Cat Scratch Reader
The Carolina Panthers and San Francisco 49ers played a mistake-filled game on Monday night, but if the Panthers were able to pull it out, they would lead the NFC South. That did not happen, and Carolina falls two games out of the wild card and a half-game back of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for first in the NFC South.
Carolina and Tampa play twice over the last three weeks of the season, so there is a very clear path to the division crown even if two of their remaining games are against the NFC-leading Rams and the strong Seattle Seahawks.
Carolina actually stayed in the exact same playoff spot after the loss thanks to a tiebreaker win over the Cowboys.
On Sunday, the rest of the top three teams stayed the same in the playoff race, but the order changed. The Los Angeles Rams moved up with a win, the Philadelphia Eagles moved down with a loss, and the Chicago Bears stayed third with tier win.
In the wild card race, the Seattle Seahawks and Green Bay Packers both won. The San Francisco 49ers stayed in seventh with their win over the Panthers.
The Panthers fall a half-game back of the Buccaneers, but with two games between the pair in the last three weeks of the season, it’s still a wide open race.
The Falcons won this week to keep their playoff hopes alive. The New Orleans Saints lost again.
1. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (6-5)
2. Carolina Panthers (6-6)
3. Atlanta Falcons (4-7)
4. New Orleans Saints (2-9)
The Washington Commanders were on a bye this weekend.
1. Los Angeles Rams (9-2)
3. Philadelphia Eagles (8-3, 7-2 AFC)
3. Chicago Bears (8-3, 5-2 AFC)
4. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (6-5, 2-0 NFCS)
5. Seattle Seahawks (8-3)
6. Green Bay Packers (7-3-1)
7. San Francisco 49ers (8-4)
8. Detroit Lions (7-4)
9. Carolina Panthers (6-6, win over DAL) 10. Dallas Cowboys (5-5-1, loss to CAR)
11. Atlanta Falcons (4-7, win over MIN)
12. Minnesota Vikings (4-7, loss to ATL)
12. Arizona Cardinals (3-8)
14. Washington Commanders (3-8)
15. New Orleans Saints (2-8)
16. e-New York Giants (2-10)
The New York Giants were eliminated from playoff contention with the loss.
