The Story So Far (Week 13)

We made it. We made it to the magical month of December. Any NFL fan knows that December is when, as Jim Ross often says, "business starts to pick up." December is not only the last month of the calendar year, it is also the final full month of the NFL season, and that's when the playoff races get very interesting. Before this season, the regular season either ended on the final Sunday of the calendar year, or the first Sunday of the New Year, but now it's a 17-game season played in 18 weeks, meaning that the season is now guaranteed to enter the New Year.

In addition, this is the second year of the current playoff format that allows seven teams per conference, totaling 14 in all. For 30 seasons (1990-2019), the NFL permitted 12 teams to qualify; originally it was three division winners and three Wild Card, but it would be four division winners and two Wild Cards after the 2002 division realignment. A third Wild Card was added in 2020, and as a result, only the top seed in each conference gets a bye straight to the Divisional Playoff, while the #2 seed hosts a Wild Card Playoff game and will host a Divisional Playoff game with a win.

So that's how things are shaped in the NFL, and with 2/3 of the season done, here's how things look entering the final six weeks:

The picture in the American Football Conference is an interesting one. The Baltimore Ravens, who had been a question mark for most of the season, now enter the month of December as the #1 team in the conference at 8-3. The New England Patriots and the Tennessee Titans each sport 8-4 records, but New England's win over the Titans in Week 12 gives them the tiebreaker. The resurgent Kansas City Chiefs hold the #4 spot at 7-4. Regarding the Wild Card slots, the Cincinnati Bengals and the Buffalo Bills are tied at 7-4, with the Bengals holding the tiebreaker due to a better conference record (5-2 over BUF's 5-4). The third Wild Card slot is held by the Los Angeles Chargers at 6-5.

A logjam exists in the Wild Card race, as the Las Vegas Raiders and the Denver Broncos also have 6-5 records, while the Indianapolis Colts (6-6), Pittsburgh Steelers (5-5-1), and Cleveland Browns (6-6) each have .500 records. Even the Miami Dolphins have an outside shot at 5-7, and six weeks is plenty of time to make up ground.

In the National Football Conference, the Arizona Cardinals lead the way at 9-2, while the Green Bay Packers are at the #2 position at 9-3. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers hold the #3 position at 8-3, and the Dallas Cowboys are 7-4. Though six weeks is a lot of time, it seems like a foregone conclusion that these four teams will be the division winners at season's end. Each team leads their respective divisions by at least two games, with the Bucs' three game lead being the largest of the four. Regarding the Wild Card slots, the slumping Los Angeles Rams hold the top slot at 7-4, the rising San Francisco 49ers are right behind at 6-5, and the Washington Football Team's three-game winning streak moved them to the last slot at 5-6.

Washington is one of four 5-6 teams in the NFC, along with the Minnesota Vikings, the Atlanta Falcons, and the New Orleans Saints. The Philadelphia Eagles and Carolina Panthers have outside shots at 5-7, as do the New York Giants and Chicago Bears at 4-7. Even the 3-8 Seattle Seahawks have a sliver of a chance, leaving the winless Detroit Lions (0-10-1) as the only team whose season is basically done.

What also makes the month of December exciting is the clinching scenarios, but for Week 13, there are none. All that can happen for the teams that are either in playoff positions or looking to get into one is that they can strengthen their case for a playoff spot, a division title, or even the top seed. We could see (at least) one clinching scenario as soon as Week 14, but for now, Week 13 only serves as the beginning of the home stretch of this NFL season.

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