With five weeks remaining in the NFL regular season, playoff scenarios have dominated the conversation heading into Week 13.

In the NFC, the New Orleans Saints and Los Angeles Rams can clinch postseason berths with wins over the Dallas Cowboys and Detroit Lions respectively this week.

Meanwhile, the Chicago Bears have established themselves as NFC North division favourites at 8-3.

After that, the NFC playoff picture is wide open. There are three teams within a game of one another at the top of the NFC East and just two games separating five wild card contenders.

So what can we expect heading into Week 13?

Here’s a look at some key NFC playoff storylines:

Week 13 kicks off with the most highly anticipated Thursday Night Football showdown of the season as the Saints visit the Cowboys.

Remember when New Orleans opened the year with a 48-40 loss to Ryan Fitzpatrick and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers?

A lot has changed since then.

The Saints have strung together 10 straight wins including a 45-35 win over the Rams, which is currently the tiebreaker at the top of the NFC.

Drew Brees is in the midst of an MVP-calibre season with a league-best 76.4 per cent completion rate, 3,135 passing yards, 29 touchdowns and only two interceptions. New Orleans has one of the most lethal running back tandems in the NFL in Alvin Kamara and Mark Ingram. Meanwhile, the Saints defence has turned a corner with nine takeaways over their last three games, which is a league-high mark over that span.

New Orleans will visit Dallas and Tampa Bay before wrapping up the season with a home-and-home against the Carolina Panthers that will bookend a home date with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Keep in mind that the Rams will wrap up their regular season against the Detroit Lions, Bears, Philadelphia Eagles, Arizona Cardinals and San Francisco 49ers. There is a very real chance the No. 1 seed in the NFC finishes the year at 15-1. That should only add to the Saints’ resolve on the road this week as they attempt to hold off Los Angeles for that top seed with a win over the Cowboys.

Meanwhile, Dallas was left for dead following an ugly home loss to the Tennessee Titans back in Week 9.

After stringing together three straight wins, the Cowboys are the new frontrunner to win the NFC East.

Running back Ezekiel Elliott has led the way compiling three straight games with at least 143 yards from scrimmage and a touchdown. Over that span, Elliott has registered 531 total yards and four scores.

With a renewed commitment to giving their best player as many touches as possible and improved play on the defensive side of the football, Dallas has managed to turn its season around.

The Cowboys will have a tough time extending their win streak when they host New Orleans on Thursday. However, Dallas can lose to the Saints and still win its division. Remember, the Cowboys are 3-1 versus NFC East opponents this season with wins over both the Eagles and Redskins. With games against Philadelphia, Indianapolis, Tampa Bay and the New York Giants to close out the year, Dallas could still lose this week and then rally to win its division at 10-6 with a strong finish.

Regardless of this week’s outcome, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones and his entourage will have a close eye on this week’s Monday Night Football matchup between the Redskins and Eagles.

How will the rest of the NFC playoff picture unfold in Week 13?

All eyes should be on the NFC North once Sunday rolls around.

The division-leading Bears will visit New York following a bye. Chicago earned a statement win over the Minnesota Vikings in Week 11. Now Khalil Mack and the Bears can put a stranglehold on the division with a win over Odell Beckham Jr. and the Giants.

The Vikings beat the rival Packers last week. Now they have to travel to face a New England Patriots side that is 5-0 at home this season. Can Kirk Cousins go into Foxborough and steal a win to keep the pressure on the Bears at the top of the division?

Meanwhile, Green Bay is coming off back-to-back losses to Seattle and Minnesota to fall to 4-6-1. According to ESPN’s Football Power Index, the Packers have only a 15 per cent chance to make the playoffs.

However, Aaron Rodgers and company should benefit from one of the easiest remaining schedules on paper. Green Bay will host the Arizona Cardinals and the Atlanta Falcons in a pair of must-win games the next two weeks. After that, they will visit the Bears and New York Jets before wrapping up the year at home against the New York Jets.

How likely is it that the Packers run the table and finish 9-6-1?

More importantly, if Green Bay actually won five straight to close out the year would it even be enough to make the playoffs?

Following Minnesota’s 27-14 win over the Packers on Sunday night, our NFL analyst Jabari Greer weighed in on the NFC playoff picture.

It is absolutely true that the Seahawks might be the most overlooked team in the NFC right now. After all, Seattle is coming off big wins over Green Bay and Carolina to get to 6-5. Now the Seahawks will play four of their final five games at home with a schedule that includes the Cardinals and a home-and-home with the 49ers. At the very least, Seattle should be able to pick up three wins in its division. That would leave them at 9-5 with home games against Minnesota and Kansas City that likely determine their wild card fate.

While neither team can afford to look past this Sunday, we can already begin to wonder how important the Week 14 clash between the Vikings and Seahawks will be in the NFC playoff picture.

One thing is for sure.

Nobody in the NFC is sleeping on the surging Seahawks anymore.