NFL playoff picture: Standings shift in wild Week 17

Week 17 began on Christmas day with two huge AFC games featuring four playoff teams. On Thursday night, we also saw a potential playoff team keep pace in the NFC. Saturday’s three games had four playoff hopefuls in the mix. That’s a lot of fun before Sunday’s slate even kicks off.

On Christmas, the Kansas City Chiefs clinched the one seed with their win over the Steelers. The Baltimore Ravens won and the Steelers lost, so Baltimore moved into first place in the AFC North and third place in the conference. Meanwhile, the Houston Texans locked into the fourth seed with their loss.

Thursday saw the Seahawks keep pace with the Los Angeles Rams in the NFC West. We’ll see what Saturday’s Rams game holds.

The Los Angeles Chargers punched their ticket on Saturday afternoon, further cementing Jim Harbaugh as one of the best turnaround coaches in football.

The Buffalo Bills won on Sunday to clinch the two seed, so three of the top four spots in the AFC are locked in following Week 17.

The Philadelphia Eagles clinched the NFC East with a huge win and the Washington Commanders followed suit, clinching a playoff spot on Sunday night. In doing so, the Commanders also clinched a playoff spot for the Los Angeles Rams.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers kept pace in the NFC South, and the Falcons blew a lead, putting Tampa in the driver’s seat in Week 18.

The Minnesota Vikings are (briefly?) in the one seed in the NFC following their Sunday win, but the Lions can reclaim that on Monday with their own victory.

With more weekend action likely to further impact the standings, we have all the info you need right here:

AFC standings following Week 17
1. z-Kansas City Chiefs (15-1)
2. y-Buffalo Bills (13-3)
3. x-Baltimore Ravens (11-5)
4. y-Houston Texans (9-7)

5. x-Pittsburgh Steelers (10-6, win over LAC)
6. Los Angeles Chargers (10-6, loss to PIT)*
7. Denver Broncos (9-7)*

8. Miami Dolphins (8-8, 6-5 AFC)*
9. Cincinnati Bengals (8-8, 5-6 AFC)*
10. Indianapolis Colts (7-9) — eliminated
11. New York Jets (4-12, 4-7 AFC, win over JAX) — eliminated
12. Las Vegas Raiders (4-12, 3-8 AFC, win over JAX) — eliminated
13. Jacksonville Jaguars (4-12, 4-7 AFC, loss to NYJ & LV) — eliminated
14. Cleveland Browns (3-13) — eliminated
15. Tennessee Titans (3-13, win over NE) — eliminated
16. New England Patriots (3-13, loss to TEN) — eliminated

NFC standings during Week 17
1. x-Detroit Lions (14-2, win over MIN)
2. y-Philadelphia Eagles (13-3)
3. y-Los Angeles Rams (10-6)
4. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (9-7)

5. x-Minnesota Vikings (14-2, loss to DET)
6. x-Washington Commanders (11-5, 8-3 NFC)
7. x-Green Bay Packers (11-5, 6-5 NFC)

8. Seattle Seahawks (9-7) — eliminated
9. Atlanta Falcons (8-8)
10. Dallas Cowboys (7-9, 5-6 NFC) — eliminated
11. Arizona Cardinals (7-9, 3-8 NFC) — eliminated
12. San Francisco 49ers (6-9, win over DAL) — eliminated
13. New Orleans Saints (5-11) — eliminated
14. Chicago Bears (4-11, win over CAR) — eliminated
15. Carolina Panthers (4-12, loss to CHI) — eliminated
16. New York Giants (3-13) — eliminated

Teams with an asterisk (*) have been eliminated from divisional contention
Teams with an (x) have clinched a playoff spot
Teams with a (y) have clinched their division
Teams with a (z) have clinched the one seed, home-field advantage, and a first-round bye

Key playoff picture takeaways in Week 17
Kansas City Chiefs clinch the one seed in AFC and home-field advantage
On Christmas Day, the Chiefs won their 15th game of the year to clinch the one seed in the AFC. They have a ton of close calls and only one loss (to the second-place Bills) but it’s been enough to achieve their goal of having the AFC playoffs go through Arrowhead.

Baltimore Ravens pass the Steelers in AFC North with win over Texans
The Steelers have lose three straight games to three straight division leaders, so it’s nothing to be ashamed about. But they still have lost the lead in the AFC North to the Ravens, who have won three straight. If the Ravens win in Week 18, they clinch the division title.

Houston Texans clinch the four seed with loss to Ravens
The Texans have lost their last two games. They’ve lost five of their last eight. They’re in a bit of a tailspin. But luckily for them, the AFC South is a mess. They’ve already clinched the division title there and can’t move up or down from the four spot.

Seattle Seahawks keep pace in NFC West with weird Thursday night win
Seattle beat the Bears 6 to 3 in an ugly, ugly NFL game on Thursday night. Still, they have a shot at winning the division in Week 18 but they’ll need a little help on Saturday and Sunday.

Los Angeles Chargers clinch a playoff spot with easy win over Patriots
The Chargers have clinched a playoff spot in the AFC in Jim Harbaugh’s first year with the team. They still have seeding to play for in Week 18, or they could chose to rest their starters anyway.

Cincinnati Bengals win wild game to stay alive
The Bengals are one step closer to a miraculous run to the AFC playoffs. They’ll ned a win and some help next week, but they are still alive after a wild game that say multiple lead changes and ties in the final few minutes of regulation and overtime. We even saw a game-winning kick doink off the upright only for Ciny to get another shot and leave no doubt.

Denver Broncos can’t clinch in loss to Bengals
The Broncos almost did it. They scored a late touchdown on the arm of Bo Nix and decided to kick the extra point to send it to overtime. A tie would have clinched their playoff spot, so the logic wasn’t bad. In overtime, they couldn’t generate any offense and gave the Bengals multiple attempts at a game-winning drive. Now Denver needs a win in Week 18 to secure their playoff spot, btu they are likely to be playing a lot of Chiefs backups.

The L.A. Rams keep winning, and they’ve now won the NFC West
Los Angeles clinched their division on Sunday after they won on Saturday night. In a thrilling game, they knocked off the Arizona Cardinals with a late interception. The Rams needed 3.5 wins on Sunday and got four to lock up the NFC West even before Week 18.

Philadelphia Eagles clinch the NFC East and a home playoff game
The Eagles crushed the Cowboys and won the NFC East on Sunday. They are still in play for the one seed, but need a couple of losses from the Detroit Lions. It’s more likely that they end up as the two seed and rest their guys in Week 18.

Buffalo Bills clinch the two seed in the AFC with blowout win
The Bills have locked up the second seed. They are two games up on the Ravens and two games back of the Chiefs with only one game left on the calendar. They should be able to rest their starters in Week 18.

Indianapolis Colts face-plant against New York Giants and drop out of playoff contention
The Colts got what they needed on Saturday to stay in the playoff picture until their game on Sunday. They just needed a win over the lowly New York Giants to push it to Week 18. They couldn’t do it, and the Joe Flacco’s Colts are done for the season.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers hold serve to keep pressure on Atlanta Falcons
The Falcons didn’t play until Sunday night, and they could have received a big boost on Sunday afternoon. The Bucs had other plans, winning in a blowout to get to 9-7. Coupled with Atlanta’s loss, and Tampa is in the driver’s seat heading into Week 18.

Miami Dolphins stay alive until Week 18 with win over Browns
The Miami Dolphins staved off elimination and won a game in cold weather! After moving to 8-8, they are the first team out in the AFC. If they win in Week 18 and the Broncos lose, Miami is in and heading to Buffalo in the wild card round.

Minnesota Vikings win and set up a massive Week 18 game
The Vikings won their Week 17 game against the Green Bay Packers, setting up a huge Week 18 game against the Detroit Lions for the one seed in the NFC. The winner is the one seed, the loser is the five seed.

Washington Commanders win another insane game to clinch a playoff spot
Jayden Daniels and the Commanders were down 10 points heading into the second half, but a commanding performance from the rookie QB and an overtime touchdown drive were enough to clinch a playoff spot for Washington.

Atlanta Falcons lose control of the NFC South with loss
The Atlanta Falcons had a 10-point lead heading into halftime and a long field goal attempt at the end of regulation to win the game, but they just couldn’t do it. The 56-yard FG attempt was short and they never possessed the ball in overtime. They’ll need to win in Week 18 and hope for a Tampa Bay loss to clinch the NFC South.

Detroit Lions win, setting up a huge Week 18 game with Vikings
OK, the Lions’ game in Week 17 didn’t matter, because the stage was already set for a huge Week 18 game in the NFC. Detroit didn’t have anything to play for but they worked their butts off to beat the San Fransisco 49ers on Monday night. Detroit scored on every meaningful possession except one, turning the ball over on downs at the 49ers’ 8. Gonna be a fun one.

Which NFL teams have already clinched playoff spots?
When they moved to 11 wins in Week 13, the Kansas City Chiefs became the first NFL team in the NFL to clinch a playoff spot. The Buffalo Bills clinched the AFC East last Sunday night, ensuring a home playoff game. The Lions secured their playoff spot with the Thursday night win while the Philadelphia Eagles joined them on Sunday. The Houston Texans won the AFC South in Week 15 while the Minnesota Vikings sewed up their spot before they even played in Week 15. The Pittsburgh Steelers clinched a playoff spot in Week 15 despite losing. The Baltimore Ravens joined the part on Saturday of Week 16 by beating the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Kansas City Chiefs
Buffalo Bills
Detroit Lions
Philadelphia Eagles
Minnesota Vikings
Houston Texans
Pittsburgh Steelers
Baltimore Ravens
Green Bay Packers
Los Angeles Chargers
Washington Commanders
Los Angeles Rams

Which NFL teams have been eliminated from the playoffs?
In Week 13, the Giants became the first team this season to be officially eliminated from the playoff race. On Black Friday, the Raiders joined them with their tenth loss of the season and they are also eliminated. On Sunday, the Patriots were also eliminated them with a loss and wins by the Chargers and Texans. With the Broncos win on Monday night, they eliminated the Jaguars from the playoffs. In Week 14, the Browns joined the list. The Week 15 elimination group includes the Bears and Panthers.

New York Giants
New England Patriots
Jacksonville Jaguars
Las Vegas Raiders
Tennessee Titans
Cleveland Browns
New York Jets
Chicago Bears
Carolina Panthers
Dallas Cowboys
Arizona Cardinals
San Francisco 49ers
New Orleans Saints
Indianapolis Colts
Seattle Seahawks

NFL Division Standings
AFC East standings

Buffalo Bills, 13-3 — division clinched

Miami Dolphins, 8-8
New York Jets, 4-12 — eliminated from playoff contention
New England Patriots, 3-13 — eliminated from playoff contention

AFC North standings

Baltimore Ravens, 11-5
Pittsburgh Steelers, 10-6
Cincinnati Bengals, 8-8
Cleveland Browns, 3-13 — eliminated from playoff contention

AFC South standings

Houston Texans, 9-7
Indianapolis Colts, 7-9
Jacksonville Jaguars, 4-12 — eliminated from playoff contention
Tennessee Titans, 3-13 — eliminated from playoff contention

AFC West standings

Kansas City Chiefs, 15-1 — division clinched

Los Angeles Chargers, 10-6
Denver Broncos, 9-7
Las Vegas Raiders, 4-12 — eliminated from playoff contention

NFC East standings

Philadelphia Eagles, 13-3 – division clinched

Washington Commanders, 11-5
Dallas Cowboys, 7-9 — eliminated from playoff contention
New York Giants, 3-13 — eliminated from playoff contention

NFC North standings

Minnesota Vikings, 14-2
Detroit Lions, 13-2
Green Bay Packers, 11-5
Chicago Bears, 4-12 — eliminated from playoff contention

NFC South standings

Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 9-7
Atlanta Falcons, 8-8
New Orleans Saints, 5-10 — eliminated from playoff contention
Carolina Panthers, 4-12 — eliminated from playoff contention

NFC West standings

Los Angeles Rams, 10-6 – division clinched

Seattle Seahawks, 9-7 — eliminated from playoff contention
Arizona Cardinals, 7-9 — eliminated from playoff contention
San Francisco 49ers, 6-9 — eliminated from playoff contention