Updated NFC Playoff Picture, NFC Wild Card standings after Week 8

October 31, 2022 ndowd

Let’s check the pulse on the NFC Playoff Picture and NFC Wild Card standings now that we’re through Week 8 of the season.

The NFL Playoff Picture is starting to take shape in the NFC, and it’s very much not what anyone expected it would look like before the season.

Perhaps the biggest game of the weekend doubled as an encapsulation of the gap between where the two conferences are halfway through the season. The Atlanta Falcons and Carolina Panthers met in a game that would determine who would gain sole possession of first place in the NFC South.

Those two teams entered Sunday with 5 combined wins.

Take the NFC East out of the equation and that Falcons-Panthers game perfectly represents the talent gap that exists between the AFC and NFC. Where the Chiefs, Bills, and Ravens are leading the way on the other side of the league, the NFC outside of teams out East is less than formidable.

No disrespect to the first-place Panthers or the No. 2 seed Minnesota Vikings but it’s hard to see any team outside of the Eagles competing with the monolithic talent over in the AFC.

Things can still change and it’s clear that teams have waited half a season to start heating up, but the battle in the NFC could end up being nothing more than winning a battle before losing the war.

Updated NFC Playoff Picture after Week 8

The headline in the NFC remains the fact that both Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers are not in the playoff picture. Brady un-retired to stumble into whatever mess the Buccaneers are creating and things misfiring all over the place in Green Bay.

In the wake of the two future Hall of Famers falling flat, Jalen Hurts and Kirk Cousins have emerged as the best quarterbacks in the conference, with Geno Smith not far behind. That’s how weird this season has been, but that’s not to say any of those three quarterbacks aren’t going exactly what they need to — or more — to lift their teams to improbable heights.

Here’s a look at what the NFC Playoff bracket would look like if the postseason started today:

Philadelphia Eagles (6-0)
Minnesota Vikings (6-1)
Seattle Seahawks (4-3)
Atlanta Falcons (4-4)
Dallas Cowboys (6-2)
New York Giants (6-2)
San Francisco 49ers (4-4)

Based on those standings, here’s what the playoff matchups would look like for the first weekend of action:

(2) Minnesota Vikings vs. (7) Los Angeles Rams
(3) Seattle Seahawks vs. (6) New York Giants
(4) Atlanta Falcons vs. (5) Dallas Cowboys

Each higher-seeded team would host its Wild Card Weekend matchup. The Philadelphia Eagles would have a first-round bye with the No. 1 seed and host any playoff game they play in.