The NFL has to like how the 2013 regular season has shaped up so far. With just two weeks to go, there is only one division that has been decided – the AFC South won by Indianapolis. There are several other playoff berths that have been clinched, but the division winners for the most part are still yet to be determined.
That means that teams still have a lot to play for and will try to win their respective divisions in order to earn home playoff games + the highest seed possible. And what’s more, is that there is the potential for the majority of these divisions to go into Week 17 still relatively undecided – depending on the outcome of the week 16 results.
As it stands now, Chicago is a half-game in front of Green Bay in the NFC North because the Packers have a tie. Detroit is just one game back as well.
Carolina and New Orleans are tied in the NFC South and play in Week 16. If the Saints win they win the division. If the Panthers win at home they can clinch the division with a victory over Atlanta in Week 17.
In the NFC West, Seattle is two games up on San Francisco, but the 49ers aren’t out of it yet unless the Seahawks win either of their final two games. That’s certainly a good bet because Seattle has the best record in football at 12-2.
Moving to the AFC East, New England still hasn’t wrapped up the division nor a playoff berth sitting at 10-4. They are two games up on Miami, but the Dolphins win over the Patriots this past Sunday was huge.
Cincinnati’s lost on Sunday + Baltimore’s win on Monday night shrunk the Bengals’ division lead to just one game. Cincinnati is fortunate to get the final two games at home because they are a perfect 6-0 on the season in their stadium.
Then finally we get to the AFC West where Denver and Kansas City are deadlocked at 11-3. Suddenly, the Chiefs look like a team to be reckoned with again. The Broncos took both games during the regular season though, so Kansas City will need some help to get a Denver loss + win out themselves.
So there you have it with your basic summary of where things sit so far within each division race. In terms of the playoffs, Denver, Kansas City, Indianapolis out of the AFC have clinched spots. In the NFC, only Seattle has solidified a playoff berth. That means eight of the 12 postseason spots are still up for grabs with two weeks to go in the season.
NFL fans should be in for an exciting run over the last half of December, with plenty of action looking like it will come down to the wire.