NFL playoff picture: Vikings keep heat on Eagles, help Seahawks

Which NFL teams are positioned to make the playoffs coming out of the Thursday and early Sunday games of Week 13? How are the seeds looking for the current division leaders and wild-card hopefuls?

Based on the standings and taking into account tiebreakers, here are how things are looking in the AFC and NFC.

NFL playoff picture
AFC
No. 1 seed — Patriots (10-2): First place, AFC East. New England ran all over Buffalo to move here for now. Pittsburgh can jump back up with a win at Cincinnati on Monday. The top two AFC teams will likely decide the top seed in Week 15 at Heinz Field. What's left: at MIA, at PIT, vs. BUF, vs. NYJ

No. 2 seed — Steelers (9-2): First place, AFC North. Pittsburgh wants to keep pace with New England so that it still has full control of home-field advantage. What's left: at CIN, vs. BAL, vs. NE, at HOU, vs. CLE

No. 3 seed — Titans (8-4): First place, AFC South. Tennessee knocked off Houston at home to stay in first place over Jacksonville thanks to an early head-to-head win. The division is still headed to a Week 17 de facto title game. What's left: at ARI, at SF, vs. LAR, vs. JAX

No. 4 seed — Chiefs (6-6): First place, AFC West. Kansas City lost to the other New York team to continue its free fall to .500. The Chiefs will still be in first place unless the Chargers lose to the Browns while the Raiders beat the Giants. What's left: vs. OAK, vs. LAC, vs. MIA, at DEN

No. 5 seed — Jaguars (8-4): First place, AFC South. Jacksonville kept pace with Tennessee in the division by doing what was expected against Indianapolis. What's left: vs. SEA, vs. HOU, at SF, at TEN

No. 6 seed — Ravens (7-5): Second place, AFC North. Baltimore dispatched Detroit to add to its lead for the second wild card. It has only an outside shot at catching Pittsburgh in the division, but the teams do play next week. What's left: at PIT, at CLE, vs. IND, vs. CIN

Who's right behind: 7. Bills (6-6), 8. Bengals (5-6), 9. Chargers (5-6), 10. Raiders (5-6). The Bills are about to get lost in this mess while the Chargers and Raiders can set their sights on winning their weak division.

Who's barely alive: 11. Jets (5-7), 12. Dolphins (5-7), 13. Texans (4-8), 14. Colts (3-9), 15. Broncos (3-9). The Jets and Dolphins showed more life but are running out of lives. Houston, Indianapolis and Denver are barely hanging on.

Who's out: 16. Browns (0-11). They won't be down here by themselves for much longer.

NFC
No. 1 seed — Eagles (10-1): First place, NFC East. Philadelphia needs to win at Seattle on Sunday night to stay ahead of Minnesota for this position. What's left: at SEA, at LAR, at NYG, vs. OAK, vs. DAL

No. 2 seed — Vikings (10-2): First place, NFC North. Minnesota kept rolling with a strong defensive effort in Atlanta and put itself on the verge of winning the division. What's left: at CAR, vs. CIN, at GB, vs. CHI

No. 3 seed — Rams (8-3): First place, NFC West. If they win, they would stay here with either the Saints or Panthers set up to lose behind them. What's left: at ARI, vs. PHI, at SEA, at TEN, vs. SF

No. 4 seed — Saints (8-3): First place, NFC South. They are trying to extend their division lead vs. Carolina. What's left: vs. CAR, at ATL, vs. NYJ, vs. ATL, at TB

No. 5 seed — Panthers (8-3): Second place, NFC South. They are trying to take the division lead in New Orleans. What's left: at NO, vs. MIN, vs. GB, vs. TB, at ATL

No. 6 seed — Seahawks (7-4): Second place, NFC West. They can stay here with a win vs. Philadelphia after Atlanta's loss. Otherwise, it's back to No. 7. What's left: vs. PHI, at JAX, vs. LAR, at DAL, vs. ARI

Who's right behind: 7. Falcons (7-5), 8. Lions (6-6), 9. Packers (6-6), 10. Cowboys (6-6), 11. Cardinals (5-6). Atlanta can still be No. 6 after Week 13 with a Seattle loss. Green Bay and Dallas both stayed alive and well with big home wins.

Who's barely alive: 12. Redskins (5-7), 13. Buccaneers (4-8). Washington and Tampa Bay blew their big chances against aforementioned Dallas and Green Bay, respectively.

Who's out: 14. Bears (3-9), 15. Giants (2-9), 16. 49ers (2-10). San Francisco beat Chicago to drag it down to its level.