Three weeks left, and things in the NFL are crazy as ever. While four teams have officially clinched playoff berths, four of the divisions (five if you include the AFC South) are still very much in the air. Seattle dropped 58 on an Arizona Cardinals defense that was considered best in the NFL after Week 4 and the Seahawks are right on the San Francisco 49ers' heels in the NFC West. Every team in the NFC East won and all but the Eagles are fighting for a playoff spot. Chicago's loss to Minnesota opens up the NFC wild-card battle even further, and another less-than-stellar New York Jets win puts Mark Sanchez just one game (one-and-a-half if you include their head-to-head loss to Pittsburgh) out of the playoffs with three manageable games remaining.
As Nate Silver did for the 2012 election, we do for the 2012 NFL season. Using the mythical powers of math, we let you know first who will be in and who will be out of this year's postseason.
Here is a projection of who will be in this year's playoffs. Be sure to come back each week as we update the projection with the latest results. And once the playoffs begin, we'll reset the bracket and tell you who has the best chance to bring home the Lombardi trophy.
Want to see numberFire's projections for your team? Head over to ESPN Insider to see what we project to happen from now through the end of the season.