The Bills and Chiefs have clinched their divisions, the Lions and Eagles have clinched playoff berths, and 10 more playoff spots are up for grabs. Here’s how the playoff picture looks after Thursday night of Week 15:
NFC Playoff Picture
DIVISION LEADERS
1. Detroit Lions (12-1): Clinched a playoff berth.
2. Philadelphia Eagles (11-2): Clinched a playoff berth.
3. Seattle Seahawks (8-5): Have the lead in the very competitive NFC West.
4. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (7-6): Have the lead in the terrible NFC South.
WILD CARDS
5. Minnesota Vikings (11-2): Loss at home to the Lions will hurt their chances, but a Week 18 rematch in Detroit looms.
6. Green Bay Packers (9-4): Getting swept by the Lions and losing to the Vikings pretty much takes them out of NFC North contention, even though they’re 9-1 otherwise.
7. Washington Commanders (8-5): Big lead in the wild card race.
OUTSIDE LOOKING IN
8. Los Angeles Rams (8-6): Back-to-back big wins over the Bills and 49ers have them back in contention.
9. Atlanta Falcons (6-7): Loss on Sunday hurt their chances in the NFC South.
10. Arizona Cardinals (6-7): Sunday was bad day for their NFC West chances.
11. San Francisco 49ers (6-8): Preseason NFC favorites are unlikely to make the playoffs.
12. New Orleans Saints (5-8): Two games out in the NFC South.
13. Dallas Cowboys (5-8): Loss to the Bengals pretty much killed any chance of a late-season run.
14. Chicago Bears (4-9): New interim head coach Thomas Brown had an ugly first game.
15. Carolina Panthers (3-10): Playing much better football of late.
16. New York Giants (2-11): Mathematically eliminated.
AFC Playoff Picture
DIVISION LEADERS
1. Kansas City Chiefs (12-1): Clinched AFC West, now have a two-game lead for the No. 1 seed.
2. Buffalo Bills (10-3): Clinched the AFC East, but loss to Rams was costly in the race for the No. 1 seed
3. Pittsburgh Steelers (10-3): A big lead and the tiebreaker edge in the AFC North.
4. Houston Texans (8-5): They’re not playing well, but they should win the AFC South by default.
WILD CARDS
5. Baltimore Ravens (8-5): Own the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Chargers.
6. Los Angeles Chargers (8-5): Own the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Broncos.
7. Denver Broncos (8-5): Bo Nix has led them into the wild card race.
OUTSIDE LOOKING IN
8. Indianapolis Colts (6-7): Catching the Texans in the AFC South will be a long shot.
9. Miami Dolphins (6-7): Trying to keep their faint hopes alive with a win over the Jets.
10. Cincinnati Bengals (5-8): May not get to the playoffs even if they run the table.
11. Cleveland Browns (3-10): Mathematically eliminated.
12. Jacksonville Jaguars (3-10): Mathematically eliminated.
13. New York Jets (3-10): Mathematically eliminated.
14. Tennessee Titans (3-10): Mathematically eliminated.
15. New England Patriots (3-10): Mathematically eliminated.
16. Las Vegas Raiders (2-11): Mathematically eliminated.
Clinching Scenarios
The following Week 15 playoff scenarios were distributed by the NFL:
AFC
CLINCHED:
Buffalo Bills (10-3) – AFC East
Kansas City Chiefs (12-1) – AFC West
Houston Texans (8-5) vs. Miami Dolphins (6-7); Sunday, 1 p.m. ET, CBS
Houston clinches AFC South division title with:
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HOU win + IND loss
Pittsburgh Steelers (10-3) at Philadelphia Eagles (11-2); Sunday, 4:25 p.m. ET, FOX
Pittsburgh clinches a playoff berth with:
-
PIT win or tie
-
MIA loss or tie + IND loss or tie
NFC
CLINCHED:
Detroit (12-1) – playoff berth
Philadelphia (11-2) – playoff berth
Minnesota Vikings (11-2) vs. Chicago Bears (4-9); Monday, 8 p.m. ET, ABC
Minnesota clinches a playoff berth with:
-
MIN win or tie
-
SEA loss or tie
Philadelphia Eagles (11-2) vs. Pittsburgh Steelers (10-3); Sunday, 4:25 p.m. ET, FOX
Philadelphia clinches NFC East division title with:
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PHI win + WAS loss or tie
-
PHI tie + WAS loss