After a wild week in the NFL that culminated on Tuesday evening, there have been a number of shakeups and moves across the NFC playoff picture.
The San Francisco 49ers helped their case of remaining relevant in the NFC race with their Week 15 victory over the Atlanta Falcons to improve their record to 8-6. However, despite the win, the team remains the No. 6 seed in the NFC.
Meanwhile, the Arizona Cardinals suffered back-to-back losses, dropping them from their once-NFC leading record to now fourth in conference seeding heading into Week 16.
The Los Angeles Rams, who picked up a Week 14 victory over Arizona followed by a win against the Seattle Seahawks, are now tied for first place in the NFC West. The loss shrunk Seattle's chances at a postseason appearance as the team would need a bevy of moves to happen over the next three weeks to jump to the seventh seed.
Meanwhile, the Green Bay Packers are the only team in the NFC to have clinched a playoff berth following their win over the Baltimore Ravens.
The Philadelphia Eagles defeated the Washington Football Team which jumped the Minnesota Vikings to the final spot in the NFC race. A win over the Tennessee Titans becomes just as vital as the conference matchups for San Francisco with several teams nipping at their heels. Minnesota, Philadelphia and the New Orleans Saints all have a 7-7 record and are tied for the final playoff spot in the conference. The 49ers have the head-to-head tie-breaker over Minnesota and Philadelphia.
The 49ers currently have an 81 percent chance to earn a spot in the postseason, according to FiveThirtyEight. A win over the Titans on Thursday night would increase San Francisco's postseason chances to 94 percent. On the contrary, a loss would drop their chances to 69 percent heading into the team's final two regular season matchups against the Houston Texans and Rams.
If the season were to end after Week 15, the 49ers would be set to head to Tampa Bay to take on Tom Brady and the Buccaneers in the Wild Card round.
Here's a look at what the NFC standings look like heading into Week 16.
| Seed | Team | Record |
|---|---|---|
| 1* | Green Bay Packers | 11-3 |
| 2 | Dallas Cowboys | 10-4 |
| 3 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 10-4 |
| 4 | Arizona Cardinals | 10-4 |
| 5 | Los Angeles Rams | 10-4 |
| 6 | San Francisco 49ers | 8-6 |
| 7 | Minnesota Vikings | 7-7 |
| -- | Philadelphia Eagles | 7-7 |
| -- | New Orleans Saints | 7-7 |
| -- | Washington Football Team | 6-8 |
| -- | Atlanta Falcons | 6-8 |
| -- | Seattle Seahawks | 5-9 |
| -- | Carolina Panthers | 5-9 |
| -- | Chicago Bears | 4-10 |
| -- | New York Giants | 4-10 |
| -- | Detroit Lions | 2-11-1 |
* denotes clinched playoff berth
