THE FINAL SUNDAY
January 3, 2010 at 3:26AM
How boring is the NFC, with all six playoff participants already decided? Well, the conference is pretty spicy actually, with the East Division crown about to be decided in Dallas, the Vikings capable of being seeded second, third or fourth, and the top-ranked Saints suddenly struggling.
The AFC already has all four division winners and has concentrated its frenzy on the wild-card race, which has seven teams still in the scramble. Denver has 10 scenarios by which it can get a wild card, half of those not even requiring the Broncos to win Sunday against Kansas City.
NFC
Division winners
North: Vikings
East: Dallas or Philadelphia
South: New Orleans (home field)
West: Arizona
Wild cards
Green Bay
Dallas or Philadelphia
AFC
Division winners
North: Cincinnati
East: New England
South: Indianapolis (home field)
West: San Diego (first-round bye)
Wild cards
The contenders are Baltimore, the New York Jets, Denver, Pittsburgh, Houston, Jacksonville and Miami. The Ravens and Jets can clinch a playoff spot simply with a victory Sunday.
POSTSEASON SCHEDULE
Jan. 9-10: Wild-card playoffs
Jan. 16-17: Divisional playoffs
Jan. 24: Conference championships
Feb. 7: Super Bowl in Miami
about the writer
Kirill Kaprizov had three assists after going two games without much offense and taking a cut to the face.
