How’s This For Picture: Even Ryan May Be in It : Pro football: After 49ers, Cowboys, Steelers and Chargers, postseason spots are mostly up in the air. And don’t count out Buddy’s Cardinals yet.

The NFL playoff picture went from cloudy to confusing to downright scary Sunday when Eagles fell, Bills were driven off and football’s grizzled predator remained standing.

That would be Buddy Ryan.

With one week remaining in the regular season, the only thing certain is that if Ryan’s Arizona Cardinals complete their improbable stretch run by making the playoffs, that sound you hear will be the rest of the league cringing.

And it could happen.

After their fifth victory in six games Sunday--a 28-7 defeat of the Cincinnati Bengals--the Cardinals can fulfill Ryan’s outrageous preseason playoff pledge if the following occur:

--The Cardinals win their final game, in Atlanta, against a Falcon team whose playoff chances ended last week.

--The Dallas Cowboys defeat the overmatched New York Giants.

--The San Francisco 49ers defeat the Minnesota Vikings, who will probably be without quarterback Warren Moon, or the Tampa Bay Buccaneers defeat the Green Bay Packers.

Already the Cardinals (8-7) have assured themselves of their first .500 or better record in a decade. They are seeking their first playoff spot in a non-strike season in 19 years.

And to think Ryan’s 27th-ranked offense might have someone who can pass. OK, so it’s running back Garrison Hearst.

The rest of the NFC outlook remains a mess, so much that by midnight EST Sunday, the league office still had not entirely figured it out.

Besides the obvious facts that San Francisco and Dallas will each draw first-round byes--with the 49ers remaining at home as long as they are alive in the NFC portion of the playoffs--only a couple of things are known.

If all four NFC Central teams win next weekend, all four qualify for the playoffs. The only other two eligible teams, the Cardinals and New York Giants, would be out.

In those four games, Green Bay visits Tampa Bay, Chicago plays host to New England, Detroit visits Miami on Christmas night and Minnesota plays host to San Francisco in the season’s final Monday night game.

The other truth is that the only chance the Giants have is to beat Dallas while the Packers lose to the Buccaneers. Which gives them almost no chance.

Examining opponents and current situations, a list of NFC candidates in order of probability:

--Arizona earns a wild-card spot. Buddy’s defense will stifle an Atlanta team that no longer cares, and Dallas and San Francisco will easily do their part.

--Green Bay earns a wild-card spot. The streaking Buccaneers will finally show their true colors in a big game. And after Brett Favre’s game-winning run in Milwaukee on Sunday, the Packers are feeling destined.

--Detroit wins Central Division championship. Miami is playing only for a first-round bye. Wayne Fontes will have the Lions--18-9 in December under his stewardship--believing they are playing for their lives.

--Chicago will lose to New England--the AFC’s best team this month.

--The Vikings will lose an ugly finale against the 49ers in Minneapolis, but still make the playoffs because they defeated the Bears twice in the regular season.

The AFC picture is far simpler.

If the Patriots win in the early game on Sunday, then they will qualify, either as the AFC East champion if the Dolphins lose, or as a wild-card team if the Dolphins win.

The other wild-card spot in that scenario would be the winner of the Raider-Kansas City game in the Coliseum.

If the Patriots lose the early game, then they must await the outcome of the Raider game, which could change dramatically with that news because the Raiders would then have already automatically qualified as a wild-card team.

The Chiefs must win to qualify, no matter what happens in Chicago.

What all of this means to the AFC first-round pairings is more obscure. The Pittsburgh Steelers have already clinched a first-round bye, and San Diego could join them with a victory over the Steelers or a loss by the Dolphins.

That means the Raiders could either be host to the Cleveland Browns or visit them in the first round, depending on the Browns’ finale against visiting Seattle. In the other first-round game, the Patriots could meet the Dolphins for the third time this season. The Dolphins won their first two meetings by a combined 24 points.