The Washington Commanders began their bye week knowing they couldn’t move up or down from their seventh-place finish in the NFC, but they could get some help moving into sixth place. Green Bay’s loss to the Detroit Lions brought Washington within one game of the Packers. With a road win against the New Orleans Saints and a Packers loss against the Seahawks, the Commanders can move up to No. 6 next week. Washington would hold the conference tiebreaker (6-3 vs. 4-5 NFC). Come on, Hawks!

Washington could move up to No. 5 the following week, but it would need a losing streak from the Vikings and a big win over the Philadelphia Eagles. We’ll delve deeper into this next week when they take care of business in New Orleans and Minnesota somehow loses to the Bears on Monday night.

The Detroit Lions and Philadelphia Eagles both won again and will retain first and second place, respectively, if they keep winning. The Lions won a tough division game in a short week, while the Eagles struggled at home to beat the Carolina Panthers.

The Washington Commanders are 8-5 and are holding off most of the weak NFC. The Los Angeles Rams moved up to 8th place after their win and losses to the Arizona Cardinals and Atlanta Falcons on Sunday. The Rams may be 7-6, but a win and a loss at Washington will keep them out of the seventh division this week. Washington would hold the conference tiebreaker (5-4 vs. 5-5 NFC) and would need two losses and two Rams wins to climb out of seventh place.

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NFC rankings in Week 14

1. x-Detroit Lions (12-1)

2. x-Philadelphia Eagles (11-2)

3. Seattle Seahawks (8-5)

4. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (7-6)

5. Minnesota Vikings (11-2)

6. Green Bay Packers (9-4)

7. Washington Commanders (8-5)

8. Los Angeles Rams (7-6)

9. Atlanta Falcons (6-7, 6-3 NFC)

10. Arizona Cardinals (6-7, win over SF, 3-6 NFC)

11. San Francisco 49ers (6-7, loss to ARI)

12. Dallas Cowboys (5-7)*

13. New Orleans Saints (5-8)

14. Chicago Bears (4-8, 2-5 NFC)*

15. Carolina Panthers (3-10)

16. New York Giants (2-11) – eliminated

AFC rankings in Week 14

1.y-Kansas City Chiefs (12-1)

2.y-Buffalo Bills (10-3, SOV 59 wins)

3. Pittsburgh Steelers (10-3, SOV 52 wins)

4. Houston Texans (8-5)

5. Baltimore Ravens (8-5, win over LAC)

6. Los Angeles Chargers (8-5, win over DEN, loss against BAL)*

7. Denver Broncos (8-5, loss to LAC)*

8. Indianapolis Colts (6-7, win over MIA)

9. Miami Dolphins (6-7, loss to IND)*

10.Cincinnati Bengals (4-8)*

11. Cleveland Browns (3-10) – eliminated

12. Jacksonville Jaguars (3-10) – eliminated

13. New York Jets (3-10) – eliminated

14. Tennessee Titans (3-10) – eliminated

15. New England Patriots (3-10) – eliminated

16. Las Vegas Raiders (2-11) – eliminated

Note: In the five-way matchup between Cleveland, Jacksonville, New York, Tennessee and New England, the division tiebreakers drop first to the Titans (loss to Jaguars) and Patriots (same game tiebreaker to Jets). The Jets then fall behind the Browns and Jaguars due to the conference record tiebreaker and the Browns finish ahead of the Jaguars due to the head-to-head matchup. Then it’s the Jaguars and Jets, with Jacksonville winning a direct tiebreaker. After that, the Jets and Titans go head-to-head and New York beats Tennessee. The Titans beat the Patriots, so they’re next.

Teams with an asterisk

have dropped out of their division races

Teams with an “x” have secured a playoff spot

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Teams with a “y” won their division

NFL division rankings

1. AFC East standings Buffalo Bills, 10-3 – division
2. clarified
3. Miami Dolphins, 6-7
4. New York Jets, 3-10 – eliminated from playoff contention

New England Patriots, 3-10 – eliminated from playoff contention

1. AFC North standings
2. Pittsburgh Steelers, 10-3
3. Baltimore Ravens, 8-5
4. Cincinnati Bengals, 4-8

Cleveland Browns, 3-10 – eliminated from playoff contention

1. AFC South standings
2. Houston Texans, 8-5
3. Indianapolis Colts, 6-7
4. Jacksonville Jaguars, 3-10 – eliminated from playoff contention

Tennessee Titans, 3-10 – eliminated from playoff contention

1. AFC West standings Kansas City Chiefs, 12-1 – division
2. clarified
3. Los Angeles Chargers, 8-5
4. Denver Broncos, 8-5

Las Vegas Raiders, 2-11 – eliminated from playoff contention

1. NFC East standings
2. Philadelphia Eagles, 11-2
3. Washington Commanders, 8-5
4. Dallas Cowboys, 5-7

New York Giants, 2-11 – eliminated from playoff contention

1. NFC North standings
2. Detroit Lions, 12-1
3. Minnesota Vikings, 11-2
4. Green Bay Packers, 9-4

Chicago Bears, 4-9

1. NFC South standings
2. Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 7-6
3. Atlanta Falcons, 6-7
4. New Orleans Saints, 5-8

Carolina Panthers, 3-10

1. NFC West standings
2. Seattle Seahawks, 8-5
3. Los Angeles Rams, 7-6
4. Arizona Cardinals, 6-7

San Francisco 49ers, 6-7