NFC Playoff Picture

Look, kids! A logjam!

TIEBREAKERS:

1.) Chicago wins conference-record tiebreakers over Dallas and Carolina.

2.) Dallas wins the head-to-head matchup tiebreaker against New York (so far) and the conference-record tiebreaker over Carolina.

3.) Carolina wins the head-to-head matchup tiebreaker against Tampa Bay. (so far)

Well, well. Looks like Da Bears have gotten their act together. And how did they do it? Rushing and defense. And when you have a defense that takes a Panthers team that was a solid #2 seed and turns them into a tenuous #4 seed, people stand up and take notice. Lovie Smith deserves some Coach of the Year consideration.

So does Mike Holmgren. Granted, the Seahawks are taking advantage of a week division. They only have to beat Arizona one more time to sweep the Division of Oz and show the world that the Emerald City has a little heart after all. On the other hand, their last six games include home matchups against the Giants and Colts and a road trip to the Illadelph, where the Eagles are more than happy to play spoiler.

Meanwhile, the NFC South is still too close to call. There are plenty of division games left to be played, although Atlanta did itself no favors by letting Samkon Gado have that grand day in the Georgia Dome. What does it say about the Falcons that Gado got 103 yards and 3 TDs against them, then turned around and gained a pitiful 7 yards at home against the Vikings?

And yes, the Vikings have played themselves back into this by winning 3 straight. Brad Johnson was a good offseason pickup for this team, which seems to have found its running game — 162.0 yards per game in the last two. Which makes you wonder why they didn’t do that when Daunte Culpepper was running the show…

THIS WEEK’S BIG GAMES:

1.) New York Giants at Seattle (Sun., 4:15 PM, FOX): Here’s your NFC matchup of the week. The Giants will know where they stand by Friday, and by going to Seattle and handing them an L — not so easy this year — they will regain all the media love they were getting before Minnesota upset them. Giants’ defense is only allowing 90.4 rushing yards a game, though a big chunk of that was them allowing the Vikes a mere 21. Can they stop potential MVP Shaun Alexander?

2.) Denver at Dallas. (Thu., 4:15 PM, CBS): While you’re prone on the sofa in a tryptophan-induced coma, these two division leaders will attempt to solidify their playoff pos… wait a minute, didn’t I just type this? It’s big. Trust me.

3.) Chicago at Tampa Bay (Sun., 1:00 PM, FOX): Very intriguing matchup. Chicago just made Carolina’s offense look like the Cardinals in Tecmo Bowl, while Bucs QB Chris Simms is starting to prove himself. Tampa Bay has put 30-point games on Washington and Atlanta. Can they do it against arguably the toughest defense in the NFC? I suppose we’ll find out, but I’m not expecting much scoring in this one.

4.) San Diego at Washington (Sun., 1:00 PM, CBS): The Redskins need this one if they want any hope of staying in the race. Philly did a number on LaDainian Tomlinson. Can Washington?

5.) Carolina at Buffalo (Sun., 1:00 PM, FOX): Another cold-weather game for the Panthers, although against a less formidable opponent. Buffalo has its problems. Can Carolina exploit them and possibly gain some distance on the rest of the NFC South?

6.) Atlanta at Detroit (Thu., 12:30 PM, FOX): If Michael Vick can’t muster up a decent passing game against this team, he can shut up for the rest of his life.

7.) Cleveland at Minnesota (Sun., 1:00 PM, CBS): The Vikes get a tricky-but-winnable game here. It all depends on which Browns show up. Since it’s a road game for them, I’m not expecting the Browns that put an onion on Miami last Sunday. These Browns are 1-4 on the road. Just a hunch.