Every week for the duration of the 2025 regular season, USA TODAY Sports will provide timely updates to the NFL’s ever-evolving playoff picture − typically starting Sunday afternoon and then moving forward for the remainder of the week (through Monday’s and Thursday’s games or Saturday’s, if applicable. And, when the holidays roll around, we’ll be watching then, too).
What just happened? What does it mean? What are the pertinent factors (and, perhaps, tiebreakers) prominently in play as each conference’s seven-team bracket begins to crystallize? All will be explained and analyzed up to the point when the postseason field is finalized on Sunday, Jan. 4.
Here’s where things stand with Week 14 now complete:
AFC playoff picture
1. Denver Broncos (11-2), AFC West leaders: They beat the Raiders on Sunday, winning their 10th in a row, matching New England’s victory total and overtaking the Patriots for possession of the top seed by virtue of a conference record (7-2) that is a half-game better. Remaining schedule: vs. Packers, vs. Jaguars, at Chiefs, vs. Chargers
2. New England Patriots (11-2), AFC East leaders: The first team in the league to reach 11 wins thanks to Week 13’s rollover of the Giants, the Pats remain in a very tight race with Denver, the teams’ airtight tiebreakers now in effect with the Broncos playing their 13th game Sunday. New England will officially wrap up its division by sweeping the Bills on Sunday. Remaining schedule: vs. Bills, at Ravens, at Jets, vs. Dolphins
3. Jacksonville Jaguars (9-4), AFC South leaders: They claimed first place outright by smashing the depleted Colts on Sunday in Duval County. The Texans now lose as the bona fide threat. Remaining schedule: vs. Jets, at Broncos, vs. Colts, at Titans
4. Pittsburgh Steelers (7-6), AFC North leaders: They jumped up nine spots, from out of the field back into the division lead by winning at Baltimore on Sunday. Remaining schedule: vs. Dolphins, at Lions, at Browns, vs. Ravens
5. Los Angeles Chargers (9-4), wild card No. 1: They’ve won five of six after surviving the Eagles on Monday night. A one-win advantage in AFC games (7-2) moves them ahead of Buffalo. Remaining schedule: at Chiefs, at Cowboys, vs. Texans, at Broncos
6. Buffalo Bills (9-4), wild card No. 1: Massive win over Cincinnati solidifies their playoff standing heading into a notable showdown at Foxborough in Week 15 to face the AFC East-leading Pats. Remaining schedule: at Patriots, at Browns, vs. Eagles, vs. Jets
7. Houston Texans (8-5), wild card No. 3: They’ve won six of seven, including five in a row. Beating the Chiefs at Arrowhead moved Houston into a wild-card slot by virtue of their Week 13 defeat of Indianapolis. Remaining schedule: vs. Cardinals, vs. Raiders, at Chargers, vs. Colts
8. Indianapolis Colts (8-5), in the hunt: They’ve dropped four of their past five and lost QB Daniel Jones to an Achilles injury Sunday in Jacksonville. Houston’s win Sunday night dropped Indy from the projected field entirely. And the schedule doesn’t let up the rest of the way. Remaining schedule: at Seahawks, vs. 49ers, vs. Jaguars, at Texans
9. Baltimore Ravens (6-7), in the hunt: Consecutive losses − and to AFC North foes (Bengals, Steelers) − has them on the outside looking in. A 4-5 record in AFC games places them ahead of K.C. and Miami. Remaining schedule: at Bengals, vs. Patriots, at Packers, at Steelers
10. Kansas City Chiefs (6-7), in the hunt: Their chances to win a 10th straight AFC West title are officially null and void. And Sunday night’s loss to Houston means they’ll likely miss the postseason for the first time since 2014 − Andy Reid’s second year in K.C. And don’t forget they’ve lost to the Broncos, Chargers, Bills, Texans and Jags, who are all ahead of them. Remaining schedule: vs. Chargers, at Titans, vs. Broncos, at Raiders
11. Miami Dolphins (6-7), in the hunt: They probably need to win the remainder of their games to even have a shot at postseason qualification but notched another one Sunday in New York. Remaining schedule: at Steelers, vs. Bengals, vs. Buccaneers, at Patriots
12. Cincinnati Bengals (4-9), in the hunt: They basically need to win the remainder of their games to even have a shot at postseason qualification … though they probably have a better one than Miami by virtue of living in this year’s surprisingly subpar AFC North. Remaining schedule: vs. Ravens, at Dolphins, vs. Cardinals, vs. Browns
NFC playoff picture
1. Los Angeles Rams (10-3), NFC West leaders: They regained the inside track for home-field advantage and a first-round bye by demolishing the Cardinals and benefiting from Chicago’s loss to Green Bay. The Rams’ Week 11 defeat of Seattle remains pivotal. Remaining schedule: vs. Lions, at Seahawks, at Falcons, vs. Cardinals
2. Green Bay Packers (9-3-1), NFC North leaders: They got the best of the archrival Bears, a consequential win that put the Pack back on top of the division and just a half-game off the conference pace. Remaining schedule: at Broncos, at Bears, vs. Ravens, at Vikings
3. Philadelphia Eagles (8-5), NFC East leaders: Three losses in a row not only mean a lot more scrutiny but − beware − a team that could still fall into the Cowboys’ clutches in the division if it’s not careful. Remaining schedule: vs. Raiders, at Commanders, at Bills, vs. Commanders
4. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (7-6), NFC South leaders: They remain in first place despite a damaging loss to New Orleans. The Bucs currently have a one-game lead over Carolina in the common-games tiebreaker department. Remaining schedule: vs. Falcons, at Panthers, at Dolphins, vs. Panthers
5. Seattle Seahawks (10-3), wild card No. 1: Sunday’s rout of Falcons moved them atop the conference … for a few hours. But the Rams’ win at Arizona pushed Seattle back to the wild-card echelon. All three of the ‘Hawks’ losses are against NFC opponents, including two in the division − defeats that don’t serve them well in tiebreaker scenarios. Remaining schedule: vs. Colts, vs. Rams, at Panthers, at 49ers
6. San Francisco 49ers (9-4), wild card No. 2: They’re in a precarious spot given their pursuers, yet are just behind the Rams and Seahawks for the NFC West lead as well. Off last weekend, the Niners were in no danger of vacating the field. Remaining schedule: vs. Titans, at Colts, vs. Bears, vs. Seahawks
7. Chicago Bears (9-4), wild card No. 3: How tightly packed is the NFC? One narrow loss dropped the Bears from first place in the conference to seventh, just a game ahead of the division rival Lions. Remaining schedule: vs. Browns, vs. Packers, at 49ers, vs. Lions
8. Detroit Lions (8-5), in the hunt: Huge win over Dallas on Thursday night. It brought the Lions within a game of the NFC’s final wild card and helped them in the division standings given Chicago’s Sunday reversal. Remaining schedule: at Rams, vs. Steelers, at Vikings, at Bears
9. Carolina Panthers (7-6), in the hunt: Though Carolina is off this week, the Panthers basically pulled even atop the NFC South. Remaining schedule: at Saints, vs. Buccaneers, vs. Seahawks, at Buccaneers
10. Dallas Cowboys (6-6-1), in the hunt: Crippling loss Thursday in Motown. Dallas’ best bet now is probably to hope the Eagles continue to struggle and leave the NFC East in play, the Cowboys’ chances to qualify creeping up to 10% on Monday, per the NFL’s Next Gen Stats. Remaining schedule: vs. Vikings, vs. Chargers, at Commanders, at Giants
NFL playoff-clinching scenarios for Week 15 (incomplete)
New England clinches AFC East with:
Win