NFL Playoff Picks: Who’s in and Who’s Out

November 19, 2009

There are several NFL teams that are in a position to either fold up or step up in the home stretch of the season. This is the time of year when making NFL picks can be very profitable. It takes a keen eye to differentiate between the teams that have playoff potential and the ones that don’t. If you have enough knowledge of football handicapping you will have the ability to take advantage of several point spreads in the upcoming weeks. Here is a look at which teams are on the proverbial “bubble”, and how I think they will fair for the remainder of the season.

The top 3 teams in the NFC East are all fighting for a playoff spot. Currently Dallas leads the division with a 6-3 record, but I feel like they have the smallest chance of making the playoffs. They have had an easy schedule thus far, and will finish the year playing the Giants, Chargers, Saints, Redskins and Eagles. Washington is improving steadily, and will not be a “gimme” especially at home. The Giants have the upper hand against the Cowboys as they have a head to head win. Philly needs to get their defense back on the right track in order to keep pace. Offensively the Eagles have been awesome behind the rejuvenated Donovan McNabb and a group of solid wide receivers. I expect the Eagles and Giants to both make the playoffs from this division as they have better all-around teams and more playmakers on defense.

The rest of the NFC will be a battle between Green Bay, Chicago, Atlanta and San Francisco. The Atlanta Falcons seem to have the easiest road out the four as they play 4 out of their last 7 games at home were they are currently undefeated. Having Tampa Bay twice along with the Jets and Buffalo give them a great opportunity to get to 10 or 11 wins. The Niners season will be decided over the next 4 weeks as they go against Green Bay, a red-hot Jacksonville squad, Arizona and Philly. If they can win 2 out of the 4 (which I don’t foresee happening) they may end up with 9 wins. This still wouldn’t be enough even as a best case scenario. The Packers should win 4 of their last 7 games, but 9 wins may not be enough. That leaves the Bears, who have absolutely no chance as they face Baltimore, Philly and Minnesota twice more. Expect Atlanta to get in easily with Green Bay needing a little help for their shot at a playoff run.

The AFC East looks like it will finish in the traditional way with the Patriots going though to the playoffs, and everyone else staying home. This greatly narrows down the field, and gives us a chance to focus on just 4 teams. I say 4 teams, because I expect the 2nd place team in the AFC West to easily receive a “wild card” position. Denver and San Diego will trade wins for the rest of the season and pull away from the rest of this pack. This leaves Pittsburgh, Baltimore, Jacksonville and Houston. All four of these teams were supposed to be in a much better position at this point of the season. The defending Super Bowl Champs had some defensive injuries that may have cost them a game or 2, but I don’t see them sliding out of the playoff picture despite their slow start. Baltimore has regressed on both sides of the ball. We all know they are getting older on defense, but we didn’t expect them to lose twice to Cincinnati. Yes, the Bengals look to be a force this season, but allowing Cedric Benson to run for over 100 yards is on the “D”. The Ravens are a hard team to read, because they have had what turned out to be a tough schedule. The problem is that their wins have come against some of the worst teams in the league so we really don’t know how good they are. I would have written the Jags off for the playoffs, but they have only 2 truly difficult games the rest of the way. They should end up with 10 wins, which may be good enough to get in. Houston will find a way to be themselves down the stretch, and inevitably play their way OUT of the playoff picture.

Overall, it is too close to call in the AFC. It may come down to a last second field goal or interception for any one of these teams. It will be fun to watch as the AFC playoffs potentially come down to the final game. These NFL picks for the playoffs are my opinion as an expert handicapper.

Written by Cover The Number · Filed Under NFL

Comments

Got something to say?