NFL Playoff Picture 2024-25: Standings, Bracket Scenarios After Ravens, Bengals Wins
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Current AFC Playoff Bracket
1. Kansas City Chiefs (15-1): Bye to the Divisional Round
2. Buffalo Bills (13-3) vs. 7. Denver Broncos (9-7)
3. Baltimore Ravens (12-5) vs. 6. Pittsburgh Steelers (10-7)
4. Houston Texans (9-7) vs. 5. Los Angeles Chargers (10-6)
Current AFC Standings
1. Kansas City Chiefs: 15-1, clinched AFC West title and AFC’s No. 1 seed
2. Buffalo Bills: 13-3, clinched AFC East title and AFC’s No. 2 seed
3. Baltimore Ravens: 12-5, clinched AFC North title and AFC’s No. 3 seed
4. Houston Texans: 9-7, clinched AFC South title and AFC’s No. 4 seed
5. Los Angeles Chargers: 10-6, clinched playoff berth
6. Pittsburgh Steelers: 10-7, clinched playoff berth
7. Denver Broncos: 9-7
Still Alive
8. Cincinnati Bengals: 9-8
9. Miami Dolphins: 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. Tennessee Titans: 3-13
15. New England Patriots: 3-13
16. Cleveland Browns: 3-14
AFC East
The Buffalo Bills will assuredly rest their starters Sunday at the New England Patriots (1 p.m. ET) with the AFC East title and No. 2 seed in hand.
The biggest question is who the Bills will play in the Wild Card round. It could be the Miami Dolphins, who visit the New York Jets (4:25 p.m.) to end the season.
Miami needs a win and a Denver Broncos loss to the Kansas City Chiefs (4:25 p.m.) in order to do that. The Dolphins are fortunate to play the struggling 4-12 Jets, but the Broncos will host a Chiefs team with no incentive to play their starters after locking in the No. 1 seed.
AFC North
The Baltimore Ravens roll into the playoffs as the No. 3 seed after winning their final four games by a combined 92 points.
They await the eventual No. 6 seed, which will be the Los Angeles Chargers or the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Right now, Pittsburgh is in the No. 6 seed after losing to the Bengals on Saturday. However, they’ll bump back up to No. 5 if the Chargers fall to the host Las Vegas Raiders (4:25 p.m.). Both teams would be 10-7, but Pittsburgh earned the head-to-head tiebreaker after beating L.A. 20-10 earlier this season.
Meanwhile, the Bengals have to play a nervy waiting game. They need Miami to lose to the Jets and Denver to fall to Kansas City. That’s a lot easier said than done, given the Jets’ 4-12 record and the Chiefs’ lack of incentive to play their starters, plus Denver being at home.
AFC South
The Houston Texans clinched the AFC South three weeks ago and will be the AFC’s No. 4 seed. However, they are going into Week 18 on a cold stretch after going 3-5 in their last eight games, capped by a 31-2 defeat to the Baltimore Ravens on Christmas Day.
Houston has one more opportunity to go into the playoffs in any sort of rhythm on Sunday when it visits the Tennessee Titans (1 p.m.).
AFC West
The Chiefs have earned the No. 1 seed and will host a Divisional Round matchup on either January 18 or 19.
The Chargers clinched a playoff berth after crushing the New England Patriots 40-7 last Saturday. They’ll finish the season against the team they started it against, the Raiders. L.A. beat Las Vegas 22-10 in Week 1 and will go to Vegas this time.
A win secures the No. 5 seed and a date with a reeling Texans team. A loss means a trip to Baltimore, which can make a case for being the NFL’s best team at the moment given how it’s played the last four weeks.
Denver’s destiny is in its own hands. It’s win-and-in for the Broncos, who will go to Buffalo for the playoffs if they beat Kansas City.
If they lose, it’s over. If Miami loses to the Jets, the Broncos would lose the head-to-head tiebreaker against the Bengals by virtue of their 30-24 overtime loss last Saturday. If Miami beats the Jets, then the Dolphins win a three-team conference record tiebreaker (7-5 Miami, 6-6 Cincinnati, 5-7 Denver).
