1 week Ago By Scott Polacek
The Los Angeles Rams missed a golden opportunity to become more of a factor in the NFC West race. Los Angeles lost to the Miami Dolphins 23-15 in Monday's showdown, meaning it is now 4-5 and behind the 6-4 Arizona Cardinals and 5-4 San Francisco 49ers in the division. Had it won at home against a struggling AFC team, it would be tied with the 49ers and just a half-game behind the Cardinals.
Instead, the Rams are tied for last place with the Seattle Seahawks. Things don't look much better for the 3-6 Dolphins even with the win. They will still need a head-turning run down the stretch of the season to be a factor in the playoff race in the same conference that features the Kansas City Chiefs, Buffalo Bills, Pittsburgh Steelers, Baltimore Ravens and Los Angeles Chargers.
With that in mind, here is a look at the updated playoff picture with Week 10 in the books. Division Leaders 1. Kansas City Chiefs (9-0) 2.
Buffalo Bills (8-2) 3. Pittsburgh Steelers (7-2) 4. Houston Texans (6-4) Wild-Card Race 5.
Baltimore Ravens (7-3) 6. Los Angeles Chargers (6-3) 7. Denver Broncos (5-5) 8.
Indianapolis Colts (4-6) 9. Cincinnati Bengals (4-6) 10. Miami Dolphins (3-6) 11.
New York Jets (3-7) 12. New England Patriots (3-7) 13. Cleveland Browns (2-7) 14.
Tennessee Titans (2-7) 15. Las Vegas Raiders (2-7) 16. Jacksonville Jaguars (2-8) Another week and another Chiefs victory, although this one was anything but easy.
After barely escaping the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with an overtime win in Week 9, the Chiefs survived a challenge from the division-rival Denver Broncos with a 16-14 win on Sunday. The Broncos appeared to play their final drive perfectly for a game-winning Wil Lutz field goal, but Kansas City blocked it as time expired. The win was important because it kept the two-time reigning champions two games ahead of the Bills in the loss column in the AFC standings ahead of their showdown.
Buffalo and Kansas City face each other in Week 11 in a potential AFC Championship Game preview that could be the game of the year. Had the Chiefs lost to the Broncos, the Bills would have been given the opportunity to seize control in the race for the No. 1 seed and home-field advantage with a head-to-head win.
Instead, they will have to defeat Patrick Mahomes and Co. and then still make up another game in the standings later in the season. The Steelers are also looming in the AFC race and still face Kansas City in Week 17.
Like the Chiefs, they earned a narrow victory with a 28-27 win over the Washington Commanders that included a key defensive stop in the final two minutes. Pittsburgh is also in the middle of a tight AFC North race and is just one game ahead of the Ravens in the loss column. Fittingly, they also face each other in a head-to-head showdown in Week 11.
Throw in a clash between a Cincinnati Bengals team trying to climb its way back into the wild-card race and a Chargers squad holding onto one of those coveted spots, and the upcoming slate of games could be one to remember in the AFC. Division Leaders 1. Detroit Lions (8-1) 2.
Philadelphia Eagles (7-2) 3. Atlanta Falcons (6-4) 4. Arizona Cardinals (6-4) Wild-Card Race 5.
Minnesota Vikings (7-2) 6. Washington Commanders (7-3) 7. Green Bay Packers (6-3) 8.
San Francisco 49ers (5-4) 9. Chicago Bears (4-5) 10. Los Angeles Rams (4-5) 11.
Seattle Seahawks (4-5) 12. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (4-6) 13. Dallas Cowboys (3-6) 14.
New Orleans Saints (3-7) 15. Carolina Panthers (3-7) 16. New York Giants (2-8) While the NFC West race was under the spotlight during Monday's game because of the Rams, some of the other battles in the conference could come down to the season's final week.
The NFC North now has a team under .500 because of the Chicago Bears' ongoing struggles, but the three-way race between the 8-1 Detroit Lions, 7-2 Minnesota Vikings and 6-3 Green Bay Packers could determine the conference's No. 1 overall seed and the entire playoff picture.
That is especially the case after the Lions and Vikings each escaped AFC South teams on Sunday. Jared Goff threw five interceptions against the Houston Texans, but Detroit was still able to overcome a 16-point halftime deficit. The defense picked off C.
J. Stroud twice and held the Texans scoreless after intermission, and Detroit scored 19 unanswered points to come away with a win. The final three points came on Jake Bates' field goal as time expired.
But they are just ahead of the Vikings after the latter pulled off an escape of their own in a 12-7 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars. The defense kept Mac Jones in check with Trevor Lawrence sidelined, and four field goals from John Parker were enough to earn a victory on the road. Elsewhere, the Philadelphia Eagles moved ahead of the Commanders in the NFC East thanks to their win over the Dallas Cowboys and the latter's loss to the Steelers.
They still face each other twice with the first one coming Thursday, so the division could come down to those head-to-head results..
