Playoff picture: Vikings move into spot, Saints drop

Here’s how the NFL playoff picture looked through Week 15 before Tuesday night games.

NFC

1. Green Bay Packers (11-3), NFC North champions: They own the league’s best record after surviving shorthanded Baltimore on Sunday, a victory that enabled the Pack to lock up season’s first playoff spot. Green Bay retains inside track to secure No. 1 seed for second straight year. Schedule: vs. Browns, vs. Vikings, at Lions

2. Dallas Cowboys (10-4), NFC East leaders: A tie between Washington and Philadelphia on Tuesday would clinch division, but Dallas – 4-0 against NFC East – still has time to reel in No. 1 seed. Cowboys’ 8-1 conference record moves them ahead of Arizona and Tampa Bay. Schedule: vs. Washington, vs. Cardinals, at Eagles

3. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (10-4), NFC South leaders: Stumble vs. Saints kept them from winning first division title since 2007. Loss also hinders pursuit of home field and bye. Their opening night win over Dallas doesn’t matter given three-way tie with Arizona. The strength of victory tiebreaker keeps Tampa above Arizona. Schedule: at Panthers, at Jets, vs. Panthers

4. Arizona Cardinals (10-4), NFC West leaders: Cards won’t give up division lead to Rams this week given their 4-1 record against NFC West teams. But a win in either of the past two weeks would have put Arizona into playoff field. They host Indianapolis on Christmas. Schedule: vs. Colts, at Cowboys, vs. Seahawks

5. L.A. Rams (9-4), wild card No. 1: They could match the Cardinals’ record by beating the Seahawks on Tuesday. But more work to be done for L.A. to move up. Schedule: vs. Seahawks, at Vikings, at Ravens, vs. 49ers

6. San Francisco 49ers (8-6), wild card No. 2: Clipping Falcons on Sunday solidifies their prospects for playoff gold, but 1-4 division record will make it tough to get a postseason home game. Schedule: at Titans, vs. Texans, at Rams

7. Minnesota Vikings (7-7), wild card No. 3: Monday’s win at Chicago allows Vikes to displace Saints by virtue of superior record in NFC games (5-4). A Washington win Tuesday would knock Minnesota back out. Schedule: vs. Rams, at Packers, vs. Bears

The rest: 8. New Orleans Saints (7-7); 9. Washington Football Team (6-7); 10. Philadelphia Eagles (6-7); Atlanta Falcons (6-8).

AFC

1. Kansas City Chiefs (10-4), AFC West leaders: Winners of seven in a row, the best ongoing streak in the league, they fought off the Chargers on Thursday before things further fell into place as the Patriots and Titans tripped over the weekend. K.C. now controls path to home-field advantage for the third time in four seasons. Schedule: vs. Steelers, at Bengals, at Broncos

2. New England Patriots (9-5), AFC East leaders: Saturday’s loss in Indianapolis robbed them of controlling the conference’s outcome. Pats also fumbled opportunity to officially sew up postseason spot. Schedule: vs. Bills, vs. Jaguars, at Dolphins

3. Tennessee Titans (9-5), AFC South leaders: Mistake-filled day in Pittsburgh cost them chance to move back into conference’s No. 1 overall slot. Week 12 blowout loss at New England keeps them behind Patriots, and Tennessee must also monitor Colts. Schedule: vs. 49ers, vs. Dolphins, at Texans

4. Cincinnati Bengals (8-6), AFC North leaders: They jump into the division lead by virtue of Sunday’s win at Denver and a loss by Baltimore, whom Cincy beat in Week 7. Massive rematch in Week 16. Schedule: vs. Ravens, vs. Chiefs, at Browns

5. Indianapolis Colts (8-6), wild card No. 1: Beating New England allowed them to jump the Chargers in the wild-card standings due to Indy’s better conference record (7-3). Winners of eight of their past 11, the Colts must finish with a better record than the Titans to snatch AFC South. Schedule: at Cardinals, vs. Raiders, at Jaguars

6. Los Angeles Chargers (8-6), wild card No. 2: Crushing loss Thursday, when they could have displaced Kansas City atop AFC West. Now Bolts are losing ground in wild-card race. Schedule: at Texans, vs. Broncos, at Raiders

7. Buffalo Bills (8-6), wild card No. 3: If they win out, retaining the AFC East crown is still in play. That obviously starts in Week 16 at Foxborough, where a win would put Bills back in first place. Schedule: at Patriots, vs. Falcons, vs. Jets

The rest: Baltimore Ravens (8-6); Pittsburgh Steelers (7-6-1), Las Vegas Raiders (7-7), Miami Dolphins (7-7), Cleveland Browns (7-7), Denver Broncos (7-7).

GETTY The Bears’ Angelo Blackson closes in on Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins, who threw for two touchdowns in a 17-9 win Monday night.