Playoff picture starting to come into focus

The newly crowned NFC East champion Eagles, Atlanta Falcons and Chicago Bears already have qualified for the postseason in the NFC.

The Bears have won the North and are in position for a first-round bye. If the Falcons (12-2) win at home against New Orleans tonight, they will have homefield advantage throughout the NFC playoffs as well as the South title. The Saints (10-4) also get a playoff spot with a victory.

Seattle (6-9) was routed at Tampa Bay, yet would win the NFC West by defeating St. Louis next Sunday. The Buccaneers (9-6) are alive for a wild card, but need to win Sunday at New Orleans and get lots of help.

The postponed Eagles (10-4) clinched their division with the New York Giants' 45-17 loss at Green Bay. Green Bay and the Giants both are 9-6, but the Packers hold the tiebreaker for a wild card thanks to their win over New York. The Bucs need to have a better overall record than those teams to get in.

AFC teams seeking a Super Bowl berth must go through Foxborough, a place where Tom Brady hasn't lost in the regular season since 2006. The Patriots secured homefield advantage throughout the AFC playoffs by routing Buffalo yesterday.

Baltimore (11-4) still could win the AFC North - it's tied with Pittsburgh, which already has a playoff berth, but does not own the tiebreaker with the Steelers in the division. Failing to win the division means Baltimore gets a wild card, something the New York Jets already own. Although the Jets (10-5) were beaten, 38-34, at Chicago, they qualified when Jacksonville lost to Washington, 20-17, in overtime. Kansas City earned its first AFC West title since 2003 when it beat Tennessee and San Diego lost at Cincinnati.

Jacksonville's loss did not finish it off in the AFC South. Indianapolis is 9-6, one game in front of the Jags. That division will be decided by next weekend's games: Tennessee at Indy and Jacksonville at Houston.