NFL playoff picture: NFC East and North divisions
With five games remaining on the schedule, the playoff picture becomes clearer and clearer each week. Here we examine the NFC East and North divisions.
NFC East
The Philadelphia Eagles started the season with Kevin Kolb as their starting quarterback, but an injury in the first game of the season gave Michael Vick a chance to start. He made the most of the opportunity and now has people talking about him as this
year’s MVP.
If Vick is going to get real consideration for MVP, the Eagles are going to have to win the NFC East and the New York Giants are not going to make it easy for them. Both teams have 7-4 records. The Eagles beat the Giants on 21 November at Lincoln Financial
Field, but they’ll probably have to do it again on 19 December at New Meadowlands Stadium to take first place in the NFC East.
The Washington Redskins thought they were going to be better than their 5-6 record at this point of the season after signing Donovan McNabb in the off season. They have a 2-1 record against the division, but loses to teams under .500 have hurt the Redskins.
The Dallas Cowboys are another team that expected better than what they got this season. They lost seven of their first eight games, and they lost their starting quarterback Tony Romo on 25 October for most, if not all, of the season. They‘re improved greatly
since firing head coach Wade Phillips, but it’s a case of too little too late for the Cowboys, who are 3-8. They do have an opportunity to play spoiler with three divisional games left on their schedule. Two of their divisional games are against the Eagles
NFC North
The Chicago Bears have done well for themselves despite having an offence that ranks in the bottom half of the league. They beat Philadelphia in their last game, and their defence pitched a shutout against Miami the week before. They’re 8-3 and hold a one
game edge on the Green Bay Packers, who they’ve already beaten once this season. They play again in the final week of the season in a game that could be for the division.
If the Packers don’t win the division they’ll be looking to take one of the wild card spots. They’re 7-4 and with the New Orleans Saints holding down one of the Wild Card spots with an 8-3 record, the Packers will be looking to beat out either the Eagles
or the Giants for the last wild card spot. Green Bay plays the Giants on 26 December, and if they win that game it will do much to help them get that last wild card position.
The Minnesota Vikings thought they were going to repeat their success from last season when they convinced Brett Favre to come out of retirement for one last season, but like many teams this season, it didn’t quite work out that way. The Vikings are 4-7
and have yet to win back-to-back games. They tried an early season fix by trading for Randy Moss, but that did little to correct the problem. They fired head coach Brad Childress, but that hasn’t seemed to help either. The NFC is a difficult place to recover
from early season losses and the Vikings are already playing for next season.
The Detroit Lions haven’t made the playoffs since 1999 so it’s no surprise they’re 2-9 and once again out of the playoffs. They’ve looked good at times with young players like running back Jahvid Best, wide receiver Calvin Johnson and quarterback Matthew
Stafford, but they’re still not winning. Stafford has had an injury plagued career so far, and if he proves to be fragile in coming seasons, the Lions may be waiting a long time to get back into the playoffs.