Well, since all of the scenarios I talked about earlier this week involved the Eagles beating the Vikings. . .and that simply didn't happen. . .the NFC playoff picture is a little different than it was earlier this week.
↵The Philadelphia Eagles, after their loss to Minnesota tonight, are now locked into the #3 seed in the NFC. The winner of the NFC West winner-take-all match-up on Sunday night between the Seattle Seahawks and the St. Louis Rams will be the #4 seed. The winner of the three-way dance between the Green Bay Packers, the New York Giants, and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers will be the #6 seed and travel to Philadelphia on Wild Card weekend. On that front, the scenarios are still the same. . .the Packers win, they're in. If Green Bay loses and the Giants beat the Washington Redskins, the Giants are in. If both Green Bay and New York lose and the Buccaneers can upset the Saints, then Tampa Bay is in the playoffs.
↵The #1, #2, and #5 seeds are still a matter of contention. The Atlanta Falcons can make things easy on everyone by winning their game against the Carolina Panthers on Sunday. If the Falcons get that victory, everything is very easy. . .the Falcons would be the #1 seed, the Chicago Bears would be the #2 seed, and the New Orleans Saints would be the #5 seed.
↵Should Atlanta lose to the Panthers, however, either New Orleans or Chicago could be the #1 seed. If Atlanta loses and New Orleans defeats the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, then New Orleans would jump into the top spot and Chicago would be #2. If the Falcons and Saints both lose and Chicago wins, then Chicago jumps up into the #1 slot, the Falcons will slot in at #2, and New Orleans will stay down at #5.
↵Those are the complete, up to the minute playoff scenarios in the NFC. Enjoy!