NFL Playoff Picture Standings, Updates for Week 12: Seahawks create chaos in NFC wild card race

Winter is coming and it's bringing chaos with it. Every year around this time we think we know what we're talking about with the playoff race and then every year about this time, things get blown up. The season doesn't really start until Thanksgiving, as Bill Parcells once said, although it's more about teams who have positioned themselves to make a run.

The Seahawks are a perfect example. Coming into this week, Seattle was a 5-5 team that largely confused everyone. They have a running back by committee / "hot hand" situation and an offense that is dedicated to running the ball aggressively. Their top passing weapons are David Moore and Tyler Lockett with Doug Baldwin struggling to put up consistent numbers. Their defense is a post-hype group of no-name guys (aside from Bobby Wagner) who the majority of NFL fans wouldn't recognize.

In other words, this is a lot like the Seahawks of 2011 and 2012, before the Legion of Boom was actually born. The talent might not be the same, but the results are pretty interesting: Seattle has a fringe top-10 defense and the offense leads the NFL in rushing attempts (31.9) and yards (147.1) yards per game.

Oh, and they have an MVP-caliber quarterback in Russell Wilson who can elevate his game if necessary in a shootout.

The Seahawks used the Wilson version of the formula to roll into Charlotte and steal a 30-27 win from the Panthers that puts them in great position to make a wild-card run. Seattle is still on the outside looking in, but I really like their chances moving forward.

For starters, there's the consistency of the offense. It's not the Rams or the Chiefs, but the Seahawks can travel with this run game and Wilson is getting a ton out of Moore and Lockett (nine catches, 210 yards, 2 TD combined Sunday) lately. If Baldwin gets healthy, this offense can be really dangerous against anyone.

We've seen the Seahawks hang with the Rams on multiple occasions and they've beaten other would-be NFC contenders (Green Bay, Carolina) in back-to-back weeks now.

Their schedule is what's really attractive, though. Seattle got out to a rough start to the season, but people ignored the schedule: they were on the road a TON early. Now it's paying off after they grinded out 6-5 to start. Four of their final five games are at home, with the only road game coming in San Francisco two weeks from now. Seattle won't leave the west coast again until (maybe) January.

Seattle draws the 49ers next week, then the Vikings, then the 49ers on the road, then the Chiefs before closing out against the Cardinals at home. It's not five free wins, but you can't ask for a more friendly setup to make a playoff run. Don't be surprised to see Seattle there when the season ends.

Here's how the rest of the NFL playoff picture looks, as well as a snapshot of some games that could impact what it looks like after Week 12 and beyond.

AFC: Who's in

1. Kansas City Chiefs (9-2)

The Chiefs are on a bye in Week 12.

2. Pittsburgh Steelers (7-2-1)

The Steelers are playing the Broncos in Denver on Sunday afternoon.

3. New England Patriots (8-3)

The Patriots had to battle against the Jets for a little while, but put away their division "rival" late and even managed to cover a double-digit spread on Sunday. New England is going to be in a dogfight to get a bye, but has a tiebreaker over the Chiefs courtesy of a head-to-head win and will play the Steelers in a few weeks. They're walking a fine line but they're right there for a bye.

4. Houston Texans (7-3)

The Texans play the Titans in Houston on Monday night.

5. Baltimore Ravens (6-5)

Lamar Jackson's performance the last two weeks, along with the emergence of Gus Edwards, is putting the Ravens back in the playoff hunt. They're getting set to face the Falcons, Chiefs and Buccaneers so expect scoring from the former Heisman Trophy winner. Going 2-1 in those games would set up Baltimore well but they've still got a battle for a wild-card spot with the Chargers and Browns to close out.

6. Los Angeles Chargers (7-3)

The Chargers are playing the Cardinals in Los Angeles on Sunday afternoon.

AFC: Who's out

7. Miami Dolphins (5-5): Miami is playing the Colts in Indianapolis on Sunday afternoon.

8. Indianapolis Colts (5-5): The Colts are playing the Dolphins in Indianapolis on Sunday afternoon.

9. Tennessee Titans (5-5): The Titans are playing the Texans in Houston on Monday night.

10. Cincinnati Bengals (5-6): The Bengals looked like one of the best couple of teams in the league the first few weeks of the season and now they are in absolute free-fall. Their defense is a disaster and Hue Jackson isn't helping the offense much.

11. Cleveland Browns (4-6-1): Gregg Williams has the same number of wins for the Browns this year as Hue Jackson does. Would this have been a playoff team with a better coaching staff in place?

12. Denver Broncos (4-6): The Broncos are playing the Steelers in Denver on Sunday afternoon.

13. Buffalo Bills (4-7): The Bills shouldn't have four wins with this roster and this quarterback situation. It really makes the job Sean McDermott is doing all that much more impressive.

14. Jacksonville Jaguars (3-8): Remember when this team was a play away from beating the Patriots in the AFC Championship Game (and beat the Patriots this year)? Both those games feel like 400 years ago.

15. New York Jets (3-8): Todd Bowles is not going to get fired this week, but it feels like a lock he gets fired at the end of the season.

16. Oakland Raiders (2-9): The Raiders hung in there pretty good against the Ravens until a late defensive touchdown by Terrell Suggs snuffed them out. They are tracking for the No. 1 pick right now.

AFC: Who's Eliminated

No one ... yet.

NFC: Who's in

1. New Orleans Saints (10-1)

With the Rams on the bye the Saints mashed the Falcons at home on Thanksgiving, setting them up for the No. 1 overall seed in the NFC. New Orleans does have a tough stretch -- including two huge games against the Panthers -- coming up, so nothing is guaranteed. But they are in great shape to get a bye at this point.

2. Los Angeles Rams (10-1)

The Rams have a bye this week but are the second seed because of the Saints tiebreaker over them via their previous head-to-head-matchup. L.A. could have clinched the NFC West if Seattle had lost; they will clinch the division.

3. Chicago Bears (8-3)

It appears the Bears are likely to win the NFC North and they deserve it, winning three divisional games in 13 days, including a Thanksgiving day victory over the Lions.

4. Dallas Cowboys (6-5)

And so it begins. The Cowboys are the No. 4 seed after their Thanksgiving win over the Redskins. The Cowboys don't look great, but no one in the NFC East looks great and someone does have to win the division.

5. Minnesota Vikings (5-4-1)

The Vikings have a massive game at home against the Packers on Sunday night (8:20 p.m., NBC, stream on fuboTV, try for free), one that might very well be a loser leaves town match.

6. Washington Redskins (6-5)

With the loss to Dallas, the Redskins now see their divisional hopes in serious peril. They do get the Giants one more time as well as the Eagles twice, so they can win this thing still, and it's worth noting a wild-card berth is very much still in play. Of the remaining 6-5 teams, though, it wouldn't be Washington that you'd pick to lock this spot down. The Redskins and Seahawks have a tiebreaker over the Panthers by virtue of head-to-head sweeps and the Redskins have a better conference record than then Seahawks, so they hold that tiebreaker.

NFC: Who's out

7. Seattle Seahawks (6-5): Left for dead before the season the Seahawks are thriving right now and have four of their final five games at home. They lose a tiebreaker to the Redskins right now but have some easy conference matchups ahead of them (multiple games against the 49ers and one against the Cardinals). Pete Carroll deserves Coach of the Year mention.

8. Carolina Panthers (6-5): The defense hasn't done its job for Carolina this year and gave up a ton of points against the Seahawks. Graham Gano has been an issue too and he missed a key field goal late on Sunday. Additionally, the red zone play-calling was extremely questionable for Norv Turner and Co. on Sunday. The Panthers lose head-to-head battles with both the Redskins and Seahawks.

9. Philadelphia Eagles (5-6): The Eagles managed a win against the Giants on Sunday, their second victory over New York this season. But they hardly look like a dominating squad, much less a playoff team. Although it's worth noting they play the Cowboys again and are just one game back of the division.

10. Green Bay Packers (4-5-1): The Packers play the Vikings in Minnesota on Sunday night (8:20 p.m., NBC, stream on fuboTV, try for free).

11. Atlanta Falcons (4-7): The Falcons probably saw their season go up in flames on Thanksgiving night with a loss to the Saints. It's going to be VERY disappointing for them if New Orleans manages to play (and win) a Super Bowl in Atlanta's home stadium.

12. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (4-7): The Buccaneers managed to pull off a win against the 49ers in pretty impressive fashion on Sunday. It seems unlikely that Dirk Koetter is going to pull off saving his job, but managing to catch the Falcons in the division standings would go a long way.

13. Detroit Lions (4-7): Rough day on Thanksgiving for Detroit, who fought hard against the Bears before promptly giving up a few late scores to lose in ugly fashion. They're by far the worst team in this division.

14. New York Giants (3-8): The Giants two-game win streak came to a halt against Philadelphia, with that game serving as a reminder that New York is #notgood.

15. Arizona Cardinals (2-8): The Cardinals play the Chargers in Los Angeles on Sunday afternoon.

16. San Francisco 49ers (2-9): The 49ers cut a former first-round pick (Reuben Foster) just hours before they got thrashed by the Buccaneers in Tampa. Remember when this team was a sleeper to win the division?

NFC: Who's Eliminated