NFL Playoff Picture 2022: Week 9 Standings, Wild Card Info and Super Bowl Odds
The Buffalo Bills and a few other AFC powers are exactly where we expected them to be in the AFC standings going into Week 9.
Josh Allen and Co. sit on top of the AFC with a one-game edge over the Tennessee Titans and Kansas City Chiefs. Most of the regular players from the last few seasons are in the mix once again, as well as a few new teams.
Over in the NFC, the playoff standings do not look anything like what we have seen in recent years. Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers would miss the playoffs if they started tomorrow. The same can be said about the reigning Super Bowl champion Los Angeles Rams.
There is still plenty of time for all three to correct their poor form, but now they have to deal with overtaking the likes of the Atlanta Falcons and Washington Commanders, who were not expected to be in their current positions.
Buffalo is still the favorite to win the Super Bowl and the undefeated Philadelphia Eagles are close behind. The Bucs, Packers and Rams have a long way to go to just make the playoffs and they can't be concerned with how far down the odds chart they are.
Super Bowl Odds
Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook.
Buffalo (+225; bet $100 to win $225)
Philadelphia (+500)
Kansas City (+650)
San Francisco (+1300)
Dallas (+1500)
Baltimore (+1800)
Minnesota (+1800)
Cincinnati (+2200)
Tampa Bay (+2500)
Los Angeles Chargers (+3000)
Miami (+3500)
Los Angeles Rams (+4000)
Green Bay (+5000)
Tennessee (+5000)
New England (+7000)
Seattle (+7000)
New York Giants (+8000)
New Orleans (+9000)
Cleveland (+10000)
Arizona (+10000)
Las Vegas (+10000)
Atlanta (+10000)
All other teams (+15000 and above)
AFC Playoff Picture
Division Leaders
1. Buffalo (6-1)
2. Tennessee (5-2)
3. Kansas City (5-2)
4. Baltimore (5-3)
Wild-Card Race
5. New York Jets (5-3)
6. Miami (5-3)
7. Los Angeles Chargers (4-3)
8. Cincinnati (4-3)
9, New England (4-4)
10. Indianapolis (3-4-1)
11. Denver (3-5)
The top of the AFC is becoming clearer by the week.
The Buffalo Bills are the class of the conference and they have the inside track to the No. 1 seed after their win over the Kansas City Chiefs. Buffalo also owns a win over the Tennessee Titans.
Buffalo can earn another tiebreaker at the end of the season against Cincinnati, but right now, it has to focus on eliminating the threats from the New York Jets and Miami Dolphins in the AFC East.
Tennessee rode Derrick Henry to a victory over the Houston Texans on Sunday. It has a clear advantage in the AFC South with two victories over the Indianapolis Colts.
The Titans play a vital game when it comes to AFC seeding in Week 9 against the Chiefs, who are coming off a bye. Kansas City could cement itself as the No. 2 team in the AFC with a win inside Arrowhead Stadium on Sunday night.
The AFC North should be the best divisional title race in the second half of the season. The Cincinnati Bengals can level themselves with the Baltimore Ravens with a win on Monday night over the Cleveland Browns.
The second-place teams in the AFC East, North and West will be fighting for the remaining spots in the postseason field. Indianapolis may be too far off to put two AFC South teams into the postseason.
New York owns the head-to-head tiebreaker over Miami, which puts it in the first wild-card spot as of now.
New England and Denver might do enough to remain in the mix, but right now, it feels like a four-team race between the Jets, Dolphins, Chargers and the second-place team in the AFC North for the wild-card spots.
NFC Playoff Picture
Division Leaders
1. Philadelphia (7-0)
2. Minnesota (6-1)
3. Seattle (5-3)
4. Atlanta (4-4)
Wild-Card Race
5. Dallas (6-2)
6. New York Giants (6-2)
7. San Francisco (4-4)
8. Washington (4-4)
9. Los Angeles Rams (3-4)
10. Tampa Bay (3-5)
11. Green Bay (3-5)
12. Arizona (3-5)
13. New Orleans (3-5)
14. Chicago (3-5)
The NFC playoff picture is headlined by the teams that are nowhere close to playoff contention.
Green Bay, Los Angeles and Tampa Bay have some serious work to do to land in the postseason field.
None of the three teams is headed in the right direction and only the Bucs have an easy path to winning a divisional title still.
Tampa Bay could vault from 10th to fourth in a matter of two weeks, but right now, it is mired behind a bunch of teams and in second place behind the Atlanta Falcons.
Sunday's clash between the Buccaneers and Rams almost has the feel of an early elimination game with the way both teams have struggled.
Tampa Bay has a win over Atlanta in its back pocket that can help it salvage the NFC South, but the Rams are in a worse spot. The Rams already have two losses to the San Francisco 49ers and they play three of their next four games on the road.
Green Bay needs to get right in Week 9 against Detroit before it can worry about chasing down Minnesota, who has a head-to-head win over the Packers.
Even if all three teams play well in the second half of the season, they need the Dallas Cowboys, New York Giants and others to lose more to level the playing field.
The NFC East looks like it will have three postseason teams and Washington could make things interesting in the wild-card race as well.
The two-game lead built by Dallas and the Giants in the wild-card standings will be tough to break down and it could be the starts of every team that helps decide the wild-card spots in January.
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