There’s one week to go in the NFL regular season, and there’s still plenty of changes that can happen to the playoff picture.
A few divisional winners have yet to be determined. A wild card in both the AFC and NFC hasn’t been declared yet. And the top seed in the NFC — with its all-important bye and home-field advantage throughout the conference playoffs — will be determined in Week 18, with THREE teams in the running.
So let’s take a look at the playoff picture as it stands, and this is ahead of Monday night’s Buffalo Bills and Cincinnati Bengals matchup, so we’ll update it on Tuesday. And check out our playoffs scenarios post to see how this could all shake out.
AFC Division Champions
1. Kansas City Chiefs (13-3)
2. Buffalo Bills (12-3)
3. Cincinnati Bengals (11-4)
4. Jacksonville Jaguars (8-8)
A lot can change here. The Jags currently lead the AFC South … but they’ll play the Titans in Week 18 to decide the division. Monday’s game could mean a lot for the Bills and Bengals.
AFC Wild Cards
5. Los Angeles Chargers (10-6)
6. Baltimore Ravens (10-6)
7. New England Patriots (8-8)
In the hunt: Miami Dolphins (8-8), Pittsburgh Steelers (8-8). Tennessee Titans (7-9)
That Pats win on Sunday was HUGE. We’ll see what happens this week, though.
NFC Division Champions
1. Philadelphia Eagles (13-3)
2. San Franciso 49ers (12-4)
3. Minnesota Vikings (12-4)
4. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (8-8)
Tom Brady got the Bucs to this point, which is amazing. Also amazing: Three teams are now in the running for the No. 1 seed.
NFC Wild Cards
5. Dallas Cowboys (12-4)
6. New York Giants (9-6-1)
7. Seattle Seahawks (8-8)
In the hunt: Detroit Lions (8-8), Green Bay Packers (8-8)
That last seed is up in the air in Week 18. Also, the Cowboys could win the whole conference or land at No. 5.
