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NFL playoff picture after Week 13: Seahawks move to No. 2 seed in NFC, bump 49ers to wild card

USA TODAY SPORTS 12/3/2019 Nate Davis, USA TODAY

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Here's how the NFL playoff picture looks with Week 13's action complete:

NFC

y-1. New Orleans Saints (10-2): NFC South champions. They move into pole position for home-field advantage after Seattle's win Monday night bumped the 49ers into the wild-card bracket. New Orleans' Week 3 win at Seattle projects as a key tiebreaker.

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2. Seattle Seahawks (10-2): NFC West leader. Seized control of the division with their win over the Vikings, but the schedule won't provide much room to breathe. The Seahawks will have to fend off the Rams in prime time Sunday, and the season finale at home against the 49ers looms large.

3. Green Bay Packers (9-3): NFC North leader. Aaron Rodgers' big day keeps them viable for bye, especially with a manageable December slate.

4. Dallas Cowboys (6-6): NFC East leader. As bad as they've looked recently, 'Boys continue to be buoyed by imploding Eagles, whose loss at Miami entrenches Dallas in first place at least into Week 15.

5. San Francisco (10-2): Wild card No. 1. After 8-0 start, Niners now in jeopardy of having to spend January on the road. Sunday's showdown at New Orleans has massive ramifications for entire conference.

6. Minnesota Vikings (8-4): Wild card No. 2. Catching Packers for the NFC North crown will be quite difficult after Vikes stumbled Monday. Perhaps more importantly, Minnesota's lead over the Rams for the final wild-card spot is down to one game.

AFC

1. Baltimore Ravens (10-2): AFC North leader. Sunday couldn't have gone much better. They beat the 49ers in dramatic fashion in what might prove a Super Bowl LIV preview, QB Lamar Jackson continuing to rewrite record book in the process. Then they watched New England lose, springboarding Baltimore into the catbird seat for home-field advantage.

2. New England Patriots (10-2): AFC East leader. The concern is officially real. Getting manhandled by Houston not only costs them No. 1 seed, it also means they suddenly have to worry about fending off the closing Bills if they're to win division for 11th consecutive year.

3. Houston Texans (8-4): AFC South leader. Second-ever win against Patriots might legitimize them as bona fide playoff threat. But division hardly a guarantee yet with both matchups against Titans (7-5) still down the road.

4. Kansas City Chiefs (8-4): AFC West leader. They effectively locked up division by completing sweep of Raiders. But a victory at New England next Sunday could rekindle hopes of a playoff bye.

5. Buffalo Bills (9-3): Wild card No. 1. Dismantling Dallas allows them to continue padding wild-card lead ahead of Week 14 date with Ravens ... and maybe begin entertaining visions of an AFC East crown.

6. Pittsburgh Steelers (7-5): Wild card No. 2. They settled their score with the Browns (5-7) on a day when Indianapolis and Oakland both fell to .500. But the surging Titans have reached 7-5 themselves and are just waiting for the Steelers to step on a banana peel.

x — clinched berth

y — clinched division

z — clinched first-round bye

zz — clinched home-field advantage

***

Follow USA TODAY Sports' Nate Davis on Twitter @ByNateDavis

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: NFL playoff picture after Week 13: Seahawks move to No. 2 seed in NFC, bump 49ers to wild card

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