Week 13 Review: AFC picture becoming muddled

Week 13: Review | Judgements

Three weeks ago, it appeared the Jacksonville Jaguars, Denver Broncos and Baltimore Ravens were sure things in the AFC playoffs, meaning wild-card possibilities at bare minimum.

Now they're fighting for their playoff lives.

Byron Leftwich and the Jags are sinking fast, having dropped four of their past five. (AP)

Believing your press clippings in November can turn into a December disaster.

The Jaguars have lost three consecutive games to fall to 6-6, while the 7-5 Broncos and 7-5 Ravens both have lost two of their past three. Suddenly, other 6-6 teams like the Cincinnati Bengals and the Buffalo Bills are alive and well in the AFC playoff picture -- a few weeks after being left for dead.

It's taken some time, but the AFC is starting to look a whole lot more like the NFC: A few good teams, four in this case, and the rest fighting and clawing just to make it in. OK, not nearly as bad as the NFC, where those 5-7 teams still have a chance.

We have basically a four-team race between Pittsburgh, New England, San Diego and Indianapolis in the AFC.

In the NFC, it's the Eagles and ... well, it's the Eagles.

The Atlanta Falcons were shut out in Tampa Bay on Sunday, which shows they're flawed. The Eagles dominated the Green Bay Packers, while the Minnesota Vikings lost to a so-so Chicago Bears team. St. Louis and Seattle, the leaders in the NFC West, don't exactly look to be peaking as we head into the final four games.

Philadelphia has clearly staked a claim as the power team in the NFC, a conference that has many middle-of-the-road teams, such as Detroit, Chicago, Tampa Bay and the Giants, still dreaming of the playoffs in December.

The Eagles' only major challenge on their way to the Super Bowl is one that has cost them the past couple of years.

Themselves.