7. Washington Commanders at 2. Philadelphia Eagles

6. Green Bay Packers and 3. Tampa Bay Buccaneers

5. Minnesota Vikings at 4. Los Angeles Rams

1. Detroit Lions (12-2; top NFC North; secured playoff spot)

2. Philadelphia Eagles (12-2; lead NFC East; secured playoff spot)

3. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (8-6; lead NFC South)

4. Los Angeles Rams (8-6; lead NFC West)

5. Minnesota Vikings (12-2, secured playoff spot)

6. Green Bay Packers (10-4)

7. Washington Commanders (9-5)

8. Seattle Seahawks (8-6)

10. Arizona Cardinals (7-7)

11. San Francisco 49ers (6-8)

13. New Orleans Saints (5-9)

15. Carolina Panthers (3-11)

16. New York Giants (2-12)

The Detroit Lions are still in control of their destiny as the NFC’s No. 1 seed despite their 48-42 loss to the Buffalo Bills last Sunday. To do this, however, they must win two away games (in Chicago, in San Francisco) and beat the Minnesota Vikings at home 12-2. Of course, Detroit could get some help and avoid having to win three in a row.

However, the Philadelphia Eagles are looking strong right now at 12-2 as winners of 10 straight games. They have a tough matchup against the 9-5 Washington Commanders on Sunday, but then face the Dallas Cowboys (6-8) and New York Giants (2-12) at home to close out the season.

The Vikings won five straight, lost a pair and then enter Week 16 with seven straight wins. They finish the season with a brutal performance, first against the Seattle Seahawks 8-6 before traveling home to host the Green Bay Packers 10-4. Then they travel to Detroit in a game that could decide both the division and the NFC’s No. 1 seed.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers started 4-2, lost four straight and then won four straight to move to 8-6, good enough for a one-game lead over the 7-7 Atlanta Falcons. They need a buffer as the Falcons are in a head-to-head tiebreaker against the Bucs due to their season win. Tampa Bay finishes 6-8 against the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday, but should then be clear favorites at home against the New Orleans Saints with 5-9 and the Carolina Panthers with 3-11.

The Falcons need to win a game against the Bucs to win the division, and they have tasked rookie signal-caller Michael Penix Jr. with leading the team in doing so. Penix had a nice warm-up in its first home game on Sunday against the 2-2 Giants, but things will be much more difficult the following Sunday night against the Commanders. Atlanta then closes out at home against the Panthers.

The Rams are now 8-6 in the West, having won seven of their last nine games. This stretch includes a 28-20 win over the Vikings and a 44-42 win over the 11-3 Buffalo Bills. So this Rams team is serious and could very well win and win the league. They finish the year at 4-10 against the New York Jets before facing the Arizona Cardinals at 7-7 and the Seattle Seahawks at 8-6.

Speaking of which, Seattle and Arizona are still in it (the 6-8 San Francisco 49ers are also mathematically alive, but need a ton of help at this point). Seattle’s recent four-game winning streak ended with a bang after the Seahawks lost 30-13 to the Green Bay Packers. Now look forward to a tough home game with the Vikings before they take on the 4-10 Chicago Bears and the Rams.

Arizona needs some help to win the division by one game. Worse still, the Cardinals don’t have the direct tiebreaker against Seattle, which beat Arizona twice earlier this year. However, the Cardinals are coming off a win against the Rams and will visit them in LA on Saturday, December 28th. Arizona was previously 6-4 at the top of the division but had lost three straight. However, the Cardinals caused the New England Patriots to fall to .500, 30-17. They visit the Carolina Panthers before the Rams game and a home game with the San Francisco 49ers.