Well, there is the AFC wildcard teams.

Does seem NFC North is only division where anything can still happen. c'mon BEARS!

The Eagles simply have a serious turnover problem, otherwise they would have probably won the game. Their backup QB isn't someone the team can rely on, so they let him throw only short passes. He finished the game with 0 TDs and 0 INTs, but there were a couple of situations where he could have been intercepted. Their backup running back had a surprisingly good game (100+ rushing yards in the first half alone), except for two lost fumbles.

The Panthers have been notorious for giving games away in the fourth quarter (like last week against the Bucs) and they were on their way to make this a close one once again by missing the extra point to make it 31-22 and thus a two score game. But the Eagles fumbled on the following kickoff return and the Panthers got the two first downs they needed to run the clock out. Newton had 2 TD passes and ran for another 2, the Panthers didn't turn the ball over in this game. Finally they didn't mess up.

For the NFL.com analysts it's going to be the Eagles, because several of them picked them for an NFC Championship game appearance. In second place, the Chiefs. More than half of them picked them to win the AFC West.

For me, it's the Eagles. I think I picked them for the NFC East title in one of my posts before the season started. On the AFC side, I expected more from the Chargers. In the NFC again, the Saints fought their way back after a catastrophic start, so they are off the hook.

I was reading through the NFL.com feature "Stick a fork in 'em", they didn't want to kill the Jets just yet. Reason: The AFC playoff picture may allow one 8-8 team to sneak in and the Jets have an easy remaining schedule. Five teams that are just as bad or worse than them, the likes of Buffalo, Jacksonville and Tennessee.

Possible.

The AFC playoff picture is interesting despite four clear divisional winners. The Colts are 7-4, but still have to play twice against the Texans and they aren't particularly good on the road, so they might lose to the Lions this week. The Steelers (6-5) are too reliant on Big Ben. If he's out, they'll lose. The Bengals (6-5) are hit and miss. They also have games against the Ravens and Steelers left (when Big Ben should be back). The Dolphins (5-6) have two games against the Patriots left, plus a meeting with the 49ers, so they are actually worse off than 4-7 teams like the Jets and Chargers. The third 4-7 team (Bills) is too crappy to play a role, I would say. The Chargers will face the Bengals this week and it's going to be December, traditionally a very good month for Norv Turner. It's still a long shot though.