NFL Playoff Bracket Scenarios 2024-25 Week 18: Standings After 49ers vs. Lions
NFL Playoff Bracket Scenarios 2024-25 Week 18: Standings After 49ers vs. Lions0 of 2
B/R
It’s not often a team battling for the NFC’s No. 1 seed has a largely meaningless game in the penultimate week of the season, but that was the case for the Detroit Lions on Monday.
After all, their Week 18 showdown against the Minnesota Vikings will be for the NFC North crown, the No. 1 seed, a first-round bye and home-field advantage until the Super Bowl. That remained the case whether the Lions won or lost against the San Francisco 49ers.
Still, Detroit built some momentum heading into the critical game with a win over the 49ers.
Now its attention can turn toward the showdown against the Vikings. With that as the backdrop, here is where everyone is in the current standings heading into the final week of the 2024 regular season.
NFC Standings1 of 2
Brace Hemmelgarn/Getty Images
Division Leaders
1. Detroit Lions (14-2)
2. Philadelphia Eagles (13-3)
3. Los Angeles Rams (10-6)
4. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (9-7)
Wild-Card Picture
5. Minnesota Vikings (14-2)
6. Washington Commanders (11-5)
7. Green Bay Packers (11-5)
On the Bubble
9. Atlanta Falcons (8-8)
Eliminated
8. Seattle Seahawks (9-7)
10. Dallas Cowboys (7-9)
11. Arizona Cardinals (7-9)
12. San Francisco 49ers (6-10)
13. New Orleans Saints (5-11)
14. Chicago Bears (4-12)
15. Carolina Panthers (4-12)
16. New York Giants (3-13)
There isn’t a ton of Week 18 drama in the NFC outside of the obvious battle for the No. 1 seed between the Lions and Vikings.
The Philadelphia Eagles are locked into the No. 2 seed with the only remaining question being whether head coach Nick Sirianni will play running back Saquon Barkley, who is 101 rushing yards away from setting the single-season record, against the New York Giants.
The Los Angeles Rams have already clinched the NFC West, and the Washington Commanders and Green Bay Packers are locked into wild-card spots.
However, the NFC South is still up for grabs.
Control of the NFC South is back in the hands of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, though, after the Atlanta Falcons fell to the Commanders in overtime on Sunday. Tampa Bay will be the division champion with a win or a tie against the New Orleans Saints.
Atlanta needs to defeat the Carolina Panthers and hope for a New Orleans victory. The Saints have lost three straight while averaging 9.67 points in that span, so the Falcons aren’t exactly in ideal position.
Ultimately, all eyes will be on the Sunday night game between the Vikings and Lions. Detroit won the first matchup in Minnesota by just two points and will be at home this time around, although the Vikings enter play with nine straight victories and no shortage of momentum.
One more win would be massive.
AFC Standings2 of 2
Bryan M. Bennett/Getty Images
Division Leaders
1. Kansas City Chiefs (15-1)
2. Buffalo Bills (13-3)
3. Baltimore Ravens (11-5)
4. Houston Texans (9-7)
Wild-Card Race
5. Pittsburgh Steelers (10-6)
6. Los Angeles Chargers (10-6)
7. Denver Broncos (9-7)
On the Bubble
8. Miami Dolphins (8-8)
9. Cincinnati Bengals (8-8)
Eliminated
10. Indianapolis Colts (7-9)
11. New York Jets (4-12)
12. Las Vegas Raiders (4-12)
13. Jacksonville Jaguars (4-12)
14. Cleveland Browns (3-13)
15. Tennessee Titans (3-13)
16. New England Patriots (3-13)
Unlike the NFC, the top seed in the AFC is decided.
The Kansas City Chiefs clinched the first-round bye and home-field advantage with their Christmas Day victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers, meaning they will only have to win three postseason games to become the first team in NFL history to win three straight Super Bowls.
Elsewhere, the Buffalo Bills and Houston Texans are locked into the Nos. 2 and 4 seeds, respectively, as AFC East and AFC South champions.
Yet the AFC North is not yet decided even though the Baltimore Ravens are in control and can clinch it with a victory or tie against the Cleveland Browns. If Cleveland pulls off the upset, the Pittsburgh Steelers can win the division with a win over the Cincinnati Bengals.
Saturday’s game between Pittsburgh and Cincinnati is also important in the race for the AFC’s final wild-card spot.
The Denver Broncos control their own destiny, but a loss against a Chiefs team that may not play some of its regulars after clinching the No. 1 seed would open the door for the Miami Dolphins and Bengals.
Miami needs to defeat the New York Jets and hope for a Broncos loss, while Cincinnati needs to beat Pittsburgh and hope for losses from both the Broncos and the Dolphins.
It feels like a long shot for Joe Burrow and Co. to get into the playoffs at this point, but the team has won four in a row with the quarterback playing at an MVP level.
A win on Saturday before the Broncos and Dolphins both play on Sunday would at least put the pressure on the other two teams fighting for a wild-card spot and add some drama to the final regular-season weekend of the campaign.
