NFL Playoff Bracket Picture 2024-25: AFC, NFC Standings After Week 11 Early Slate
Joe TanseyNovember 17, 2024NFL Playoff Bracket Picture 2024-25: AFC, NFC Standings After Week 11 SNF 0 of 2
Bleacher Report
The Buffalo Bills handed the Kansas City Chiefs their first loss of the 2024 regular season on Sunday afternoon.
Buffalo’s win brought the AFC East leader within a half-game of the Chiefs at the top of the AFC standings.
Kansas City is still in front, but its margin of error is slimmer because the Bills now own the head-to-head tiebreaker.
The Chiefs and Bills are the clear top teams in the AFC, but they could face a threat from the Pittsburgh Steelers, who sit at 8-2 after their win over the Baltimore Ravens.
Over in the NFC, the Detroit Lions continue to look like the class of the conference.
Detroit trampled the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 11’s early-afternoon window to keep its advantage on top of the NFC.
Dan Campbell’s team is facing competition from the Philadelphia Eagles, who surged in front in the NFC East on Thursday night.
AFC Standings1 of 2
Joe Sargent/Getty Images
Division Leaders
1. Kansas City (9-1)
2. Buffalo (9-2)
3. Pittsburgh (8-2)
4. Houston (6-4)
Wild-Card Race
5. Los Angeles Chargers (7-3)
6. Baltimore (7-4)
7. Denver (6-5)
8. Indianapolis (5-6)
9. Miami (4-6)
10. Cincinnati (4-7)
11. New York Jets (3-8)
12. New England (3-8)
13. Cleveland (2-8)
14. Tennessee (2-8)
15. Las Vegas (2-8)
16. Jacksonville (2-9)
Buffalo moved within striking distance of the Chiefs with their home win in the late-afternoon window.
Kansas City is still the No. 1 seed after Week 11, but it has to be perfect, or close to it, for the rest of the regular season to avoid dropping into a tie with the Bills.
Buffalo just has to keep pace with the Chiefs after its Week 12 bye and hope for one of Kansas City’s opponents to pull off an upset to land home-field advantage.
The Pittsburgh Steelers were the biggest winner in the AFC from Sunday’s early window.
The Steelers defeated the Baltimore Ravens in their first divisional game of the season.
Pittsburgh is now 1.5 games ahead of the Ravens in the AFC North with the head-to-head tiebreaker in hand.
The Steelers will run through the AFC North gauntlet in the next three weeks with two matchups against the Cleveland Browns and one versus the Cincinnati Bengals.
Baltimore is still in good shape in the wild-card race because of the buffer between itself and the Denver Broncos and Indianapolis Colts.
Indianapolis moved to 5-6 with a win over the New York Jets. The Colts could use a Denver Broncos loss to the Atlanta Falcons to level the two teams at 5-6 going into Week 12.
The Colts and Broncos must have rejoiced on Sunday night when the Cincinnati Bengals lost to the Los Angeles Chargers. Cincinnati is now 4-7 and without a clear path to the postseason.
Meanwhile, the Chargers are now 7-3 and in a terrific spot to land a wild-card spot. Only the Chargers, Ravens, Broncos and Colts are within two games of each other in a wild-card race that has thinned out in the last few weeks.
NFC Standings2 of 2
Steven King/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
Division Leaders
1. Detroit (9-1)
2. Philadelphia (8-2)
3. Arizona (6-4)
4. Atlanta (6-5)
Wild-Card Race
5. Minnesota (8-2)
6. Green Bay (7-3)
7. Washington (7-4)
8. Los Angeles Rams (5-5)
9. Seattle (5-5)
10. San Francisco (5-5)
11. Tampa Bay (4-6)
12. Chicago (4-6)
13. New Orleans (4-7)
14. Dallas (3-6)
15. Carolina (3-7)
16. New York Giants (2-8)
The Lions continued their reign of dominance with a blowout win over the Jaguars.
Detroit kept its one-game lead over the Eagles for the NFC’s top seed.
The Eagles are 1.5 games clear of the Washington Commanders in the NFC East after their triumph at home on Thursday night.
Washington still has a cushion in the fight for the last wild-card spot.
The Los Angeles Rams, Seattle Seahawks and San Francisco 49ers all sit at 5-5. The Rams are in front of their two NFC West rivals after the Seahawks’ win over the 49ers on Sunday afternoon.
San Francisco’s loss to Seattle put it at a significant disadvantage. The Niners are now 1-3 in divisional play. That could be a massive hindrance for the Niners since that could be a significant tiebreaker when it comes to the wild-card hunt.
The NFC West-leading Arizona Cardinals inched up to the No. 3 seed during their bye week after the Atlanta Falcons fell to the Denver Broncos.
Atlanta still has a cushion atop the NFC South with a 1.5-game lead and the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
