Admin November 27, 2024
NFL Week 13 picks: Colts, Broncos, and Seahawks
Lorenzo Reyes is back with his best bets for NFL Week 13 games, including Thursday’s Thanksgiving slate.
Lorenzo’s Locks
Three teams can punch their ticket to the NFL playoffs as soon as this week.
The top two teams in the AFC, the Kansas City Chiefs and the Buffalo Bills, as well as the team atop the NFC, the Detroit Lions, all have a shot at clinching a playoff berth during Week 13. Buffalo even has a chance at clinching its division title, thanks to the poor state of play in the AFC East.
Even if all three teams clinch a spot, they’ll still have plenty to play for over the last five weeks of the season. The Chiefs and Lions will still be competing for a division title, and all three teams have shots at the No. 1 seed in their respective conferences.
Here are all of the ways the Bills, Lions and Chiefs could clinch a playoff spot during Week 13:
NFL clinching scenarios Week 13
The Buffalo Bills, Detroit Lions and Kansas City Chiefs each can enter the championship rounds of the 2024 NFL season with playoff berths locked up. Here’s how they can do it:
Buffalo Bills playoff-clinching scenarios: Week 13
The Bills will win the AFC East and clinch a top-four seed in the NFL playoffs if:
- Bills win (vs. 49ers) AND Dolphins lose (at Packers)
Detroit Lions playoff-clinching scenarios: Week 13
The Lions will clinch a playoff berth if:
- Lions win (vs. Bears) AND 49ers lose or tie (at Bills) AND
- EITHER Cardinals lose or tie (at Vikings) AND Seahawks lose (at Jets) AND
- Buccaneers lose or tie (at Panthers) OR
- Commanders lose or tie (vs. Titans) AND Falcons lose (vs. Chargers) OR
- Commanders lose AND Falcons tie
- OR Cardinals lose AND Seahawks tie AND
- Buccaneers lose or tie OR
- Commanders lose or tie AND Falcons lose OR
- Commanders lose and Falcons tie
- EITHER Cardinals lose or tie (at Vikings) AND Seahawks lose (at Jets) AND
Essentially, the Lions need to win on Thursday. If they do, they’ll also be “rooting against” the Cardinals, Seahawks, Buccaneers, Commanders and Falcons during the day on Sunday. Then, they need the 49ers to lose on “Sunday Night Football.”
Kansas City Chiefs playoff-clinching scenarios: Week 13
The Chiefs will clinch a playoff berth during Week 13 if:
- Chiefs win (vs. Raiders) AND
- Dolphins lose or tie (at Packers)
- Broncos lose (vs. Browns) OR
- Chargers lose (vs. Falcons) AND Broncos tie
- OR Chiefs tie AND Dolphins lose
Kansas City can clinch earlier than any team. In the simplest terms, all they need is a Dolphins loss on Thursday night and their own win over the Raiders on Friday evening.