With the AFC playoff picture almost wrapped up, and only the final playoff spot really up for grabs between Pitt, KC, and SD, and both home-field and first-round byes nearly wrapped up for Indy and Cinci, the NFC playoff picture is clearly quite a bit fuzzier, however, based on remaining schedules, the winners can be predicted ahead of time, although, the races could come down to the wire.

Seattle has already clinched in the west, and none of the other western teams pose any threat at a playoff berth. In fact, only St. Louis is within striking distance, and even if they win out, and Dallas, Minnesota, and Altanta all lose out, the Rams still would lose tiebreaker based on in-conference records to both Dallas and Minnesota.

In the NFC East, the Giants hold a 1-game lead on Dallas. The two teams do not play each other, and the Giants have three games that could be tough. K.C. at home, and then on the road against divisional rival Washington and to a tough environment across the country against Oakland. Dallas also has two tough road games, also playing at Washington and then in week 16 against Carolina, while finishing at home against St. Louis. Expect Dallas to win against the Rams, but tough games against Washington and Carolina will break them down. Pick New York to win the East based simply on the fact that they lead the division now and they hold their own destiny.

In the NFC North, it is very possible that the Vikings and Bears could meet in week 17 with tied records. This week 17 matchup will be indoors at Minnesota. Watch out for the Vikings to win this division as Chicago will have to get past tough games against Atlanta and Green Bay, in which their defense will have to win the game. With the week 17 matchup being indoors and out of the element, expect the Vikings defense to win a war of attrition, and pull out a victory simply because the Bears offense is not good enough.

In the NFC South, the playoff picture becomes very tough. It will be very difficult for less than two teams to come out of this division, and it is also a strange possibility that both wildcard teams could come from the South. The Bucs and Panthers are currently at the top of the division with the Bucs holding a slight advantage in tiebreaker. Each of those teams face the Saints in the final three weeks, and matchups against the Falcons. The Bucs have the advantage over the Falcons in that they traditionally dominate the birds and they get Atlanta in Tampa Bay. Pick Tampa Bay to beat Atlanta and New Orleans, but fall in week 15 when they travel to Boston to take on the Patriots. Carolina should hold on and win against both the Saints on the road and Dallas at home, but lose to Atlanta on artificial turf in the Georgia Dome to close out the season. This scenario would give Tampa Bay the divisional victory in the South, and Carolina would take the first wildcard spot if Atlanta beats Chicago. The final wildcard spot will come down to Dallas, Chicago, and Atlanta. I will refrain from picking the final wildcard spot simply because I believe Atlanta, Dallas, and Chicago will all end with the same overall record. The tiebreakers in this scenario get out of hand with Atlanta holding head-to-head over Chicago, Chicago holding in-conference tiebreaker over Dallas, and Dallas holding in-conference tiebreaker over Atlanta, so I'm not sure how that will work out. It all shapes up to be an exciting final three weeks in the NFC.

To recap:

NFC East: New York

NFC South: Tampa Bay

NFC North: Minnesota

Wildcard 1: Carolina

Wildcard 2: Atlanta, Chicago, or Dallas