The NFC playoff picture is starting to take shape, as the Washington Commanders earned a dominant win over the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday and made the playoffs for the first time in four years. Washington Dallas and San Francisco also eliminated Angry with Philadelphia.
The Los Angeles Rams lead the Seattle Seahawks by one game in the NFC West and are on the verge of clinching the division. The Detroit Lions and Minnesota Vikings are tied for the NFC North lead with 13 wins, but the Lions still have the tiebreaker. The NFC South is headed to a rough spot as the Falcons are back in first place due to the Buccaneers’ loss to the Cowboys.
As for the Green Bay Packers, they clinched a playoff spot after a win over the New Orleans Saints on Monday night.
The picture of the AFC playoffs is starting to become clear as the field gets closer to being set. The Los Angeles Chargers prevented the Denver Broncos from making the playoffs, while hurting the chances of 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 on Saturday, but Pittsburgh still has the tiebreaker due to the better conference record. Meanwhile, the Kansas City Chiefs are one win away from clinching home-field advantage.
The conference standings are detailed below with most of the Week 16 games completed:
afc playoff photo
y – clinched division
X – made it to the playoffs
e- out of playoff
1. Kansas City Chiefs (14-1)
The Chiefs have a two-game lead 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 needs just one win in its final two games.)
Remaining programs: At the Steelers, at the 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 to stay at No. 1 seed.
Remaining programs: vs. Jets, at Patriots
3. Pittsburgh Steelers (10-5)
The Steelers, who still missed the playoff spot after Saturday’s loss to Baltimore, are tied with the Ravens in the AFC North. Pittsburgh has the conference-record tiebreaker over Baltimore (6-4) (7-3) which gives the Steelers the lead in the division.
Remaining programs: vs chief, vs bengal
4. Houston Texans (9-6)
The Texans have already won the AFC South. At least they will be numbers. The fourth seed in the AFC and will have a home game in the wild-card round of the playoffs, but are one game behind the Steelers for the no. 3 seeds.
Remaining programs: 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 programs: at texans vs browns
6. Los Angeles Chargers (9-6)
The Chargers reached no. The team, seeded sixth in the AFC after their win over the Broncos, took over the head-to-head tiebreaker after defeating Denver.
Remaining programs: On patriots, on attackers
7. Denver Broncos (9-6)
The Broncos are still one win away from making the playoffs after Thursday’s loss to the Chargers.
Remaining programs: 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 out of playoff contention with a loss or wins over the Chargers and Broncos. The Colts have the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Dolphins for the number. The Bengals own the tiebreaker over the eighth seed based on a Week 7 win and a better conference record (6-5) than Cincinnati (4-6).
Remaining programs: at giants vs jaguars
9. Miami Dolphins (7-8)
The Dolphins’ AFC playoff hopes are still alive, but Miami will be out next week with a loss or wins over the Chargers and Broncos. Miami is two games behind Denver for the final playoff spot and holds the conference-record tiebreaker (6-5) over Cincinnati (4-6).
Remaining programs: In the Browns, in the Jets
10.Cincinnati Bengals (7-8)
Bengal remains at no. 10 seed in AFC, Needs significant help to make playoffsCincinnati needs to overcome and win over several teams to make the playoffs, as the Bengals are two games behind the Broncos and will play them in Week 17. They can’t lose another game.
Remaining programs: vs. Broncos, Steelers
out of playoff race
Six teams in the AFC are out of playoff contention: the Raiders, Patriots, Titans, Jets, Jaguars and Browns.
NFC playoff picture
| 1 |
X – Lion  Germany’s new football hope Brandon Coleman has had an unusual path |
13 |
2 |
0 |
.867 |
| 2 | X-Eagles | 12 | 3 | 0 | .800 |
| 3 | rams | 9 | 6 | 0 | .600 |
| 4 |
Falcon |
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-cowboy | 7 | 8 | 0 | .467 |
| 11 | E-Cardinals | 7 | 8 | 0 | .467 |
| 12 | E-49ers | 6 | 9 | 0 | .400 |
| 13 | e-saint | 5 | 10 | 0 | .333 |
| 14 | e-bears | 4 | 11 | 0 | .267 |
| 15 | E-Panthers | 4 | 11 | 0 | .267 |
| 16 | e-giant | 2 | 13 | 0 | .133 |
X – made it to the playoffs
e- out of playoff
1. Detroit Lions (13-2)
The Lions remain at no. 1 seed in the conference after their win and the Eagles’ loss. They are also tied with the Vikings for the NFC North lead, but they have the head-to-head tiebreaker.
Remaining programs: At 49ers, vs. Vikings
2. Philadelphia Eagles (12-3)
The Eagles look for home-field advantage, but the Lions must lose, the Vikings must lose next week and Minnesota must beat Detroit in Week 18. Philadelphia can clinch the NFC East and no. 2 seed with a win in one of its next two games.
Remaining programs: vs cowboys, vs giants
3. Los Angeles Rams (9-6)
The Rams lead the NFC West by one game over the Seahawks with two games remaining. Los Angeles clinched the division the following week with a win and a Seattle loss.
Remaining programs: vs. Cardinals, vs. Seahawks
4. Atlanta Falcons (8-7)
The Buccaneers’ loss to the Cowboys moves the Falcons back into the lead in the NFC South. The Falcons hold the head-to-head tiebreaker over Tampa Bay and control their own destiny.
Remaining programs: 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 head-to-head tiebreaker.
Remaining programs: 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. He is currently number 1. 6 seed in the NFC.
Remaining programs: Vikings vs Bears
7. Washington Commanders (10-5)
The Commanders are two games ahead of the Buccaneers and Seahawks for the final playoff spot in the conference. They have secured a place in the playoffs with a win next week.
Remaining programs: vs. Falcons, Cowboys
8. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (8-7)
The Buccaneers fell out of the playoff picture behind the NFC South leaders. To win the division they would have to finish with a better record than the Falcons as they lost both games to Atlanta.
Remaining programs: vs panthers, vs saints
9. Seattle Seahawks (8-7)
The Seahawks are now two games behind the Commanders for the final wild-card spot after Sunday’s loss. They are also one game behind the NFC West lead, but the Rams have the head-to-head tiebreaker.
Remaining programs: On the Bears, on the Rams
out of playoff race
The Cardinals, Cowboys, 49ers and Saints were eliminated from the playoffs in Week 16. The Commander’s win over the Eagles eliminated the Cowboys and 49ers. The Cardinals were eliminated with a loss to the Panthers and a win by the Rams. The Bears, Panthers, and Giants were already eliminated entering Week 16.
The tough everyday life of German players in the European football league
