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Shutdown Corner Playoff Projection: A New York, New York postseason?

The Shutdown Corner Playoff Projection (Kevin Kaduk).
The Shutdown Corner Playoff Projection (Kevin Kaduk).

Things are a bit murky in the NFL's early playoff picture.

Every team but one has one victory through four weeks of the season. There are six unbeaten teams, five of them sitting at 4-0. We have quarterback injuries that have affected multiple teams and make long-term projections very difficult.

The NFC South has two unbeaten teams; the AFC South and NFC East have no teams with winning records. The Seattle Seahawks are in third place. The Kansas City Chiefs are fourth in their division. The New York Jets coast into the bye at 3-1.

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What to make of it? Dart throwing is our specialty in times such as these. So with that in mind, here is how we see the playoff picture looking at the quarterpole and what the first-round matchups would be:

Pittsburgh Steelers at Cincinnati Bengals — Some great yin and yang here. These division rivals face each other twice a season every year, but it would mark the 10th anniversary of the last time they met in the postseason, aka the Carson Palmer injury game. Notable that as Ben Roethlisberger works his way back from a knee ailment of his own, the Bengals have stormed out to a 4-0 start and really could make some noise with a win over the Seattle Seahawks in Week 5. Of course, the Steelers are the most accomplished Super Bowl team of all time, and the Bengals never have won. Compound that with the Bengals' miserable recent playoff history — four out of five years losing in Round 1 — and this would be a fascinating matchup. A win over the Steelers would silence a ton of Andy Dalton critics.

New York Jets at Indianapolis Colts — We think the Colts still have the best shot to emerge from the AFC South morass, even though they're far from a finished product and have to be worried about the long-term health of Andrew Luck considering where he's at and where the roster is around him. The Jets appear to be the complete converse right now: they have everything but the QB. Oh sure, Ryan Fitzpatrick is having his flaws covered up right now, but we wonder frankly if he can hang onto his job. This would be a strange matchup for sure between two very differently built squads, although each certainly has a lot to prove between now and January.

Seattle Seahawks at Arizona Cardinals — We admit that last week seemed to shift the tide a bit, with the Cardinals losing at home to the Rams and the Seahawks hanging on to beat the Lions, but for now we'll stick with how the NFC West is seeded. (Obviously, we're counting out the Rams here in this scenario, even though they are a fascinating study that could crash the division and playoff party.) We love the idea of these recent rivals facing off in the postseason, something they've never done before. Bruce Arians and Pete Carroll are two terrific coaches, and this would have the makings of a classic ... no matter where the game is played.

Carolina Panthers at New York Giants — Are we convinced either team will make the postseason? Far from it. But the Panthers are 4-0 right now, and teams starting out with that record have make the plaoffs 83 percent of the time. The Giants have plenty of work to do in the division but have righted the ship after the disastrous 0-2 start (especially the way they lost those games). They've led in all four fourth quarters, so they could just as easily have the same record now as the Panthers. This battle of former No. 1 overall picks in the draft with Cam Newton vs. Eli Manning might not break the sex-appeal meters, but it might be a pretty good football game. Both New York teams back in the postseason? How about that?

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Eric Edholm is a writer for Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at edholm@yahoo-inc.com or follow him on Twitter!