NFL playoff picture live updates: Clinching scenarios and standings ...

7 Jan 2024

The Phinsider

NFL playoff picture live updates Clinching scenarios and standings

Week 18 of the NFL schedule is upon us, bringing to a close the regular season and setting up the playoffs. Who will make it into the postseason tournament this weekend?

The NFL is down to one final weekend of the regular season, giving teams one final chance to claim their spot in the playoffs. This weekend’s games, including two on Saturday and 14 on Sunday, is full of playoff implications. Who will clinch a division title? Which teams will make up the three wild card teams for each side of the bracket? We keep up with everything happening throughout the weekend, updating the standing as games go final and keeping up with all of the clinching scenarios.

Entering the weekend, the AFC playoff picture includes the Baltimore Ravens having clinched the AFC North and the number one seed, giving them a bye during Wild Card Weekend next week and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs. The Miami Dolphins, holding on to the second seed position, have claimed a berth in the playoffs, but are still playing for the AFC East division title and to secure their claim on the second spot. The Kansas City Chiefs, locked into the third seed, have clinched the AFC West title. The Cleveland Browns are locked into the fifth seed as the top wild card team.

The Jacksonville Jaguars are currently the fourth seed as the leader in the AFC South, but they have not clinched the spot nor the division. The Houston Texans and Indianapolis Colts could both surpass the Jaguars and find themselves the division champions by the end of the weekend. The Pittsburgh Steelers and Buffalo Bills are also both in the fight for a playoff berth, with Pittsburgh hoping for a wild card spot while the Bills could win the AFC East over Miami, be either the sixth or seventh seed as a wild card team, or find themselves on the wrong side of the playoff cut line.

The NFC playoff picture has the San Francisco 49ers locked into the top spot as the NFC West division winner. The Dallas Cowboys are currently the second seed, but they still need to be locked into that spot, with the Philadelphia Eagles, currently the top wild card team, also able to claim the NFC East division title. The Detroit Lions, the NFC North division champions, are in the third position, with a slim possibility of sliding up into the second seed if the Cowboys and Eagles both stumble. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are currently the fourth seed, but they have not yet clinched the NFC South, with both the New Orleans Saints and Atlanta Falcons still in the hunt.

With the fifth seed going to whichever NFC East team, Dallas or Philadelphia, does not win the division, the sixth seed is held by the Los Angeles Rams, who are locked into the playoffs but could slip down to the seventh seed with a loss and a Green Bay Packers win. The Packers, Seattle Seahawks, Minnesota Vikings, Buccaneers, and Saints are all in contention for the seventh seed.

Note: In past weeks, we have included the elimination scenarios throughout the week. This week, we did not include them because they are just the opposite of the clinching scenarios. As one team clinches, another will see all of their scenarios end, essentially giving us the elimination scenarios as well.

Here are the current standings for both the AFC and NFC.

Last Update: 7:29 p.m. ET, Saturday

AFC playoff picture (through Week 17 Saturday afternoon game):

1 - Baltimore Ravens (13-4, AFC North leader)xyz*2 - Miami Dolphins (11-5, AFC East leader)x3 - Kansas City Chiefs (10-6, AFC West leader)y4 - Jacksonville Jaguars (9-7, AFC South leader)

5 - Cleveland Browns (11-5, Wild Card 1 position)x6 - Buffalo Bills (10-6, Wild Card 2 position)7 - Pittsburgh Steelers (10-7, Wild Card 3 position)*

Indianapolis Colts (9-7)Houston Texans (9-7)

Eliminated:Denver Broncos (8-8)Cincinnati Bengals (8-8)Las Vegas Raiders (7-9)New York Jets (6-10)Tennessee Titans (5-11)Los Angeles Chargers (5-11)New England Patriots (4-12)

x Playoff berth clinchedy Division title clinchedz Homefield advantage/first-round bye clinched*Week 18 game completed

Tiebreaks:

Jaguars over Colts and Texans based on head-to-head results
Colts over Texans based on head-to-head results
Broncos over Bengals based on AFC winning percentage
Titans over Chargers based on head-to-head results

AFC Clinching Scenarios Week 17:

Bills clinch AFC East title with:

Bills clinch wild card berth with:

Bills tie OR
~~Steelers loss/tie~~ OR
Jaguars loss/tie OR
Texans-Colts tie

Dolphins clinch AFC title with:

Dolphins win

Steelers clinch wild card berth with:

Steelers win and Bills loss OR
Steelers win and Jaguars loss/tie OR
Steelers win and Texans-Colts tie OR
~~Steelers tie~~ and Jaguars loss and Texans-Colts do not tie OR
Jagaurs loss and Broncos win and Texans-Colts do not tie

Colts clinch AFC South title with:

Colts win and Jaguars loss/tie OR
Colts tie and Jaguars loss

Colts clinch wild card berth with:

Colts win OR
Colts tie and ~~Steelers loss/tie~~

Jaguars clinch AFC South with:

Jaguars win OR
Jaguars tie and Texans-Colts tie

Jaguars clinch wild card berth with: (Jaguars eliminated from wild card consideration)

Jaguars tie and ~~Steelers loss/tie~~
~~Steelers loss~~ and Broncos loss/tie and Texans-Colts do not tie

Texans clinch AFC South title with:

Texans win and Jaguars loss/tie

Texans clinch wild card berth with:

Texans win OR
Texans tie and Jaguars loss and ~~Steelers loss/tie~~

NFC Playoff Picture (through Week 17)

1 - San Francisco 49ers (12-4, NFC West leader)xyz2 - Dallas Cowboys (11-5, NFC East leader)x3 - Detroit Lions (11-5, NFC North leader)y4 - Tampa Bay Buccaneers (8-8, NFC South leader)

5 - Philadelphia Eagles (11-5, Wild Card 1 position)x6 - Los Angeles Rams (9-7, Wild Card 2 position)x7 - Green Bay Packers (8-8, Wild Card 3 position)

Seattle Seahawks (8-8)New Orleans Saints (8-8)Minnesota Vikings (7-9)Atlanta Falcons (7-9)*

Eliminated:Chicago Bears (7-9)*New York Giants (5-11)Washington Commanders (4-12)Arizona Cardinals (4-12)Carolina Panthers (2-14)

x Playoff berth clinchedy Division title clinched

*Note: The Bears are ahead of the Falcons in the standings, but the Falcons have not been eliminated from the NFC South division title, keeping them above the “Eliminated” group.

Tiebreaks:

Cowboys over Eagles based on NFC winning percentage (divisional tiebreak); Cowboys over Lions based on head-to-head results
Buccaneers over Saints based on common games winning percentage
Packers over Seahawks based on strength of victory; Packers over Saints based on NFC winning percentage
Seahawks over Saints based on NFC winning percentage
Vikings over Bears based on common games winning percentage (divisional tiebreak); Vikings over Falcons based on head-to-head results
Bears over Falcons based on head-to-head results
Commanders over Cardinals based on head-to-head results

NFC Clinching Scenarios Week 17

Cowboys clinch NFC East title with: