The Chiefs are closing in on the AFC No. 1 seed, the Bills and Texans have clinched their divisions, the Ravens, Lions, Steelers, Vikings and Eagles have clinched playoff berths, and six more playoff spots are up for grabs. Here’s how the playoff picture looks after the two Saturday games of Week 16:
NFC Playoff Picture
DIVISION LEADERS
1. Detroit Lions (12-2): Clinched a playoff berth.
2. Philadelphia Eagles (12-2): Clinched a playoff berth.
3. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (8-6): Have first place in the NFC South, and the NFC record tiebreaker over the Rams.
4. Los Angeles Rams (8-6): Took over first place in the very competitive NFC West.
WILD CARDS
5. Minnesota Vikings (12-2): Clinched a playoff berth.
6. Green Bay Packers (10-4): Getting swept by the Lions and losing to the Vikings pretty much takes them out of NFC North contention, even though they’re 10-1 otherwise.
7. Washington Commanders (9-5): One-game lead in the wild card race.
OUTSIDE LOOKING IN
8. Seattle Seahawks (8-6): Didn’t look like a playoff team in Sunday night’s loss to the Packers.
9. Atlanta Falcons (7-7): Stayed alive with a win against the Raiders on Monday night.
10. Arizona Cardinals (7-7): Staying alive in the NFC West.
11. San Francisco 49ers (6-8): Preseason NFC favorites are unlikely to make the playoffs.
12. Dallas Cowboys (6-8): Not totally out of it, but extreme long shots to make the playoffs.
13. New Orleans Saints (5-9): Three games out in the NFC South.
14. Chicago Bears (4-10): Mathematically eliminated.
15. Carolina Panthers (3-11): Mathematically eliminated.
16. New York Giants (2-12): Mathematically eliminated.
AFC Playoff Picture
DIVISION LEADERS
1. Kansas City Chiefs (14-1): Clinched AFC West, have a 2.5-game lead for the No. 1 seed.
2. Buffalo Bills (11-3): Clinched the AFC East, but can they catch the Chiefs?
3. Pittsburgh Steelers (10-5): Clinched a playoff berth and own the tiebreaker over the Ravens even after Saturday’s loss.
4. Houston Texans (9-6): Clinched the AFC South.
WILD CARDS
5. Baltimore Ravens (10-5): Clinched a playoff berth with a big win against the Steelers, but Pittsburgh still owns the tiebreaker.
6. Los Angeles Chargers (9-6): A big win over the Broncos on Thursday night.
7. Denver Broncos (9-6): The loss to the Chargers hurt, but they’re still on the cusp of a wild card berth.
OUTSIDE LOOKING IN
8. Indianapolis Colts (6-8): Slim wild card hopes.
9. Miami Dolphins (6-8): Even slimmer wild card hopes.
10. Cincinnati Bengals (6-8): The slimmest of wild card hopes.
11. New York Jets (4-10): Mathematically eliminated.
12. Cleveland Browns (3-11): Mathematically eliminated.
13. Jacksonville Jaguars (3-11): Mathematically eliminated.
14. Tennessee Titans (3-11): Mathematically eliminated.
15. New England Patriots (3-11): Mathematically eliminated.
16. Las Vegas Raiders (2-12): Mathematically eliminated.
Clinching Scenarios
The following playoff scenarios were released by the NFL on Tuesday:
AFC
CLINCHED:
Buffalo Bills (11-3) – AFC East
Houston Texans (9-6) – AFC South
Kansas City Chiefs (14-1) – AFC West
Pittsburgh Steelers (10-5) – playoff berth
Baltimore Ravens (10-5) – playoff berth
Kansas City Chiefs (13-1) vs. Houston Texans (9-5); Saturday, 1 p.m. ET, NBC
Kansas City clinches AFC’s No. 1 seed, lone first-round bye and home-field advantage with:
- BUF loss or tie
Denver Broncos (9-6) lost to Los Angeles Chargers (9-6) Thursday
Denver clinches a playoff berth with:
- MIA loss or tie + CIN loss or tie + IND loss or tie
Los Angeles Chargers (9-6) beat Denver Broncos (9-6) Thursday
Los Angeles clinches a playoff berth with:
- MIA loss or tie + IND loss or tie
NFC
CLINCHED:
Detroit Lions (12-2) – playoff berth
Minnesota Vikings (12-2) – playoff berth
Philadelphia Eagles (12-2) – playoff berth
Philadelphia Eagles (12-2) at Washington Commanders (9-5); Sunday, 1 p.m. ET, FOX
Philadelphia clinches NFC East division title with:
- PHI win or tie
Green Bay Packers (10-4) vs. New Orleans Saints (5-9); Monday, 8:15 p.m. ET, ESPN/ABC
Green Bay clinches a playoff berth with:
- GB win or tie
- ATL loss or tie + LAR loss or tie
- ATL loss or tie + SEA loss or tie
Washington Commanders (9-5) vs. Philadelphia Eagles (12-2); Sunday, 1 p.m. ET, FOX
Washington clinches a playoff berth with:
- WAS win + ATL loss or tie + LAR loss or tie
- WAS win + ATL loss or tie + SEA loss or tie
- WAS tie + ATL loss + ARI loss or tie + LAR loss or tie + SEA loss or tie (as long as LAR and SEA both don’t tie)
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