It's official! Week 11 brought us the NFL's first mathematical elimination from the postseason.
The poor Cleveland Browns are 0-11 and can't make the playoffs even if they win all of their remaining games. Oh well. Maybe next year.
What about the rest of the league? Here are the playoff standings through the completion of Week 11. Tiebreakers are by definition incomplete in many cases, but this is how it would look if the season ended tonight:
AFC
1. Oakland Raiders (8-2): A huge victory in Mexico City lifted the Raiders into the conference's top seed. At the moment, they own the tiebreaker over the Patriots based on strength of victory. There's a long way to go, but it's now time to take the Raiders seriously as a challenger for AFC supremacy.
2. New England Patriots (8-2): They put away the San Francisco 49ers in the fourth quarter Sunday, successfully rebounding from their Week 10 loss to the Seattle Seahawks. The Patriots have a two-game lead in the AFC East but now face a tough fight from the Raiders for the No. 1 overall seed.
3. Houston Texans (6-4): They played well enough to win Monday night in Mexico City, and there will be plenty of blame on the officiating. It's difficult, however, to get past coach Bill O'Brien's decision to punt on fourth-and-five with 3:13 remaining. Regardless, the Texans remain in decent shape in the AFC South as the Colts prepare to play without quarterback Andrew Luck (concussion).
4. Baltimore Ravens (5-5): The Week 11 schedule did no favors for the Ravens, who put up a good fight in Dallas but ultimately lost to the NFL's top team. At the same time, the AFC North rival Pittsburgh Steelers were beating the league's worst team in Cleveland. Add it all up, and the Ravens and Steelers have the same record with six games to play. The Ravens hold the current tiebreaker thanks to their Week 9 victory over the Steelers. The teams meet again in Week 16 at Heinz Field.
5. Kansas City Chiefs (7-3): A five-game winning streak ended Sunday ... at home ... against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The good news is that a loss to an NFC team carries minimal tiebreaking impact. But still, losing at home to the Bucs? The Chiefs have put the Raiders in the (temporary) driver's seat in the AFC West and now have the Denver Broncos to deal with as well. Fortunately, they still have a home matchup against the Raiders and two games against the Broncos remaining on their schedule.
6. Denver Broncos (7-3): Hopefully the Broncos rested well at their bye. They'll play four games against teams in this post during the final six weeks. That includes two against the Chiefs, and one apiece against the Patriots and Raiders. Three of the four are at home, where the Broncos are 4-1 this season.
Don't you dare forget: The Miami Dolphins (6-4) have won five consecutive games after coming back to defeat the Los Angeles Rams. This is starting to get interesting.
Go ahead and forget: The Cincinnati Bengals (3-6-1) can get to nine victories only by winning all of their remaining games. Ain't happening.
NFC
1. Dallas Cowboys (9-1): Much of the football world is waiting for the Cowboys and their rookie-led offense to collapse, or at least stumble, amid what is now a nine-game winning streak. It didn't happen Sunday against the Ravens, who entered the week with the NFL's top-ranked defense. For another week, at least, the Cowboys have maintained a multiple-game lead over the surging Seahawks for the NFC's top seed.
2. Seattle Seahawks (7-2-1): They have lost only once since Week 2 and continue to hold a multiple-game lead in the NFC West. Most notable: None of the six teams remaining on their schedule has a winning record.
3. Detroit Lions (6-4): The annual Thanksgiving Day game in Detroit will carry far more import than usual. After winning Sunday for the fifth time in six games, the Lions find themselves in a showdown with the Minnesota Vikings for the NFC North lead. The Lions already have the tiebreaker advantage after a Week 9 victory between the teams at U.S. Bank Stadium. Sweeping the series would be a major step toward their first division title since 1993; losing would return the Vikings to the lead.
4. Atlanta Falcons (6-4): They emerge from their bye with a one-game edge over the Buccaneers in the NFC South. The teams split their head-to-head matchups, which would shift any tiebreaker to division record. The Falcons are currently at 3-1, while the Buccaneers are at 2-1. Things are tighter in the NFC South -- at least between the Falcons and Buccaneers -- than we might have expected here at the end of November.
5. New York Giants (7-3): They're the only team to beat the Cowboys this season, and they'll host a rematch in Week 14 at MetLife Stadium. But even if they can't catch the Cowboys for the division, the Giants have put themselves in very strong standing for an NFC wild-card spot. Winning half of their remaining games should clinch it, and one of those wins should come next week against the hapless Browns.
6. Washington Redskins (6-3-1): They have lost only once since opening the season 0-2 and Kirk Cousins appears to have found his second-half groove once again. Unfortunately for the Redskins, they play in a division with the Cowboys and Giants. At the moment, however, they have a decent grip on a wild-card spot. They hold the tiebreaker over the Vikings, their closest competitor, by virtue of a head-to-head victory in Week 10.
Hanging on: The Vikings (6-4) snapped their four-game losing streak and can leapfrog the Lions on Thursday.
Losing grip: The Arizona Cardinals’ slow start is now just a bad season. They're 4-5-1 with some tough games remaining on their schedule, including matchups against the Falcons, Dolphins and Seahawks.
