The NFC North has been setting itself up to be the best division in football, evidenced by how well the Detroit Lions, Minnesota Vikings and Green Bay Packers have played through

While the Bears have tailed off since their 4-2 start, the NFC North is still set to demolish its previous high win total since the realignment. The old black-and-blue division won 36 games in 2011, though that figure was buoyed by the Packers winning a franchise-record 15 regular-season games.

In the seven-team NFL playoff format, only the No. 1 seed gets a first-round bye. Through Week 13, the NFC’s home-field advantage race is a three- or four-horse contest. The Detroit Lions are in the clear pole position,

The Atlanta Falcons, the Arizona Cardinals, and Baltimore Ravens lost those matchups. Despite the Falcons’ loss, they will stay in first place in the NFC South. They swept the season series against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and own the tiebreaker if both teams finish the week at 6-6.

The Pittsburgh Steelers, Houston Texans and Seattle Seahawks were among the teams that picked up key wins in the AFC and NFC playoff pictures on

Playoff odds: 19 percent. The Lions remain the favorites in our projections to win the Super Bowl, but their hold on the NFC’s top se