Since the AFL-NFL merger, the San Diego/Los Angeles Chargers had only fired one head coach in the middle of a season – Kevin Gilbride, back in 1998. After 2 ½ seasons, though, the Chargers have decided to move on from Brandon Staley. The team also showed general manager Tom Telesco the gate as well. Under Staley, the Chargers posted a 24-24 record and went to the playoffs once, last season, when they blew a 27-point lead in a loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars. That was the third-largest comeback in NFL postseason history. The firing was likely hastened by the 63-21 walloping the Chargers took on Thursday night in Las Vegas, a game in which the Raiders set a franchise record for points scored in a game. As we head into the weekend, there is a lot to sift through in the NFL Wild Card picture. Who will make the postseason, and who will end up watching on TV? We have some insights that may influence your NFL betting choices.
NFL Wild Card Update: NFC Playoff Standings
Division Leaders
San Francisco 49ers (10-3)
Dallas Cowboys (10-3)
Detroit Lions (9-4)
Tampa Bay Buccaneers (6-7)
Wild Card Teams
Philadelphia Eagles (10-3)
Minnesota Vikings (7-6)
Green Bay Packers (6-7)
Still in the Hunt
L.A. Rams (6-7)
Seattle Seahawks (6-7)
Atlanta Falcons (6-7)
New Orleans Saints (6-7)
N.Y. Giants (5-8)
Chicago Bears (5-8)
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With six different teams with 6-7 records (three of them in the same division), one team at 7-6 and two teams at 5-8, there’s still a lot of room for movement in the NFC. Even at the top, though, things can still shift. If both Dallas and Philadelphia win out, the Eagles would win the NFC East because the two teams split head-to-head. The next tiebreaker involves a team’s record against NFC opponents. Philadelphia has two conference losses (Dallas and San Francisco) while Dallas has three (Philadelphia, San Francisco, and Arizona, an ugly loss that could come back to haunt the Cowboys in playoff seeding). The 49ers have beaten the other two 10-3 teams so they just have to win out to keep the top seed in the NFC, which comes with a bye through the wild-card round of the playoffs and home-field advantage all the way to the Super Bowl.
Can Minnesota stay afloat? They finish with these games: at Cincinnati, Detroit, Green Bay, and at Detroit. It’s conceivable that they could lose out with Nick Mullens at quarterback. The other options (Jaren Hall and Josh Dobbs) haven’t proven effective, although Dobbs had a great three-game run.
What about Green Bay? They had a solid run, winning four of five, before losing to the Giants on the road. If they can control turnovers and run the ball well, they can win, but turnovers popped up again in the loss to the G-men. They do have the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Rams, though.
The Buccaneers? They moved back into first place in the NFC South and head to Lambeau Field this week. A win there would be a huge statement, but they would then face Jacksonville at home before finishing with New Orleans at home and Carolina on the road. Baker Mayfield is pushing hard this year, but it’s hard to win consistently without a running game.
The Seahawks have dropped four in a row, but two of those losses came against the 49ers. They also lost at the Rams and Dallas, but those two losses came by a combined seven points. A home date with Philadelphia this week looms large; after that, though, things look winnable: at Tennessee, Pittsburgh, at Arizona.
Then there are the Rams. They have the head-to-head tiebreaker over Seattle and have won three out of four. They have three winnable games coming up (Washington, New Orleans, at the Giants) before finishing the season in San Francisco. Their offense has perked up with the return of Cooper Kupp.
So here is our predicted order of finish:
Division Winners
San Francisco 49ers
Philadelphia Eagles
Detroit Lions
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Wild Card Teams
Dallas Cowboys
Green Bay Packers
L.A. Rams
NFL Wild Card and Odds to Win 2024 NFC Championship
NFC Team | Odds |
---|---|
San Francisco 49ers | +116 |
Philadelphia Eagles | +330 |
Dallas Cowboys | +400 |
Detroit Lions | +970 |
Minnesota Vikings | +4600 |
Green Bay Packers | +5000 |
Atlanta Falcons | +5200 |
Los Angeles Rams | +5200 |
New Orleans Saints | +5200 |
Seattle Seahawks | +5400 |
Tampa Bay Buccaneers | +5800 |
Chicago Bears | +26000 |
New York Giants | +46000 |
Washington Commanders | +55000 |
Arizona Cardinals | +85000 |
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