NFC playoff picture, Week 11: Atlanta remains in the frame with a loss

The Atlanta Falcons didn’t do themselves any favors in the playoff race when they lost to the Eagles, but thankfully, they haven’t yet lost any ground.

Seattle’s impressive win over the Patriots and the Cowboys’ late victory over the Steelers mean those teams remain the top two seeds in the NFC at the moment, while Atlanta dropped a game and stayed at the #3 seed for the moment. The new face here belongs to the Detroit Lions, who had a bye this week and watched the Vikings continue their epic, 2015 Falconsian collapse, which left them in possession of first place in the NFC North. That division is a small dumpster fire.

Here’s the full playoff picture, as of today.

Playoff Picture

#1: Dallas Cowboys, 8-1

#2: Seattle Seahawks, 6-2-1

#3: Atlanta Falcons, 6-4

#4: Detroit Lions, 5-4

#5: New York Giants, 6-3

#6: Washington Redskins, 5-3-1

As this playoff picture makes clear, the Falcons have to worry more about losing ground in the seeding than they do actually losing the NFC South, barring a collapse. The Lions are just a half game out on them at the moment, and they’re lucky division winners take precedence in seeding, or they’d be trailing the New York Giants at the moment, as well.

Ideally, of course, Atlanta will wind up with a first round bye to rest up, and then end up playing a team that doesn’t have a dominant rushing attack. That may be a dream unless they can reel off a few wins coming out of the bye, though, so stay tuned.