Golf has a term for it at most tournaments; Moving Day refers to the Saturday of a major event when the real contenders separate themselves from the field and make a move on the title.
Fascination
But it is the jumbled confusion of the AFC that holds most fascination on Moving Week. With 14 of its 16 members still actively entertaining play-off thoughts - and NINE separated by just ONE game for the final wild card position - it is riddled with intrigue and potential.
Just look at the match-ups - Oakland in the Last Chance Saloon, appropriately enough, in Dallas; Pittsburgh and Baltimore going head-to-head in their twice-yearly pit-bull slug-fest in the knowledge only one can survive; another battle of 5-6 outfits desperate not to be this year's Judge Smails (look up the film Caddyshack, kids) in the shape of Miami and the Jets; and Cleveland and Buffalo, two of the 4-7 brigade, bidding to add to the contrasting 2-9 agony of Jacksonville and Atlanta respectively.
The final AFC hopeful is, perhaps, the one with most to gain. San Diego, at home to the Bengals, have shown in the past four games that absolutely ANYTHING is possible, losing at Washington and Miami but winning at Kansas City. And, with four of their final five at home, it's certainly possible to see them going 9-7.
Amazingly, of that motley nine-team bunch, only one currently has a winning streak: the Steelers. But if anyone can truly see them turning that three-game stretch into a wild card run, then there is a mystic I need to introduce them to by the name of Meg.
Did I say murky? I meant opaque. Even current 7-4 division leaders Indy and Cincy have no reason to feel confident on the back of a combined 2-4 record over their last three outings.
Form
The NFC can't afford to feel too smug in the clarity stakes, though. Absolutely anything is still possible in the East and the North seems to have developed a complete aversion to winning. That will have to change in Moving Week (unless we have TWO divisional ties this week instead of just the Packers-Vikings), but predicting an outcome is again equally Nik Wallenda.*
The Seahawks are the unarguable form horse on the back of six straight wins, but Arizona are not far behind with four, and the West is poised to become one huge pigskin punch-up, with even the Rams not out of it. At least the South is purely a two-horse race, but neither New Orleans nor Carolina can afford to feel they have hit the final furlong yet.
Both have particularly ticklish tasks on Monday and Sunday, the Saints at the formidable CenturyLink and the Panthers at home to the suddenly-dangerous Buccaneers, hence whoever gets the win this week will certainly be advancing into Tiger territory.
It will still take all of the final five weeks, of course, to get us to the Promised Land of the play-offs. But, with 26 teams still alive and kicking, there isn't a bigger one in terms of head-to-head confrontations of singular significance. Time to get a move on.
If We Stopped Now
With five games to play, it's also time to begin our annual feature of 'If The Season Ended Here.' And, if it did, this would be the post-season scenario:
AFC: the 7-4 Colts would be at home to the 5-6 Titans and the 7-4 Bengals would entertain the 9-2 Chiefs, while the Broncos (9-2) and Patriots (8-3) would enjoy the bye. But only New England can feel slightly confident that their grip is reasonably firm. Don't look now - but here come the 5-6 Steelers and Chargers.
NFC: Detroit, as the 6-5 third seeds (!), would welcome the visit of 7-4 San Francisco while the 8-3 Panthers travel to the 6-5 Cowboys (cue more arguments about division winners not justifying a home game), with Seattle (10-1) and New Orleans (9-2) sitting out. Arizona (7-4), Philly and Chicago (both 6-5) are all only a gnat's whisker out of the frame, though.
* Nik Wallenda is the seventh-generation tightrope walker who crossed part of the Grand Canyon on a two-inch-thick cable earlier this year. Brave? Undoubtedly. Foolhardy? Yup. Nutty? As a fruitcake.
