NFL playoff picture: The Chiefs and Lions are ahead in the race for the No. 1 seed, and the NFC West leader is…whoa

A little less than halfway through the season, several teams are separated in the playoff race. And there are some surprises.

Here's what the playoff picture looks like heading into Week 9 of the NFL season, with some observations about the current playoff round following:

Chiefs, Bills lead the race

Getting to first place is huge, and there are two leaders in every conference. The Chiefs are 7-0 and chasing their third straight Super Bowl championship, while the Lions are 6-1. We saw the atmosphere in Detroit during playoff football; It would be hard to win there if the Lions had home advantage until January.

Broncos comfortable in there

Not much was expected from Denver this season, but the Broncos are 5-3 and rookie quarterback Bo Nix has had some solid performances. Not only are they currently in the playoff field, but they are also the No. 5 seed as the top wild card team. We'll see if they can keep up this pace, starting with a tough game this week at the Baltimore Ravens.

Also of note, two of the three AFC Wild Card teams are currently from the AFC West, with the Los Angeles Chargers in 7th place.

NFC West-leading Cardinals

You will notice that there are no San Francisco 49ers in the current playoff round. That's because the Cardinals are technically atop the NFC West and the 49ers aren't among the wild card teams. The Cardinals beat the 49ers earlier this season.

There are three NFC West teams at 4-4 and the last-place Rams are 3-4, which should set up a great race to the finish.