an elimination game for fringe teams fighting for a Wild-Card spot, and that was the case this week. The Texans lost at home to the Bengals to fall to 5-6, essentially out of the playoff race.

The 7-4 Lions were manhandled by the Patriots, allowing the 8-3 Packers to ascend into first place in the NFC North. Detroit fell to the sixth seed if the playoffs began today. The Seahawks scored a big win over the Cardinals to improve to 7-4 and tied with the Lions for the final Wild-Card spot, though Detroit wins the tiebreaker.

Here is a look at the updated playoff standings as of 8 p.m. ET on Sunday, per ESPN.

National Football Conference

Conference Rank

NFC

W

L

T

PCT

DIV

CONF

SOS

SOV

REASON

1

Arizona

9

2

0

.818

2-1-0

7-1-0

.495

.465

NFC West Champ

2

Green Bay

8

3

0

.727

4-1-0

6-3-0

.448

.392

NFC North Champ 
Wins tie break over Philadelphia based on best win percentage in conference games.

3

Philadelphia

8

3

0

.727

2-0-0

4-3-0

.448

.354

NFC East Champ

4

New Orleans

4

6

0

.400

2-1-0

4-4-0

.505

.398

NFC South Champ

5

Dallas

7

3

0

.700

1-1-0

4-3-0

.417

.347

6

Detroit

7

4

0

.636

2-0-0

5-2-0

.416

.419

Wins tie break over Seattle based on strength of victory. Division tie break was initially used to eliminate San Francisco (Seattle wins tie break over San Francisco based on best win percentage in division games).

7

Seattle

7

4

0

.636

1-1-0

5-2-0

.459

.408

Wins tie break over San Francisco based on best win percentage in division games.

8

San Francisco

7

4

0

.636

1-2-0

6-3-0

.577

.566

9

Chicago

5

6

0

.455

1-2-0

4-3-0

.541

.406

10

Minnesota

4

7

0

.364

0-4-0

4-5-0

.474

.295

Wins tie break over Atlanta and St. Louis based on head-to-head sweep.

11

Atlanta

4

7

0

.364

4-0-0

4-4-0

.422

.250

Wins tie break over St. Louis based on best win percentage in conference games.

12

St. Louis

4

7

0

.364

2-2-0

3-5-0

.592

.485

American Football Conference

Conference Rank

AFC

W

L

T

PCT

DIV

CONF

SOS

SOV

REASON

1

New England

9

2

0

.818

2-1-0

6-2-0

.469

.433

AFC East Champ

2

Denver

8

3

0

.727

3-0-0

6-1-0

.571

.526

AFC West Champ

3

Cincinnati

7

3

1

.682

2-1-0

5-3-0

.469

.358

AFC North Champ

4

Indianapolis

7

4

0

.636

4-0-0

6-3-0

.490

.383

AFC South Champ

5

Pittsburgh

7

4

0

.636

2-2-0

6-3-0

.435

.454

Wins tie break over Kansas City based on best win percentage in conference games. Division tie break was initially used to eliminate San Diego (Kansas City wins tie break over San Diego based on head-to-head win percentage). Division tie break was initially used to eliminate Cleveland (Pittsburgh wins tie break over Cleveland based on best win percentage in common games).

6

Kansas City

7

4

0

.636

1-2-0

5-3-0

.515

.516

Wins tie break over Cleveland based on best win percentage in conference games. Division tie break was initially used to eliminate San Diego (Kansas City wins tie break over San Diego based on head-to-head win percentage).

7

San Diego

7

4

0

.636

2-2-0

5-3-0

.474

.302

Wins tie break over Cleveland based on best win percentage in conference games.

8

Cleveland

7

4

0

.636

2-2-0

4-4-0

.387

.362

9

Baltimore

6

4

0

.600

2-3-0

3-4-0

.495

.386

10

Miami

6

5

0

.545

2-1-0

5-3-0

.510

.418

11

Buffalo

5

5

0

.500

2-2-0

2-5-0

.531

.444

12

Houston

5

6

0

.455

1-1-0

4-3-0

.448

.256