We are through 14 weeks of regular-season NFL football and we are still divided on who the best teams in the NFL are. In fact, the NFL playoff picture is wilder than it has been in a long time, as nothing has been solidified despite there being just four weeks left in the season!
Zero teams have clinched a playoff berth yet. According to NFL Research, this is just the third season without a clinched playoff berth through Week 14 since the NFL moved to a 16-game season in 1978 (the other two were 1993 and 2014). The 2021 season, of course, is the first season with 17 games.
The Arizona Cardinals could have clinched an official playoff berth with a win over the Los Angeles Rams on “Monday Night Football,” but Kyler Murray and Co. were upset by the shorthanded Sean McVays, 30-23. The loss dropped the Cardinals to 10-3, and from the No. 1 seed in the NFC to the No. 3 seed. Just a couple months ago they beat the Rams on their home field by 17.
League parity is seemingly at an all-time high. Take the Tennessee Titans for example. They currently hold the No. 2 seed in the AFC at 9-4, but half of their losses have come by teams already eliminated from playoff contention. Additionally, all four of their losses have come to teams that did not make the playoffs last year.
Speaking of teams that didn’t make the playoffs last year, who guessed that Mac Jones and the New England Patriots would hold the No. 1 seed in the AFC entering Week 15? They have the fourth-best Super Bowl odds according to Caesars Sportsbook at +750. Ahead of them are the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (+500), Kansas City Chiefs (+600) and Green Bay Packers (+700).
It’s been a wild regular season, and it’s not over yet. Both conferences have a jumbled playoff picture that will be up in the air until the final whistle of Week 18.
