Absurdly premature 2012 playoff picture: Week 5

Top AFC seeds : Houston Texans, Baltimore Ravens Other AFC division champs : New England Patriots, Denver Broncos AFC wild cards : Pittsburgh Steelers, San Diego Chargers Top NFC seeds : Atlanta Falcons, San Francisco 49ers Other NFC division champs : Minnesota Vikings, Philadelphia Eagles NFC wild cards : New York Giants, Green Bay Packers • Once again, we'll start in the NFC, because that's where we've got action. A hearty welcome goes out to the blonde gentleman with the ferocious mustache in the upper-right hand corner. Welcome, Minnesota Vikings, to the Absurdly Premature Playoff Picture. • I'm buying the Vikings. They run the ball, they stop the run, and Christian Ponder is a poor man's Alex Smith. That used to be the kind of unspeakable insult that would drive a Tibetan monk to challenge you to a pit fight, but these days, it's okay. They both have a relatively low number of attempts, a high quarterback rating (Smith's at 108.7 and Ponder is at 95.5), the touchdown count is high and the interceptions are low. That, a two-game division lead, and an upcoming schedule without any top-shelf opponents (their next five are Washington, Arizona, Tampa Bay, Seattle and...