NFL

NFL playoff picture: Arizona Cardinals top NFC after Week 7, Cincinnati Bengals lead AFC

Arizona Republic

We're just seven weeks into the NFL season and while much can and will change before the playoffs, some teams have put themselves in a good early position for the postseason.

Others need to start to turn things around quickly if they want to be in the playoff picture.

The Arizona Cardinals would be the top seed in the NFC if the playoffs were to begin today.

The Cincinnati Bengals would hold the top seed in the AFC.

Just like we all predicted before the season, right?

The top seed in each conference gets a bye in the playoffs and the other division winners get the No. 2 through No. 4 seeds.

The No. 5, No. 6 and No. 7 seeds go to the non-division winners with the best records.

NFL Week 8 picks, predictions:

NFC playoff picture after Week 7:

No. 1 Arizona Cardinals (7-0)
No. 2 Tampa Bay Buccaneers (6-1)
No. 3 Green Bay Packers (6-1)
No. 4 Dallas Cowboys (5-1)
No. 5 Los Angeles Rams (6-1)
No. 6 New Orleans Saints (4-2)
No. 7 Minnesota Vikings (3-3)

More:NFL power rankings: Arizona Cardinals continue to impress in Week 7 win vs. Houston Texans

More:NFL Week 8 odds: Money lines, point spreads, over/unders for Week 8 NFL games

In the hunt:

Atlanta Falcons (3-3)
Chicago Bears (3-4)
Carolina Panthers (3-4)
Seattle Seahawks (2-4)
San Francisco 49ers (2-4)

NFC playoff matchups right now:

No. 2 Buccaneers vs. No. 7 Vikings
No. 3 Packers vs. No. 6 Saints
No. 4 Cowboys vs. No. 5 Rams

Notes: The Buccaneers take a tie breaker over the Packers on strength of victory, while the Vikings take a tie breaker over the Falcons on win percentage in conference games.

More:NFL Week 8 schedule, TV information for all 15 Week 8 NFL games

More:2022 Super Bowl odds for every NFL team: Arizona Cardinals' odds surge after 7-0 start

The Cincinnati Bengals would be the No. 1 seed in the AFC were the NFL playoffs to begin after Week 7.

AFC playoff picture after Week 7:

No. 1 Cincinnati Bengals (5-2)
No. 2 Las Vegas Raiders (5-2)
No. 3 Tennessee Titans (5-2)
No. 4 Buffalo Bills (4-2)
No. 5 Baltimore Ravens (5-2)
No. 6 Los Angeles Chargers (4-2)
No. 7 Cleveland Browns (4-3)

In the hunt:

Pittsburgh Steelers (3-3)
New England Patriots (3-4)
Indianapolis Colts (3-4)
Kansas City Chiefs (3-4)
Denver Broncos (3-4)

More:Arizona Cardinals favored to win every remaining game on 2021 NFL schedule

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AFC playoff matchups right now:

No. 2 Raiders vs. No. 7 Browns
No. 3 Titans vs. No. 6 Chargers
No. 4 Bills vs. No. 5 Ravens

Notes: The Bengals take a tie breaker over the Raiders and Titans on win percentage in conference games. The Raiders take a tie breaker over Tennessee based on strength of victory.

Highest paid NFL players:

Quarterbacks | Running backs | Wide receivers | Tight ends
Cornerbacks | Safeties | Linebackers | O-linemen | D-linemen
Edge rushers | Highest paid players: Overall | By position

Reach Jeremy Cluff at jeremy.cluff@arizonarepublic.com. Follow him on Twitter @Jeremy_Cluff.

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