With three weeks of regular season play left, the National Football League playoff picture is becoming clear.
The Denver Broncos and Seattle Seahawks currently share the best record in the league at 11-2 and have already clinched playoff spots.  These two teams have the number one seeds in their conferences and are heavily favored to make it to the Super Bowl.
The only other team that has clinched a playoff spot so far is the Indianapolis Colts, who won the American Football Conference (AFC) South this past weekend.
The Wild Card race is another story.  The San Francisco 49ers and Carolina Panthers currently hold the two National Football Conference (NFC) Wild Card spots but several teams are on their heels.
The Green Bay Packers, Arizona Cardinals, Dallas Cowboys and Chicago Bears are still alive in the NFC.
In the AFC, the Kansas City Chiefs and Baltimore Ravens are sitting in the Wild Card spots.  Eight teams are still alive in the division, so it will go down to the wire to see who takes those final two spots.
The Oakland Raiders have been eliminated from playoff contention and will miss the playoffs for the eleventh straight season. They will face an offseason filled with questions as the young franchise continues to rebuild.
In the AFC, the New England Patriots have the number two seed, the Cincinnati Bengals are number three and the Colts are number four.
The Patriots will face an uphill battle to keep their number two seed after losing star tight end Rob Gronkowski.
In the NFC, the New Orleans Saints have the number two seed, the Philadelphia Eagles are number three and the Detroit Lions are number four.
These seeds are not set in stone and will probably change as the season’s end nears. It’s a close race in both conferences and some teams will find a way to squeeze into the playoffs in the last week of the season.
My prediction is the Denver Broncos taking the Lombardi Trophy in Super Bowl XLVIII.