The Chiefs clinched the No. 1 seed in the AFC on Christmas Day. Here’s how the rest of the playoff picture looks after Thursday night of Week 17:
NFC Playoff Picture
DIVISION LEADERS
1. Detroit Lions (13-2): Clinched a playoff berth.
2. Philadelphia Eagles (12-3): Clinched a playoff berth.
3. Los Angeles Rams (9-6): Pulling away in the NFC West.
4. Atlanta Falcons (8-7): Own the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Buccaneers.
WILD CARDS
5. Minnesota Vikings (13-2): Clinched a playoff berth, will clinch the No. 1 seed if they win out.
6. Green Bay Packers (11-4): Getting swept by the Lions and losing to the Vikings takes them out of NFC North contention, even though they’re 11-1 otherwise.
7. Washington Commanders (10-5): Stayed alive in the NFC East race by beating the Eagles.
OUTSIDE LOOKING IN
8. Seattle Seahawks (9-7): Stayed alive with win over Bears.
9. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (8-7): Loss to the Cowboys knocked them out of playoff position, for now.
10. Dallas Cowboys (7-8): Mathematically eliminated.
11. Arizona Cardinals (7-8): Mathematically eliminated.
12. San Francisco 49ers (6-9): Mathematically eliminated.
13. New Orleans Saints (5-10): Mathematically eliminated.
14. Carolina Panthers (4-11): Mathematically eliminated.
15. Chicago Bears (4-12): Mathematically eliminated.
16. New York Giants (2-13): Mathematically eliminated.
AFC Playoff Picture
DIVISION LEADERS
1. Kansas City Chiefs (15-1): Clinched the No. 1 seed, first-round bye and home-field advantage throughout the AFC playoffs.
2. Buffalo Bills (12-3): Clinched the AFC East.
3. Baltimore Ravens (11-5): Clinched a playoff berth.
4. Houston Texans (9-7): Clinched the AFC South and the No. 4 seed in the playoffs.
WILD CARDS
5. Pittsburgh Steelers (10-6): Clinched a playoff berth.
6. Los Angeles Chargers (9-6): Have the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Broncos.
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 (7-8): Slim wild card hopes.
9. Miami Dolphins (7-8): Even slimmer wild card hopes.
10. Cincinnati Bengals (7-8): The slimmest of wild card hopes.
11. New York Jets (4-11): Mathematically eliminated.
12. Cleveland Browns (3-12): Mathematically eliminated.
13. Jacksonville Jaguars (3-12): Mathematically eliminated.
14. Tennessee Titans (3-12): Mathematically eliminated.
15. Las Vegas Raiders (3-12): Mathematically eliminated.
16. New England Patriots (3-12): Mathematically eliminated.
Clinching Scenarios
AFC
CLINCHED:
Kansas City Chiefs (14-1) – AFC No. 1 seed
Buffalo Bills (12-3) – AFC East
Houston Texans (9-6) – AFC South
Baltimore Ravens (10-5) – playoff berth
Pittsburgh Steelers (10-5) – playoff berth
Denver Broncos (9-6) at Cincinnati Bengals (7-8); Saturday, 4:30 p.m. ET, NFL Network
Denver clinches a playoff berth with:
- DEN win or tie
Los Angeles Chargers (9-6) at New England Patriots (3-12); Saturday, 1 p.m. ET, NFL Network
Los Angeles clinches a playoff berth with:
- LAC win or tie
- MIA loss or tie + IND loss or tie
NFC
CLINCHED:
Detroit Lions (13-2) – playoff berth
Green Bay Packers (11-4) – playoff berth
Minnesota Vikings (13-2) – playoff berth
Philadelphia Eagles (12-3) – playoff berth
Detroit Lions (13-2) at San Francisco 49ers (6-9); Monday, 8:15 p.m. ET, ESPN/ABC
Detroit clinches NFC North division title and the NFC’s No. 1 seed, lone first-round bye and home-field advantage with:
- DET win + MIN loss
Philadelphia Eagles (12-3) vs. Dallas Cowboys (7-8); Sunday, 1 p.m. ET, FOX
Philadelphia clinches NFC East division title with:
- PHI win or tie
- WAS loss or tie
Atlanta Falcons (8-7) at Washington Commanders (10-5); Sunday, 8:20 p.m. ET, NBC
Atlanta clinches NFC South division title with:
- ATL win + TB loss
Los Angeles Rams (9-6) vs. Arizona Cardinals (7-8); Saturday, 8 p.m. ET, NFL Network
Los Angeles Rams clinch NFC West division title with:
- LAR win + LAR clinches strength of victory tiebreaker over SEA
(Note: LAR clinches strength of victory over SEA with 3.5 or more wins from the following teams: MIN, BUF, SF, WAS, CIN, CLE)
Washington Commanders (10-5) vs. Atlanta Falcons (8-7); Sunday, 8:20 p.m. ET, NBC
Washington clinches a playoff berth with:
- WAS win or tie
- TB loss or tie
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