The NFL is heading into the homestretch of the seaosn with the conference races heading up. The Philadelphia Eagles have tied the Detroit Lions for the top seed in the NFC, but the Lions currently hold the tiebreaker due to having a better conference record. There are still plenty of games to sort out the race for home-field advantage in the NFC, as the Minnesota Vikings can also enter the picture with a victory on Monday night.
In the AFC, the Kansas City Chiefs lead the Buffalo Bills by two games for the top seed in the conference — yet Buffalo has an easy schedule to end the season. The Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens have set themselves up for another battle for first in the AFC North next week while the Denver Broncos are on the verge of clinching a playoff berth.
The Houston Texans were the latest to clinch a playoff berth by winning the AFC South on Sunday.
Below is a breakdown of the conference standings with Week 15 nearly in the books.
y- clinched division
x- clinched playoff berth
e– eliminated from playoffs
The Chiefs are up two games over the Bills for the No. 1 seed in the AFC. A Chiefs win and Bills loss in Week 16 would give Kansas City home-field advantage in the conference.
Remaining schedule: vs. Texans, at Steelers, at Broncos
Buffalo trails Kansas City by two games for home-field advantage, but has the head-to-head tiebreaker. The Bills have one of the easiest schedules the rest of the way.
Remaining schedule: vs. Patriots, vs. Jets, at Patriots
The Steelers lead the Ravens by one game in the AFC North after their loss to the Eagles (they also have the head-to-head tiebreaker over Baltimore), but travel to Baltimore on Saturday.
Remaining schedule: at Ravens, vs. Chiefs, vs. Bengals
The Texans clinched the AFC South with their win over the Dolphins and the Colts loss to the Broncos. They remain the No. 4 seed in the AFC and will have a home game in the wild card round of the playoffs.
Remaining schedule: at Chiefs, vs. Ravens, at Titans
The Ravens hold the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Broncos for the the No. 5 seed in the AFC and are one game behind the Steelers in the AFC North (Pittsburgh owns the tiebreaker).They host the Steelers on Saturday.
Remaining schedule: vs. Steelers, at Texans, vs. Browns
The Broncos are a win away from clinching a playoff spot. They lose the head-to-head tiebreaker with the Ravens for the No. 5 seed.
Remaining schedule: at Chargers, at Bengals, vs. Chiefs
The Chargers fall to the No. 7 seed in the AFC after their loss to the Buccaneers. The Chargers play the Broncos next week with playoff seeding — and a potential playoff clincher — on the line.
Remaining schedule: vs. Broncos, at Patriots, at Raiders
The Colts are two games out of the final wild-card spot in the AFC, even with their loss to the Broncos (the Chargers lost to keep them alive). The Colts have the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Dolphins for the No. 8 seed by virtue of their Week 7 victory and own the tiebreaker over the Bengals based on having a better conference record (5-5) than Cincinnati (3-6).
Remaining schedule: vs. Titans, at Giants, vs. Jaguars
The Dolphins’ AFC playoff hopes are still alive, even with their loss to the Texans. Miami is two games behind Los Angeles for the final playoff spot and hold the conference-record tiebreaker (5-5) over Cincinnati (3-6).
Remaining schedule: vs. 49ers, at Browns, at Jets
The Bengals remain the No. 10 seed in the AFC, needing significant help to earn a playoff berth. Cincinnati needs to jump multiple teams and win out to have a shot at the playoffs, as the Bengals are two games back of the Chargers and don’t have the head-to-head tiebreaker.
Remaining schedule: vs. Browns, vs. Broncos, at Steelers
Six teams are eliminated from the playoff race in the AFC: the Raiders, Patriots, Titans, Jets, Jaguars and Browns.
x- clinched playoff berth
e– eliminated from playoffs
The Lions remain the No. 1 seed in the conference even with their loss to the Bills due to having a better conference record (8-1) than the Eagles (7-2). They lead the division over the Vikings (own the head-to-head tiebreaker) no matter what Minnesota does on Monday.
Remaining schedule: at Bears, at 49ers, vs. Vikings
The Eagles remain in the hunt for home-field advantage thanks to the Lions loss, but Detroit still has the conference-record tiebreaker. Philadelphia can clinch the NFC East and the No. 2 seed with a win next week.
Remaining schedule: at Commanders, vs. Cowboys, vs. Giants
The Buccaneers still lead the NFC South after their win over the Chargers. Tampa Bay (6-3) holds the conference-record tiebreaker over Los Angeles (5-5) for the No. 3 seed. Atlanta has swept Tampa Bay this season, but the Buccaneers can take a commanding lead in the division with a Falcons loss on Monday.
Remaining schedule: at Cowboys, vs. Panthers, vs. Saints
The Rams take over the NFC West lead with the Seahawks loss to the Packers. Los Angeles holds the head-to-head tiebreaker over Seattle, which is how the Rams gained the division lead.
Remaining schedule: at Jets, vs. Cardinals, vs. Seahawks
Minnesota remains the top wild-card team in the conference, but can tie Detroit for first place in the NFC North with a win over the Bears Monday. Detroit will still have the division lead via the head-to-head tiebreaker.
Remaining schedule: vs. Bears, at Seahawks, vs. Packers, at Lions
The Packers remain the No. 6 seed in the NFC after their win over the Seahawks and lead Seattle by a game for the final playoff spot. They can clinch a playoff berth as soon as next week.
Remaining schedule: vs. Saints, at Vikings, vs. Bears
The Commanders lead the Rams by one game for the final layoff spot in the conference. They remain three back of the Eagles in the NFC East.
Remaining schedule: vs. Eagles, vs. Falcons, at Cowboys
The Seahawks lose the NFC West lead with their loss to the Packers, as the Rams own the head-to-head tiebreaker for the division lead. They remain one-game back of the Commanders for the final wild card spot.
Remaining schedule: vs. Vikings, at Bears, at Rams
The Cardinals remain in the NFC West and wild-card hunt after their win over the Patriots. Arizona is two games behind Washington for the final wild card spot.
Remaining schedule: vs. Patriots, at Panthers, at Rams, vs. 49ers
The Falcons need a win over the Raiders on “Monday Night Football” to keep pace with the Buccaneers in the NFC South.
Remaining schedule: at Raiders, vs. Giants, at Commanders, vs. Panthers
The 49ers’ slim playoff hopes are still alive, even with their loss to the Rams. They are three games out of the final playoff spot, so their wild card chances are almost nonexistent. Even though they are last in the division, they are two game sout of the NFC West if Seattle loses to Green Bay.
Remaining schedule: at Dolphins, vs. Lions, at Cardinals
The Cowboys are still in the playoff hunt after their win over the Panthers on Sunday. One more loss by Dallas will eliminate the Cowboys from playoff contention.
Remaining schedule: vs. Buccaneers, at Eagles, vs. Commanders
The Saints are three games out of the NFC South lead with three games to play. They will be eliminated from playoff contention with another loss.
Remaining schedule: vs. Commanders, at Packers, vs. Raiders, at Buccaneers
The Bears and Panthers are officially eliminated from the playoffs with losses in Week 15. They join the Giants as teams eliminated form the playoffs in the NFC.
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