Thanks to a monstrous performance at home to New Orleans, Seattle are the first team to confirm their tickets for this year's Post-Season Ball, a four-part two-step in double-quick time.
Wild card
To my mind, in American Conference terms, the only final question mark is over whether the Ravens or Dolphins snatch the final wild card and, if it wasn't for that tough final three-game stretch, I would stick Baltimore firmly in the 'Odds-on' category as well.
Miami haven't had a sniff of the play-offs since 2008 and they will likely have to win three of their final four to sneak past - and that quartet includes Pittsburgh (on the road) and New England (at home), as well as a trip to icy Buffalo at a quarter-to-Christmas (a forbidding feat for a team from a state where the temperature is currently a balmy 30C).
No, I think we can go ahead and put the Ravens in, even though the bunch of 5-7 hopefuls (all four of them) could still, hypothetically, scrape through. Several pundits have postulated that an 8-8 record could well be the stuff of wild card dreams, but I don't see it. Baltimore should get to 9-7 and that's the end of it.
Over in the senior conference, the only serious intrigue centres on the East, where either the Eagles or Cowboys will win the division - and the runner-up will be left to contemplate another empty January.
Sure, both are only a game behind the 49ers, who currently hold the conference's final wild card berth, but Jim Harbaugh's team have the same kind of juggernaut look that is currently on display in Seattle, and the idea of them missing out at this stage is almost impossible to envisage.
The simple fact is the chasing pack, which includes the 6-6 Bears and 5-6-1 Packers, are nowhere near consistent enough to win a four-game sprint with a team that already has a head start.
Does this mean that the real interest of the final month of the season is already dead and buried? Not at all. There is plenty to play for as home-field advantage is going to be crucial in the NFC and all-but in the AFC. Seattle's home advantage is already well documented, while Denver have been beaten at Mile High just twice in two years.
The jostling for the first-week bye is also going to be considerable, with five genuine contenders in the AFC and three in the NFC.
And there is always just the SLIGHT chance of that total eclipse or Elvis appearance. It is Fantasia Football, after all.
If We Stopped Now
It's time for our weekly feature of 'If The Season Ended Here' to line up the post-season match-ups. And, if it did, this would be how things would look:
AFC: the 8-4 Colts would be at home to the 6-6 Ravens (the Titans having slipped out of the picture) and the 8-4 Bengals would still entertain the 9-3 Chiefs, while the Broncos (10-2) and Patriots (9-3) would enjoy the bye. The Dolphins are now Next In Line if Baltimore slip up.
NFC: Detroit have firmed up their record slightly as the 7-5 third seeds and would welcome the visit of 8-4 San Francisco while the 9-3 Panthers are still on course to travel to the 7-5 Cowboys, with Seattle (11-1) and New Orleans (9-3) sitting out, but the Saints now hanging on to that bye by their finger-nails. The Eagles are only a half-game behind Dallas, but the wild card hopes of 7-5 Arizona are fading fast.
