NFL playoff picture: Colts on the way out; can Bears win NFC North?

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We’re officially in the home stretch, and the NFL playoff picture is getting interesting.

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Welcome to December football.

Things are suddenly very serious for NFL teams, especially those that are in the hunt for a playoff spot, and that is exciting. We wait all through the spring and summer for moments like these and this month is going to be filled with them.

As Santa and his elves work through the eleventh hour to ready everything for delivery, life in the NFL rolls on. Playoff spots are hanging in the balance and we here at The Skinny Post, Michael Peterson and RJ Ochoa, have thoughts on everybody fighting to get into the proverbial dance.

Let’s go.

Are the Colts in trouble?

RJ:

The Colts are officially no longer in first place in the AFC South and are now staring the prospect of playing without Sauce Gardner for some time squarely in the face. It is starting to feel late a little too early for Indianapolis.

I think the Colts are very much in trouble, to be clear. I admired the trade for Gardner and the all-in nature that it carried, but football is so precarious and your fortunes can turn on a dime. This in no way means the trade was wrong. It is just representative of how precious opportunities are and how sometimes they can fall apart independent of your own actions.

To be clear nothing has even “fallen apart” for the Colts. Also to be clear “their own actions” involved them losing to a Texans team that they are allowing to get fully and totally red hot.

My point is they are definitely in trouble. It would behoove them to admit it.

Michael:

I believe it was in last week’s Skinny Post that I said I am not giving up on the Colts just yet after some close losses to good teams. However, I’m changing my tune this week after losing to the Texans for their second consecutive loss of the year.

It also doesn’t help that the one player their entire season was hinging on – quarterback Daniel Jones – has reverted back to his pre-Colts form as of late. He’s been horrendous in the fourth quarter/overtime over their past two games, going just 5-for-15 through the air.

The Colts were a really cool feel-good story in the first half of the season, but now things are starting to revert back to the mean in a pretty rapid way.

Why can’t the Eagles just be happy?

Michael:

I guess this is what comes eventually when good teams are good for too long. It’s almost like the fan base misses having something to complain about each and every week. The Eagles were 8-2 and all we kept hearing about was how wideout AJ Brown wasn’t getting the ball enough…but they were still winning. There was a ton of chatter about the offensive line underperforming and Saquon Barkley being terrible…but they were still winning.

I don’t know, man. Maybe the Eagles should lose a few more and maybe end up on the bubble of the postseason and maybe we’ll finally see the Philly faithful begin to change their tune about this team and what they had when they had it.

RJ:

It makes sense for the Eagles to be down right now. They have lost two in a row and in the process doubled their overall losses on the season to sit at 8-4.

But it almost feels like Eagles fans manifested this. They were absolutely miserable when their team was 8-2 and recent form has only given them justifiable permission to feel this way. Their offense had issues through the 8-2 run to be clear, but I think that even in their current moment there are a ton of teams that would swap spots with them.

It is being said a lot (particularly in my own manifestations as a Cowboys fan) that this feels like 2023 when the Eagles fully and totally collapsed. Could they really do that? Again? It sounds absurd, but it almost seems like everyone involved with the organization wants it to happen to justify the outrage.

Do you really buy the Bears?

RJ:

At this moment in time the Chicago Bears are the top seed in the NFC. What on earth.

I definitely buy them as being legitimate, but I don’t know if I believe they have a higher ceiling than several other teams in the conference. Obviously I and we will feel differently if they go to Lambeau Field and beat the Packers, but they have been in a constant state of needing to prove things to the football world and this is the latest challenge.

Basically I am tabling this discussion. I buy them. Partly. But maybe more soon.

Michael:

I was definitely NOT buying the Bears when they had won seven of their last eight prior to playing the Eagles on Black Friday. All of the teams who made up those seven wins were terrible and had records below .500. It was a very soft stretch and the Bears (to their credit) won them all. But then they went and actually beat the Eagles while doing the same thing Philly wants to do to their opponents, which is run the dang football.

Both Kyle Monangai and D’Andre Swift rushed for over 100 yards and the Bears melted the clock en route to handing the Eagles their second consecutive loss. As of right now, the reality is that the Bears are the number one team in the NFC and until otherwise, I think we need to take them as seriously as any other contender right now.

Should we be taking the Panthers semi seriously?

Michael:

Normally I would say we absolutely need to take the Panthers seriously after they beat one of, if not, the best team in the NFL. The Rams were looking very good on both sides of the ball and somehow Dave Canales got his guys to play the game of their lives to knock off one of the NFC’s best.

The only stopping me from truly taking them seriously is how inconsistent they’ve been from week-to-week for most of the year. Bryce Young can go from stud to dud depending on the day and I just need to see a bit more of a raised floor for consecutive weeks before I start to move them up a tier or two in the NFC’s pecking order.

RJ:

With all due respect, I do not think the Panthers are long for the NFC playoff race. They may wind up winning the NFC South and that would be an interesting story, but I would pick most Wild Card contenders to win a game in Charlotte against them.

Ultimately I think this is most exciting for the future for Panthers fans. There is a lot of verifiable proof of concept surrounding both Dave Canales and Bryce Young which has to feel like the freshest breath of air possible given the last, uh, almost decade.

Good for them. We will also keep doubting you so that you can keep proving us wrong. You’re welcome.

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