The (Current) NFL Playoff Picture - 2022 (Plus the Odds)

So, after the dust settles on the regular season in the NFL, 14 of the 32 teams begin the postseason. With some of the play this season, 14 may seem like a few more than needed, but more football is never a bad thing. That is what the new playoff format will provide. 

These are the 14 teams, in order of seeding, that would get in as of this writing… 

AFC 

1)    Kansas City Chiefs 

The Kansas City Chiefs all but clinched the AFC West, and they are the current No. 1 seed in the AFC. This has them hosting the AFC title game an incredible fifth year in a row. 

2)    Miami Dolphins 

First in the AFC East via tiebreaker, the Miami Dolphins are currently the second seed in the AFC. However, a huge game at Buffalo looms in Week 15. That will ultimately decide the fate of both Miami and the Buffalo Bills. 

3)    Tennessee Titans 

The Tennessee Titans have won seven of their last eight, all but clinching the AFC South. Ryan Tannehill is healthy, Derrick Henry is now throwing touchdowns and this team has an excellent chance of climbing the seedings ladder before the end of the season. 

4)    Baltimore Ravens 

The Baltimore Ravens did not look great in their win over the Carolina Panthers, but a win is  a win. In the process, they did stay ahead of the Cincinnati Bengals in the AFC North. The Bengals and Ravens meet in Week 18, and if things remain this tight in the North, that may be the game of the season. 

5)    Buffalo Bills 

The Buffalo Bills are back to winning. If not for a head-to-head loss to Miami early in the season, they would be in first place in the AFC East. As it is, they are the top wild-card team, but still very much in control of their fate in the division. Buffalo is remaining the choice to win the title, priced at +425, according to Super Bowl odds. 

6)    New England Patriots 

Do not let Bill Belichick hang around at all. Getting crushed in the playoffs last season was an aberration. The New England Patriots' defense is much better this time. They will be that proverbial “team no one wants to see.” 

7)    Cincinnati Bengals 

The Cincinnati Bengals only won 10 games last season, then went on their impressive run in the postseason. They are on pace to win 10 games once again, and they’ll get wideout Ja’Marr Chase back in the next few weeks. Do not sleep on the striped helmets 

NFC 

1)    Philadelphia Eagles 

A dip was inevitable, and that’s what has plagued the Eagles these last three weeks. However, they won two of the three, and getting their funk out of the way in November is better than in January. Philly is strongly favored (+225) to come out of the NFC, as per NFL odds. 

2)    Minnesota Vikings 

A week ago, there was the thought the Vikings could push the Eagles and make a run at the top seed in the conference. We’re not sure if they can hold off the San Francisco 49ers as second seed. Such is the nature of getting blown out at home. 

3)    San Francisco 49ers 

Now in first place in the NFC West, it’s been a wild season in Prospectorville. If you watched the way their weapons all worked together in Mexico City, it’s not hard picturing this team playing in the season’s last game. 

4)    Tampa Bay Buccaneers 

Tom Brady is the quarterback that won’t retire, and the 2022 Tampa BY Buccaneers are the team that won’t leave. They have been forked multiple times this season, but there they are, sitting in first place in the NFC South, primed to host a playoff game. 

5)    Dallas Cowboys 

It seems as if the Dallas Cowboys are destined to get in as a wild-card, but if anyone can rip off a postseason run on the road, it’s Dallas. Defense is great, while the offense is coming off a 40-3 road demolition of the Vikings. 

6)    New York Giants

Do the Nis favorable. Getting to 10 wins is still there, making the playoffs a probability.

ew York Giants have what it takes to cling to a wild-card berth? Maybe. There is a Thanksgiving game in Dallas, a pair of games against the top-seeded Philadelphia Eagles and a trip to Minnesota. The schedule is challenging down the stretch.

7)    Seattle Seahawks

So, the feel-good story of the season has to end with the playoffs, right? Seattle still has to play the Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers, but the rest of the schedule 

- B.E. Delmer, Gambling911.com