Sal DeFilippo's pro football column appears Friday. Reach him at [email protected] or 259-4076.
With four weeks remaining in the regular season, the AFC and NFC are looking strangely similar.
Each conference has one team with 10 wins, and five teams with eight wins or more. Those teams have fairly solid grips on postseason berths, which means one thing -- the battle for the final spot will be quite a race.
In the AFC, Pittsburgh, Miami and Oakland are all but in, and Baltimore at 8-4 appears to have secured a chance to defend its title. The surprising Patriots are 8-5, with games remaining against the Bills and Panthers, so Brady's bunch appears headed for at least 10 wins.
Four teams are in striking distance for the final berth -- the Jets are 7-5, but already 0-2 in December and again on the verge of giftwrapping a playoff berth for another team. Denver is 7-6 and Seattle and Cleveland are each 6-6. Tennessee and San Diego each have five wins, but unless the NFL quickly implements the BCS, they appear to be out.
In the NFC, St. Louis, San Francisco, Green Bay, Chicago and Philadelphia are all likely to be playing the second weekend in January, leaving only one postseason spot undecided. Tampa Bay, winners of three straight, and New Orleans each have 7-5 marks, and Washington and Atlanta are 6-6. The Redskins' best shot appears to be if they can catch Philadelphia and win the NFC Least. Last year's Super Bowl representatives, the New York Giants, are tied with Arizona and Minnesota at 5-7 and have slim hopes at best.
Who goes? In the AFC, watch out for Seattle. They have the easiest schedule, with home games against Dallas and Kansas City and road matchups against the New York Giants and San Diego.
In the NFC, the Buccaneers, who finish with three consecutive home games after this weekend's matchup against the Bears, will find a way to squeak into the playoffs and again save Tony Dungy's job.
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