When it comes to the playoffs race, the NFL loves to see a lot of drama down the stretch, but that definitely won’t be happening in the AFC East.
As we head into Week 11, the 8-2 Bills are absolutely dominating the division. Although they can’t clinch anything this week, the Bills could have the division wrapped by Week 14. To clinch the AFC East, the Bills just need to win three more games and it doesn’t matter what any other team in the division does (They could clinch it even sooner if the Jets, Patriots and Dolphins all lose at least one game over the next two weeks). Basically, there’s no drama in the AFC East, but there is plenty of drama when it comes to the other playoff spots in the NFL.
So who’s going to get in besides the Bills?
To help you figure out who’s going to make the playoffs this year, we’re going to be publishing a projection every week for the rest of the season. These projections will be based on data from number-cruncher Stephen Oh of SportsLine. Each week, Oh will plug some numbers into his SportsLine computer and simulate the rest of the NFL season. Using those numbers, we’ll project the 14 teams we expect to make the playoffs.
With that in mind, let’s get to the projections heading into Week 11.
AFC playoff projection
Here’s a list of the playoff chances for all the other AFC teams (their percentage chances of getting into the playoffs is listed next to them in parentheses): Bengals (28.7%), Colts (26.5%), Dolphins (11.6%), Jets (4.1%), Jaguars (2.0%), Patriots (1.0%), Titans (0.8%), Browns (0.4%), Raiders (0.1%).
NFC playoff projection
Here’s a list of the playoff chances for all the other NFC teams (their percentage chances of getting into the playoffs is listed next to them in parentheses): Cardinals (52.2%), Buccaneers (22.5%), Seahawks (11.5%), Rams (7.9%), Bears (3.0%), Saints (2.0%), Cowboys (0.2%), Panthers (0.2%), Giants (0.0%).
Note: The Giants aren’t eliminated from playoff contention, but their chances are listed at zero because the computer has given up on them.
Wild-card round projection
AFC
(7) Broncos at (2) Bills
(6) Chargers at (3) Ravens
(5) Steelers at (4) Texans
Bye: Chiefs
NFC
(7) Packers at (2) Commanders
(6) Vikings at (3) Falcons
(5) Eagles at (4) 49ers
Bye: Lions
