Admin January 4, 2025
Is Lamar Jackson the clear front runner for NFL MVP this year?
Mackenzie Salmon reacts to some blind stats between some of the front runners of the NFL MVP race.
Sports Seriously
There is just one week left in the 2024 NFL regular season and the league’s playoff picture is nearly set in stone. A whopping 12 of 14 playoff berths were clinched ahead of Week 18, so just two spots will be up for grabs in the final week of the season.
That said, there are still plenty of seedings to be decided. Notably, the No. 1 seed in the NFC will be up for grabs, and three division titles across the conferences have yet to be decided.
What does the NFL playoff picture look like entering Week 18? Here’s a look at the latest playoff bracket projections as the final week of the NFL’s regular season arrives.
NFL playoff picture: Who is in so far?
A total of 12 NFL teams have clinched playoff spots entering Week 18. They are as follows, grouped by conference:
AFC
NFC
NFL division winners 2024
Five of the NFL’s eight divisions have been clinched. Week 18’s action will decide the remaining three. Here’s a look at the status of each division race entering the weekend.
AFC
- AFC East: Buffalo Bills (13-3)
- AFC North: TBD
- AFC South: Houston Texans (9-7)
- AFC West: Kansas City Chiefs (15-1)
NFC
- NFC East: Philadelphia Eagles (13-3)
- NFC North: TBD
- NFC South: TBD
- NFC West: Los Angeles Rams (10-6)
Who are the No. 1 seeds in the NFL playoff picture
The No. 1 seeds in the NFL playoffs will be as follows:
- Kansas City Chiefs
- Detroit Lions OR Minnesota Vikings
The Chiefs clinched home-field advantage throughout the AFC playoffs by virtue of their Christmas Day win over the Pittsburgh Steelers.
The NFC’s top seed will be decided by Week 18’s head-to-head matchup between the Lions and the Vikings. The winner will take the NFC North title and the No. 1 seed, while the loser will be a 14-win wild-card team as the No. 5 seed.
In the event of a tie, the Lions would get the NFC’s No. 1 seed because of their head-to-head win over the Vikings earlier in the season.
NFL playoff bracket update: Wild card matchups
AFC
No. 1 Kansas City Chiefs (15-1, AFC West winners): BYE
The Chiefs clinched the AFC’s No. 1 seed with their 29-10 victory over the Steelers on Christmas. This marks the third time they will have the top seed and home-field advantage during Patrick Mahomes‘ career and will face the lowest-remaining seed in their divisional-round matchup.
No. 2 Buffalo Bills (13-3, AFC East winners) vs. No. 7 Denver Broncos (9-7, wild card No. 3)
The Bills couldn’t mount a challenge to the Chiefs as the No. 1 seed, but Buffalo did wrap up the conference’s No. 2 seed with its 40-14 blowout win over the New York Jets. That will allow them to face whichever team draws into the No. 7 seed in the AFC.
The Broncos are projected to be the AFC’s last team in. They get into the postseason with a win or a tie, so it should be easy enough for them to stave off competition from the Miami Dolphins and Cincinnati Bengals for the final postseason berth.
Denver would be an intriguing matchup for Buffalo. The Broncos allow just 19.4 points per game (fifth in the NFL), while the Bills score 31.8 points per game (second in the NFL). That strength-on-strength matchup could provide the Bills with an early postseason test, though asking Bo Nix to win his first playoff start on the road in Buffalo would be asking a lot.
No. 3 Baltimore Ravens (11-5, AFC North leaders) vs. No. 6 seed Los Angeles Chargers (10-6, wild card No. 2)
The Ravens haven’t clinched the AFC North yet, but if they beat the Cleveland Browns on Saturday, they will. Baltimore is favored by more than two touchdowns in that game, so it seems like it will be just a matter of time before they lock into the No. 3 seed.
The Chargers can move up to the No. 5 seed in Week 18, but if the season ended today, they would be the No. 6 seed. That would set up a playoff edition of the “Harbaugh Bowl” for the first time since Super Bowl 47, though it would be the second matchup between the brother coaches this year. John Harbaugh’s Ravens won a matchup against Jim Harbaugh’s Chargers 30-23 in Week 12.
No. 4 Houston Texans (9-7, AFC South winner) vs. No. 5 Pittsburgh Steelers (10-6, wild card No. 1)
Houston has been locked into the No. 4 seed since winning the AFC South in Week 15. They are presently set to take on the Steelers, who are on a three-game losing streak entering Week 18 and have a tough matchup against the Bengals. The Steelers could drop to the No. 6 seed with a loss and a Chargers win.
If the Steelers can clinch the No. 5 seed, it will set up a matchup between two teams that have scuffled a bit down the stretch of the season thanks to their hot-and-cold offenses.
NFC
No. 1 seed Detroit Lions (14-2, NFC North leaders): BYE
The NFC North title will be decided in Week 18. If the Lions win or tie against the Vikings, Detroit will be the No. 1 seed. If Minnesota wins, then the Vikings will be the No. 1 seed. The Lions have a slight edge in the race right now, but it should be viewed as a true coin-flip entering the season’s final week.
No. 2 Philadelphia Eagles (13-3, NFC East winners) vs. No. 7 Green Bay Packers (11-5, wild card No. 3)
Philadelphia won its Week 17 game against the Cowboys to clinch the NFC East, but the Eagles were locked into the No. 2 seed after the Vikings beat the Packers in the later afternoon slate. As a result, the Eagles are weighing whether to play their starters in a meaningless game against the New York Giants or let running back Saquon Barkley seek out the NFL’s all-time rushing record.
The Eagles will play either the Commanders or the Packers in the first round of the playoffs, but they are more likely to face Green Bay. The Packers sport an 11-5 record on the season but all of their losses have come against teams with at least 13 wins.
Jordan Love led the Packers to a win over an NFC East team (the Cowboys) in the playoffs last year as the No. 7 seed. Perhaps the veteran starter can get hot at the right time and spark Green Bay on a deeper postseason run.
No. 3 Los Angeles Rams (10-6, NFC West winners) vs. No. 6 Washington Commanders (11-5, wild card No. 2)
The Rams owe a debt of gratitude to the Commanders, whose win over the Atlanta Falcons officially clinched the NFC West for Los Angeles by virtue of the team’s strength of victory tiebreaker. Sean McVay’s squad won’t be looking to repay that should the two meet in the wild-card round.
Washington has emerged as one of the best offenses in the NFL, averaging the fifth-most points per game (28.9) in 2024, and Jayden Daniels will provide a unique, dual-threat option against Los Angeles’ defense. The Rams sport plenty of quality play-makers and a Super Bowl-winning quarterback, Matthew Stafford, to boot, so this could be one of the more competitive first-round matchups.
No. 4 Tampa Bay Buccaneers (9-7, NFC South leaders) vs. No. 5 Minnesota Vikings (14-2, wild card No. 1)
Once again, the Buccaneers are in the driver’s seat for the seesawing NFC South. They beat the Carolina Panthers in Week 17 and the Commanders’ win over the Falcons allowed Tampa Bay to leapfrog Atlanta in the standings again.
With a win, the Buccaneers can secure either the No. 3 or No. 4 seed in the conference. They are likelier to be the No. 4 seed, as a Rams win over the Seahawks would guarantee Los Angeles the No. 3 seed.
The No. 4 seed in the NFC will face the loser of the Lions-Vikings game. That will give Tampa Bay the unlucky draw of playing the first-ever 14-win wild-card team, but the Buccaneers have wins over the Lions and Eagles, so Baker Mayfield and Co. will likely put up a strong fight.
NFL playoff picture
AFC
- Kansas City Chiefs (15-1, AFC West winners)*
- Buffalo Bills (13-3, AFC East winners)*
- Baltimore Ravens (11-5, AFC North leaders)*
- Houston Texans (9-7, AFC South winners)*
- Pittsburgh Steelers (10-6, wild card No. 1)*
- Los Angeles Chargers (10-6, wild card No. 2)*
- Denver Broncos (9-7, wild card No. 3)
In the hunt: Miami Dolphins (8-8), Cincinnati Bengals (8-8).
NFC
- Detroit Lions (14-2, NFC North leaders)*
- Philadelphia Eagles (13-3, NFC East winners)*
- Los Angeles Rams (10-6, NFC West winners)*
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers (9-7, NFC South leaders)
- Minnesota Vikings (14-2, wild card No. 1)*
- Washington Commanders (11-5, wild card No. 2)*
- Green Bay Packers (11-5, wild card No. 3)*
In the hunt: Atlanta Falcons (8-8).
An asterisk (*) denotes teams that have clinched a playoff spot. Teams that have clinched division titles are noted accordingly.