Shutdown Corner's Playoff Projection: Some good NFC teams will miss out

Prior to the season, we made the assumption that the wealth of quality teams in the NFC (and the lack of depth in the AFC) would mean that there would be some good NFC teams that find themselves on the outside of the playoff picture looking in

Through seven weeks of the season, that's holding up.

Last season, the Arizona Cardinals finished 10-6 and missed the postseason. It's possible this season that two teams with that record — or better — could be staying home in January. It's just the way the thing is set up.

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Consider that the NFC West has the Cardinals on top at 5-1, the 4-3 49ers a half-game back and the 3-3 Seahawks two back. What's more interesting is the Cardinals, unlike San Francisco and Seattle, have yet to lose a game in the division.

With five games left to play between these three teams, those head-to-head matchups could tilt the division. And knock one of them from the wild-card race in the process. Right now, the 49ers, having lost once to the Cardinals, are at a slight disadvantage here.

With the Philadelphia Eagles and Dallas Cowboys, two one-loss NFC East teams, and the Green Bay Packers and Detroit Lions, two two-loss NFC North teams, and the contenders mentioned above, it's likely two teams could win 9-11 games and still miss out.

And it's likely that the NFC South winner could be hovering around the .500 mark and hosting a playoff game.

Now here are some answers to your likely questions:

Why the Lions over the Packers?

Honestly, we're just going off the fact that the Lions already have that head-to-head win. Are the Packers hotter right now? Yes, but honestly that matters little, especially when you consider how many ebbs and flows there are in the course of the season, which is less than halfway through. The Lions will also get a healthy Calvin Johnson back sooner than later.

So you honestly think the Cowboys keep this up, eh?

For now, yeah, I'm buying in. Aren't we all kind of waiting for the other shoe to drop? Sure, it's natural. Something — be it a DeMarco Murray injury, a Tony Romo cold snap, a Dez Bryant freak-out, a defensive regression — could happen. Right now, the team is executing on a very high level that might be a bit unsustainable. There are two games left against the Eagles, but on the flip side, the Eagles' final stretch (at Dallas, vs. Seattle, vs. Dallas, at Washington, at New York Giants) looks brutal.

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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! Follow @Eric_Edholm