NFL Playoff Picture standings, updates for Week 13: Eagles' playoff hopes alive after beating Redskins

Monday night felt more like a funeral than a party, what with the Redskins likely seeing their season go up in flames thanks to Colt McCoy's broken leg. Maybe they were toast before that; there was a brief moment where Adrian Peterson took a handoff 90 yards for a touchdown, the longest of his career at the age of 33, and it felt like the Redskins might manage to tread water and steal a win.

They're done, though. But when something dies, another thing is born anew and the Eagles' playoff hopes are freshly baked.

Next week the Eagles will travel to Dallas to play the Cowboys in what serves as a title game of sorts. Although the winner won't be locked into the division by any means, it will have a huge leg up on winning the division. If Philly takes down Dallas, the Eagles would be the fourth seed in the NFC playoffs and the current division leader.

I would probably project the Eagles to lose at least one more game after they play the Cowboys -- they get the Rams on the road and the Texans at home in Week 16 before closing against the Redskins. But if they can go 3-1 with a win against the Cowboys, they would simply need Dallas to falter against the Colts, Buccaneers or Giants.

It's not ideal, but it means the Eagles control their own destiny.

And don't sleep on the Colts (in Indy) or the Giants (in New York) stealing a game from the Cowboys. The latter seems unlikely, but the Giants have gotten up big in Week 17 to snuff out a division rival's playoff hopes before.

Philly slumped out of the gate for much of the season, unable to find its footing on either side of the ball. Now the Eagles are surging a bit, with Carson Wentz playing well and Golden Tate beginning to look comfortable. Zach Ertz deserves consideration with Travis Kelce and Rob Gronkowski as the best tight end in the league. Fletcher Cox is starting to cook. Josh Adams is running well.

This Eagles team might be scarier than anyone wants to admit. If they beat Dallas in Week 14, there won't be any more hiding from reality.

Of note from the late games: the Rams have officially clinched the NFC West and both the Raiders and 49ers were eliminated from the playoffs with their respective losses.

Here's how the rest of the NFL playoff picture looks, as well as a snapshot of some games that could impact what it looks like after Week 13 and beyond.

AFC: Who's in

1. Kansas City Chiefs (10-2)

The Chiefs didn't make it easy but they took care of business against the Raiders on Sunday afternoon, moving to 10-2 and putting themselves in very good position to secure the No. 1 seed in the AFC. The AFC West could still come down to a matchup against the Chargers however, so nothing is secured for KC just yet. (Stream Ravens-Chiefs on CBS All Access and all of Sunday's games on fuboTV, try it for free)

2. New England Patriots (9-3)

The Patriots put together another win at home, beating a very good Vikings team. New England knows it needs to get a bye in order to really make a run deep in the playoffs and now the Pats are in a good spot to do so, with a tiebreaker over the Texans and a matchup coming up against the Steelers to potentially secure that bye. Even if they lose to Pittsburgh, the Patriots have some easy AFC East games left on the schedule.

3. Houston Texans (9-3)

The Texans manhandled the Browns on Sunday during the early games, intercepting Baker Mayfield three times and turning Lamar Miller loose in the running game. It wasn't honestly a close game at any point outside of Myles Garrett sacking Deshaun Watson on the Texans' first drive. Maybe we've been underrating Houston all along? They looked like the Texans were on a fraudulent streak at one point in time, but now they've won nine-straight games. No one wins nine games by accident.

4. Pittsburgh Steelers (7-4-1)

The Steelers gagged away a chance to really lock up the division by losing to the Chargers. Now they have to worry about the Ravens and probably are done when it comes to trying to land a bye during the first week of the playoffs. Things could get awkward for Pittsburgh over the next few weeks.

5. Los Angeles Chargers (9-3)

The Chargers stunned the world and became the first team in NFL history to beat the Steelers in Pittsburgh when trailing by 14 points or more. Philip Rivers and Keenan Allen hooked up 14 times for a pile of yardage, Mike Badgley made a game-winning kick and the Chargers more or less punched their playoff ticket. Now they can focus on trying to win the division.

6. Baltimore Ravens (7-5)

Another start, another win for Lamar Jackson -- this was a big one too, because the Ravens are now at seven wins. Two more and they can probably start thinking about a playoff matchup. This was also a tough game, on the road against a Falcons team that wasn't quite ready to quit on the season. Jackson was hardly dominant, but he did miss some time after being placed in concussion protocol (he was cleared by the Ravens' staff and returned to the game) as well.

AFC: Who's out

7. Miami Dolphins (6-6): The Dolphins are alive??? It would appear that way, with Miami holding off the Bills and keeping their playoff hopes alive for another week. They're right there in the wild-card hunt somehow.

8. Indianapolis Colts (6-6): Really tough loss in Jacksonville -- the Colts are now a full game behind the Ravens for the final wild card spot and need to really string together some wins to close out the season if they want to make the playoffs. The division is probably off the table at this point.

9. Denver Broncos (5-6): The Broncos are suddenly alive too with this win -- they have a major uphill battle to make the playoffs, but if they can rip off a few decent wins, they're far from dead. Von Miller is a monster.

10. Tennessee Titans (6-6): The Titans salvaged their playoff hopes with a win against the Jets on Sunday, in a game where they looked just terrible for most of the afternoon before rallying to produce enough points to steal a win.

11. Cincinnati Bengals (5-7): The Bengals saw a lost season slip further into the darkness with a loss to the Broncos on Sunday afternoon, as A.J. Green suffered another injury (and might be done for the season) and Jeff Driskel couldn't move the ball very effectively.

12. Cleveland Browns (4-7-1): The Browns had reason to be optimistic heading into this game but got a little bit exposed on the road against a stout defense.

13. Buffalo Bills (4-8): The Bills came up just short against the Dolphins, but they got a lot of nice throws and runs from Josh Allen.

14. Jacksonville Jaguars (4-8): The Jaguars didn't win pretty, but they managed to win, beating the Colts in a VERY low-scoring game that was the AFC South at its finest. That was a surprisingly inspired effort from a Jags team that looked like it had quit. Nice job by Tom Coughlin inspiring the troops this week.

15. New York Jets (3-9): The Jets somehow lost to the Titans despite jumping out to a big lead. That might be the straw that breaks the back for Todd Bowles although it may have already been too far gone for him.

AFC: Who's Eliminated

16. Oakland Raiders (2-10)

NFC: Who's in

1. (y) Los Angeles Rams (11-1)

The Rams went into Detroit and took care of business. It wasn't pretty, but Los Angeles managed to beat Detroit by double-digit points. They're in really good shape to lock down the No. 1 overall seed in the NFC as long as they don't slip down the stretch. With their win, the Rams clinched the NFC West division title.

2. New Orleans Saints (10-2)

The Saints were EXPOSED on Thursday night by the Dallas Cowboys. Just kidding: but they were bound to slip up at some point and a good defense in Dallas got Drew Brees on a bad night and the Saints now have an uphill battle to secure the top seed in the NFC. Good news is they're waltzing to the division.

3. Chicago Bears (8-4)

The Bears finally fell short, losing to the Giants in New York, but it's an excusable loss because Chicago was trotting out Chase Daniel. Thanksgiving didn't really show it, but the Bears definitely need Mitchel Trubisky under center. This one really stings because the Bears, with a victory, would have been within a game of the Saints in their pursuit of a first-round bye.

4. Dallas Cowboys (7-5)

The Cowboys continued rolling right along courtesy of a Thursday night victory over the Saints, serving notice to the rest of the NFC East that they plan on being a dominant defensive force. Dallas is too far behind the Saints to get a bye (probably), but it can certainly make a run here over the next few weeks to get everyone extensions. The Cowboys look legit.

5. Seattle Seahawks (7-5)

Here come the Seahawks. After being buried this offseason, the Seahawks are surging towards a playoff berth under Pete Carroll and with Russell Wilson, who threw four touchdowns on just 17 attempts (no idea why he needed to throw 17 times; he had three touchdowns on six attempts and the Seahawks were cruising). Seattle still has three home games left in their final four and should be in great shape to try and lock down a playoff spot. They're going to be a problematic wild-card matchup.

6. Minnesota Vikings (6-5-1)

The The Vikings got kind of manhandled in New England against the Patriots and blew a golden opportunity to really make a move on the Bears in the NFC North. Losing Xavier Rhodes was a big problem on Sunday and it might be an issue moving forward. But you know what? With the Redskins limping along now the Vikings are in the playoff picture. Seattle, Miami, Detroit and Chicago are winnable games for a team that has been super sleepy all year long.

NFC: Who's out

7. Washington Redskins (6-6): This party is a wrap, kids. Colt McCoy broke his leg, meaning Mark Sanchez is the only hope for the Redskins to try and make the playoffs. It's probably not happening. The Redskins were the most unlucky team with injuries and they're looking like maybe the most unlucky team with injuries this year as well.

8. Carolina Panthers (6-6): The Panthers are an abject disaster right now, losing their fourth straight game in ugly fashion by dropping a road game in Tampa Bay that featured four interceptions from Cam Newton. They are in serious danger of missing the playoffs at this point and probably need to win out to get in.

9. Philadelphia Eagles (6-6): The Eagles are alive! Philly's playoff hopes are resurgent after beating the Eagles on Monday night. The schedule isn't easy but they get the Cowboys next week and if they win that they are right back in the division hunt.

10. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (5-7): The Buccaneers won another game and might actually finish in second place in the NFC South somehow.

11. Green Bay Packers (4-7-1): The Packers aren't eliminated but their season is basically over with a loss on Sunday afternoon to the lowly Cardinals. That's as bad an L as you can take.

12. Atlanta Falcons (4-8): Another disappointing loss for the Falcons in a game at home, against a would-be playoff contender, there could be some concerns and questions floating around Atlanta about the current setup.

13. New York Giants (4-8): The Giants have now won three out of four and are talking themselves into Eli Manning as the quarterback for the 2019 season. It's pretty glorious.

14. Detroit Lions (4-8): Another ugly loss at home, this time to the Rams. The Lions aren't going anywhere and they're going there quickly.

15. Arizona Cardinals (3-9): The Cardinals beat the Packers! It was a stunning victory that no one saw coming: the Cardinals hadn't won in Green Bay since they were the Chicago Cardinals in 1949.