The NFC playoff race got a bit clearer on Monday night, as the Seattle Seahawks clinched a postseason berth and likely locked up home field advantage with a win over the New Orleans Saints, making the NFL-best 11-1 team the first to get into the playoffs this season.
The Seahawks were dominant from the beginning of the game and the Saints couldn't get anything consistent going and now they are in a tie at 9-3 with the surging Carolina Panthers. As it stands right now, the Saints are in second place in the conference based on win percentage over the Panthers in common games, but that will be sorted out since the two teams play twice in the next three weeks, while the Detroit Lions are third as the NFC North leaders and the Dallas Cowboys are in fourth place as the NFC East leaders.
The Cowboys currently have the tiebreaker over the Eagles after beating them once and they will have another chance in Week 17 of the season and that could propel them to the division title after losing out in the final game each of the past two years. The Lions have an edge over the Bears after winning over the Packers on Thanksgiving, while the 49ers and the Panthers look like locks right now for the playoffs. San Francisco is in the sixth spot and Carolina is in the fifth spot, but those could change depending on how the Saints and Panthers games eventually shake out, while San Francisco also has another big game looming against the Seattle Seahawks.
There are a number of teams in the playoff chase, but it looks like the Arizona Cardinals, Eagles and Chicago Bears are the only teams with a "real" shot at making it. Past that are the Green Bay Packers and the NY Giants and there might not be enough time for those teams to catch up. The Cardinals could surprise some teams to shake things up with a number of division games left on the schedule and they could end up as one of the wild card teams in the conference.
