The NFC playoff picture is starting to take shape, as the Washington Commanders earned a massive win over the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday to set themselves up for their first playoff berth in four years. Washington also eliminated Dallas and San Francisco with its upset of Philadelphia.
The Los Angeles Rams lead the Seattle Seahawks by a game in the NFC West and are on the verge of wrapping up the division. The Detroit Lions and Minnesota Vikings are tied for the NFC North lead with 13 wins, but the Lions still hold the tiebreaker. The NFC South is going down to the wire as the Falcons are back in first thanks to the Buccaneers’ loss to the Cowboys.
As for the Green Bay Packers, they clinched a playoff berth after their win over the New Orleans Saints on Monday night.
The AFC playoff picture is starting to become clearer, as the field is close to being set. The Los Angeles Chargers prevented the Denver Broncos from locking up a playoff berth while hurting the chances of the other AFC teams who are mathematically in the hunt, such as the Indianapolis Colts, Miami Dolphins and Cincinnati Bengals.
The Baltimore Ravens are tied with the Pittsburgh Steelers for the AFC North lead after their win Saturday, but Pittsburgh still holds the tiebreaker by virtue of having a better conference record. Meanwhile, the Kansas City Chiefs are a win away from locking up home-field advantage.
Below is a breakdown of the conference standings with most of the Week 16 games completed:
AFC playoff picture
y — clinched division
x — clinched playoff berth
e — eliminated from playoffs
1. Kansas City Chiefs (14-1)
The Chiefs are up two games over the Bills for the No. 1 seed in the AFC. A Chiefs win on Christmas would give Kansas City home-field advantage in the conference. (Kansas City just needs one win in the final two games.)
Remaining schedule: at Steelers, at Broncos
2. Buffalo Bills (12-3)
Buffalo trails Kansas City by two games for home-field advantage, but has the head-to-head tiebreaker. The Bills need the Chiefs to lose out to still have a shot at the No. 1 seed.
Remaining schedule: vs. Jets, at Patriots
3. Pittsburgh Steelers (10-5)
The playoff-bound Steelers are tied with the Ravens in the AFC North, even after their loss to Baltimore on Saturday. Pittsburgh has the conference-record tiebreaker (7-3) over Baltimore (6-4) that gives the Steelers the edge in the division.
Remaining schedule: vs. Chiefs, vs. Bengals
4. Houston Texans (9-6)
The Texans have already clinched the AFC South. They will be at least the No. 4 seed in the AFC and will have a home game in the wild-card round of the playoffs, but trail the Steelers by one game for the No. 3 seed.
Remaining schedule: vs. Ravens, at Titans
5. Baltimore Ravens (10-5)
The Ravens clinched a playoff berth with their win over the Steelers on Saturday and are now tied for the AFC North lead. Pittsburgh has the conference-record tiebreaker over Baltimore.
Remaining schedule: at Texans, vs. Browns
6. Los Angeles Chargers (9-6)
The Chargers improved to the No. 6 seed in the AFC after their win over the Broncos, holding the head-to-head tiebreaker after sweeping Denver.
Remaining schedule: at Patriots, at Raiders
7. Denver Broncos (9-6)
The Broncos are a win away from clinching a playoff spot, even with Thursday’s loss to the Chargers.
Remaining schedule: at Bengals, vs. Chiefs
8. Indianapolis Colts (7-8)
The Colts are two games out of the final wild-card spot in the AFC, but are eliminated from playoff contention with one loss or a Chargers and Broncos win. The Colts have the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Dolphins for the No. 8 seed by virtue of their Week 7 victory and own the tiebreaker over the Bengals based on having a better conference record (6-5) than Cincinnati (4-6).
Remaining schedule: at Giants, vs. Jaguars
9. Miami Dolphins (7-8)
The Dolphins’ AFC playoff hopes are still alive, but Miami will be eliminated with a loss or a Chargers and Broncos win next week. Miami is two games behind Denver for the final playoff spot and holds the conference-record tiebreaker (6-5) over Cincinnati (4-6).
Remaining schedule: at Browns, at Jets
10. Cincinnati Bengals (7-8)
The Bengals remain the No. 10 seed in the AFC, needing significant help to earn a playoff berth. Cincinnati needs to jump multiple teams and win out to have a shot at the playoffs, as the Bengals are two games back of the Broncos and play them in Week 17. They can’t lose another game.
Remaining schedule: vs. Broncos, at Steelers
Eliminated from playoff contention
Six teams are eliminated from the playoff race in the AFC: Raiders, Patriots, Titans, Jets, Jaguars and Browns.
NFC playoff picture
| 1 |
x – Lions |
13 |
2 |
0 |
.867 |
| 2 | x – Eagles | 12 | 3 | 0 | .800 |
| 3 | Rams | 9 | 6 | 0 | .600 |
| 4 |
Falcons |
8 |
7 |
0 |
.533 |
| 5 | x – Vikings | 13 | 2 | 0 | .867 |
| 6 | x – Packers | 11 | 4 | 0 | .733 |
| 7 | Commanders | 10 | 5 | 0 | .667 |
| 8 | Buccaneers | 8 | 7 | 0 | .533 |
| 9 | Seahawks | 8 | 7 | 0 | .533 |
| 10 | e- Cowboys | 7 | 8 | 0 | .467 |
| 11 | e- Cardinals | 7 | 8 | 0 | .467 |
| 12 | e- 49ers | 6 | 9 | 0 | .400 |
| 13 | e- Saints | 5 | 10 | 0 | .333 |
| 14 | e – Bears | 4 | 11 | 0 | .267 |
| 15 | e – Panthers | 4 | 11 | 0 | .267 |
| 16 | e – Giants | 2 | 13 | 0 | .133 |
x — clinched playoff berth
e — eliminated from playoffs
1. Detroit Lions (13-2)
The Lions remain the No. 1 seed in the conference after their win and the Eagles’ loss. They are also tied for the NFC North lead with the Vikings, but hold the head-to-head tiebreaker.
Remaining schedule: at 49ers, vs. Vikings
2. Philadelphia Eagles (12-3)
The Eagles remain in the hunt for home-field advantage, but need the Lions to lose out, the Vikings to lose next week and for Minnesota to beat Detroit in Week 18. Philadelphia can clinch the NFC East and the No. 2 seed with a win in one of its next two games.
Remaining schedule: vs. Cowboys, vs. Giants
3. Los Angeles Rams (9-6)
The Rams lead the NFC West by a game over the Seahawks with two to play. Los Angeles clinches the division next week with a win and a Seattle loss.
Remaining schedule: vs. Cardinals, vs. Seahawks
4. Atlanta Falcons (8-7)
The Falcons move back into the lead in the NFC South due to the Buccaneers’ loss to the Cowboys. The Falcons hold the head-to-head tiebreaker over Tampa Bay and control their own destiny.
Remaining schedule: at Commanders, vs. Panthers
5. Minnesota Vikings (13-2)
Minnesota remains the top wild-card team in the conference and is tied with Detroit for first place in the NFC North. Detroit still has the division lead via the head-to-head tiebreaker.
Remaining schedule: vs. Packers, at Lions
6. Green Bay Packers (11-4)
The Packers clinched a playoff berth with their win over the Saints on Monday night. They are currently the No. 6 seed in the NFC.
Remaining schedule: at Vikings, vs. Bears
7. Washington Commanders (10-5)
The Commanders lead the Buccaneers and Seahawks by two games for the final playoff spot in the conference. They clinch a playoff berth with a win next week.
Remaining schedule: vs. Falcons, at Cowboys
8. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (8-7)
The Buccaneers drop from NFC South leaders to out of the playoff picture. They need to finish with a better record than the Falcons to win the division since they lost both games to Atlanta.
Remaining schedule: vs. Panthers, vs. Saints
9. Seattle Seahawks (8-7)
The Seahawks are now two games back of the Commanders for the final wild-card spot after their loss Sunday. They are also one game back for the NFC West lead, but the Rams hold the head-to-head tiebreaker.
Remaining schedule: at Bears, at Rams
Eliminated from playoff contention
The Cardinals, Cowboys, 49ers and Saints were eliminated from the playoffs in Week 16. The Commanders’ win over the Eagles eliminated the Cowboys and 49ers. The Cardinals were eliminated with their loss to the Panthers and the Rams’ win. The Bears, Panthers and Giants were already eliminated entering Week 16.