NFL Playoff Picture After Week 12

Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens capped off Week 12 of the NFL season with a 45-6 beatdown of Sean McVay and the Los Angeles Rams.

Following Monday Night Football, the Rams dropped to 6-5 and Baltimore moved to 9-2 on the season. Suddenly, the respective playoff pictures in both conferences looks much more ironed out than they did before.

NFC Playoff Picture

NFC playoff picture after 12 weeks:

1) #49ers (10-1)
2) #Saints (9-2)
3) #Packers (8-3)
4) #Cowboys (6-5)
5) #Seahawks (9-2)
6) #Vikings (8-3)

--#Rams: (6-5)#Bears, #Eagles, #Panthers (5-6)
— NFL Update (@MySportsUpdate) November 26, 2019

Following Jimmy Garoppolo and the San Francisco 49ers stomping Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers, San Francisco took the No. 1 spot in the conference, with the New Orleans Saints and Packers trailing them as the No. 2 and No. 3 seeds, respectively. With the Seattle Seahawks and Minnesota Vikings in the Wild Card spots, the 6-5 Rams or a host of 5-6 teams have a tough path to the postseason.

The Dallas Cowboys have the No. 4 seed thanks to their NFC East lead, but Carson Wentz and the Philadelphia Eagles are within striking distance, just one game behind.

AFC Playoff Picture

AFC playoff picture after 12 weeks:

1) #Patriots (10-1)
2) #Ravens (9-2)
3) #Texans (7-4)
4) #Chiefs (7-4)
5) #Bills (8-3)
6) #Steelers (6-5)

—#Raiders, #Colts, #Titans (6-5)#Browns (5-6)
— NFL Update (@MySportsUpdate) November 26, 2019

The New England Patriots are on top once again, with Baltimore right behind them. Two 7-4 teams in the Houston Texans and Kansas City Chiefs have the No. 3 and No. 4 spots, while Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills have a Wild Card spot at 8-3.

The Pittsburgh Steelers, through some miracle, have a Wild Card berth at the moment, though any one of the Raiders, Colts, Titans, and Browns could snatch that away.

While the NFC is pretty much set save for one or two potentially interesting developments, the AFC is wide open, and some major shifting around should be expected.