Admin December 29, 2024
Is Lamar Jackson the clear front runner for NFL MVP this year?
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We’re down to the final two weeks of the 2024 NFL season and the postseason picture continues to get clearer. Half the NFL divisions and 10 of 14 playoff spots have been clinched heading into “Sunday Night Football” in Week 17.
There’s still plenty to sort out, especially with specifics on seeding positions. Here’s the latest on who’s in the playoffs, seeding positions, and current matchups as Week 17 results come in:
NFL playoff picture: Who is in so far?
Ten teams have clinched a playoff spot after Sunday’s Week 17 early slate. Here’s who they are, grouped by conference:
AFC
NFC
NFL division winners 2024
Four of the eight divisions in the NFL have been clinched. Here’s the status for each one as Sunday’s action continues:
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: TBD
(*): The Chiefs have clinched home-field advantage throughout the AFC playoffs.
NFL playoff bracket update: Wild card matchups
AFC
No. 1 Kansas City Chiefs (15-1, AFC West winners): BYE
With their win over the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Chiefs have clinched the top seed in the AFC playoffs and a bye in the wild card round. They’ll have the top seed in the AFC bracket for the third time in the Patrick Mahomes era.
No. 2 Buffalo Bills (13-3, AFC East winners) vs. No. 7 Denver Broncos (9-7, wild card No. 3)
Buffalo’s Week 17 win over the New York Jets clinched the No. 2 seed in the conference. They’ll finish at least one game ahead of the AFC North winner and have home-field advantage until they potentially face the Chiefs in the conference championship.
As of Week 17, the No. 7 seed in the bracket is not set. The Broncos hold the final playoff spot, but the Bengals and Dolphins are still in the hunt. Cincinnati’s Week 17 win over Denver is a crucial tiebreaker if they finish with the same record.
No. 3 Baltimore Ravens (11-5, AFC North leaders) vs. No. 6 seed Los Angeles Chargers (10-6, wild card No. 2)
The AFC North winner is locked into the No. 3 seed. Thanks to its Christmas win over Houston and the Steelers’ loss to the Chiefs, Baltimore holds that spot. If Baltimore wins in Week 18 over the Browns or the Steelers lose to the Bengals, it will win the division for the second year in a row.
Los Angeles’ win over New England on Saturday clinched a playoff spot, but the team is not locked into the No. 6 seed. If the Steelers lose next week to the Bengals and the Chargers beat the Raiders, Los Angeles would take the No. 5 seed.
But as things stand, there will be another Harbaugh Bowl this season. These two teams faced off in November, with Baltimore winning 30-23.
No. 4 Houston Texans (9-7, AFC South winner) vs. No. 5 Pittsburgh Steelers (10-6, wild card No. 1)
Houston clinched the AFC South in Week 15 and is locked into the No. 4 seed. The Steelers’ loss to the Chiefs drops them to the No. 5 seed and hold the tiebreaker over the Chargers thanks to their win over Los Angeles in Week 3.
If the Steelers finish with the same record as the Chargers or better, they’ll be the No. 5 seed. If they lose and the Chargers win in Week 18, they’ll be the No. 6 seed at worst.
NFC
No. 1 seed Detroit Lions (13-2, NFC North leaders): BYE
The NFC North is the best division in football by record, which means the No. 1 seed is up in the air. Sunday’s game between Minnesota and Green Bay could decide the division winner before Detroit takes to the field for “Monday Night Football.”
If the Packers beat the Vikings, Detroit will clinch the division. The Lions play the Vikings in Week 18, but their division record will be good enough that they will win the NFC North regardless of the outcome of that Week 18 game.
If the Vikings and Lions win in Week 17, it’ll be a winner-takes-all showdown in Week 18.
No. 2 Philadelphia Eagles (13-3, NFC East winners) vs. No. 7 Washington Commanders (10-5, wild card No. 3)
Philadelphia’s loss to Washington in Week 16 means they need help to get the No. 1 seed. Their win over the Cowboys in Week 17 won them the division title, though, and the No. 2 seed at worst. To get the No. 1 seed, they need to beat the Giants in Week 18, the Lions to lose out, and the Vikings to lose at least one of their final two games.
The No. 7 seed is still up in the air in the NFC. With a win on “Sunday Night Football” over Atlanta, the Commanders would clinch the final spot in the NFC playoffs with a week to spare.
If things finish like this, the Eagles and Commanders will face off for the third time this season.
No. 3 Los Angeles Rams (10-6, NFC West leaders) vs. No. 6 Green Bay Packers (11-4, wild card No. 2)
The Rams are in the driver’s seat for the NFC West title. They’ll win the division if they beat the Seahawks in Week 18. If they lose, Seattle and Los Angeles will finish with the same overall, division, and conference records. Seattle will need help elsewhere to get a strength-of-schedule tiebreaker to get the division title.
Green Bay clinched a playoff spot in Week 16 with their “Monday Night Football” win. However, a loss in Week 17 to Minnesota would open the door for the Commanders to overtake the Packers for the No. 6 seed if they win in Week 17.
No. 4 Tampa Bay Buccaneers (9-7, NFC South leaders) vs. No. 5 Minnesota Vikings (13-2, wild card No. 1)
Tampa Bay’s dominant win over Carolina has them in the NFC South lead over the Atlanta Falcons. However, the Buccaneers must finish a game ahead of the Falcons to win the division title, as Atlanta has two head-to-head wins over Tampa Bay.
The Buccaneers need to win against New Orleans next week. They hope the Falcons lose to the Commanders in Week 17 or the Panthers in Week 18.
The Vikings could finish the season as a 14-win wild card team; such is the state of the NFC North. They will either be the division winner, the No. 1 or No. 2 seed or the No. 5 seed.
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: Cincinnati Bengals (8-8), Miami Dolphins (7-8).
NFC
- Detroit Lions (13-2, NFC North leaders)*
- Philadelphia Eagles (13-3, NFC East winners)*
- Los Angeles Rams (10-6, NFC West leaders)
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers (9-7, NFC South leaders)
- Minnesota Vikings (13-2, wild card No. 1)*
- Green Bay Packers (11-4, wild card No. 2)*
- Washington Commanders (10-5, wild card No. 3)
In the hunt: Seattle Seahawks (9-7), Atlanta Falcons (8-7)
An asterisk (*) denotes teams that have clinched a playoff spot. Teams that have clinched division titles are noted accordingly.