Sunday in Week 12 was a wild day for the NFC. When the day started, the Philadelphia Eagles were sitting atop the conference playoff standings.
When the dust settled after a "Sunday Night Football" matchup between the Los Angeles Rams and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, there was a new conference leader in sole possession of first place. The Rams moved to 9-2 with the 34-7 win over the Buccaneers. This helped them overtake the Eagles, who suffered a stunning loss against the Cowboys.
There could still be even movement, too. The Carolina Panthers and the San Francisco 49ers will duke it out for "Monday Night Football." If the Panthers come out victorious, this would put them in sole possession of first place in the NFC South, moving ahead of the Buccaneers. Carolina would be propelled to the No. 4 seed in the NFC standings.
Before that, though, here is more on the state of the NFC's playoff picture after the Sunday slate in Week 12.
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NFC playoff picture
| Position | Team | Record |
| 1 | Los Angeles Rams | 9-2 |
| 2 | Philadelphia Eagles | 8-3 |
| 3 | Chicago Bears | 8-3 |
| 4 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 6-5 |
| 5 | Seattle Seahawks | 8-3 |
| 6 | Green Bay Packers | 7-3-1 |
| 7 | San Francisco 49ers | 7-4 |
| 8 | Detroit Lions | 7-4 |
| 9 | Carolina Panthers | 6-5 |
| 10 | Dallas Cowboys | 5-5-1 |
| 11 | Atlanta Falcons | 4-7 |
| 12 | Minnesota Vikings | 4-7 |
| 13 | Arizona Cardinals | 3-8 |
| 14 | Washington Commanders | 3-8 |
| 15 | New Orleans Saints | 2-9 |
| 16 | New York Giants | 2-10 |
The Rams entered the week in a first-place tie with the Philadelphia Eagles. Both teams were 8-2, with the Eagles owning the tiebreaker over the Rams thanks to a 33-26 win in Week 3. Philadelphia was up 21-0 over the Dallas Cowboys in the afternoon slate, but the Cowboys scored 24 unanswered points to win. This bumped Los Angeles into sole possession of first place, which they kept with a dominant win over Tampa Bay.
After Sunday, the four division leads are the Rams, Eagles, Chicago Bears and Buccaneers. It is worth noting that the Eagles and Bears play in Week 13 on Black Friday.
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Rams remaining schedule
| Week | Opponent |
| 13 | at Panthers |
| 14 | at Cardinals |
| 15 | vs. Lions |
| 16 | at Seahawks (TNF) |
| 17 | at Falcons (MNF) |
| 18 | vs. Cardinals |
The Rams have an interesting mix of opponents left on their schedule. Los Angeles' top goal is to win the NFC West, because that would guarantee them a playoff spot and a top-four seed. The secondary goal would be keeping the No. 1 seed, which would net the Rams a first round bye in the playoffs and then home-field advantage through the NFC Championship if they made it there.
The journey starts on the road against Carolina. While the Panthers have been push-overs in the recent past, if Carolina can beat the San Francisco 49ers on "Monday Night Football," it will be sitting atop the NFC South standings for the Week 13 matchup with L.A.
The Rams have three divisional games left. These will be important for tiebreakers both in the division, and with the NFC as a while. The two toughest games on Los Angeles' schedule are Week 15 at home against the Lions and then a short week on the road against the Seattle Seahawks. Both of those games, especially back-to-back and the second on short rest, will test the Rams and how far they may actually be able to go in the playoffs. For now, though, Los Angeles is sitting firmly in the drivers' seat.