The Lions and Packers bolstered their playoff positions, while the Giants became the first NFL team mathematically eliminated, on Thanksgiving. Here’s how the NFL playoff picture looks for Week 13 heading into Black Friday:
NFC Playoff Picture
DIVISION LEADERS
1. Detroit Lions (11-1): Held on to beat the Bears.
2. Philadelphia Eagles (9-2): 2.5-game lead in the NFC East.
3. Seattle Seahawks (6-5): Own the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Falcons and Cardinals.
4. Atlanta Falcons (6-5): One-game lead in the NFC South.
WILD CARDS
5. Minnesota Vikings (9-2): Lost at home to the Lions.
6. Green Bay Packers (9-3): Lost at home to the Lions and Vikings.
7. Washington Commanders (7-5): Need to reverse their recent slide.
OUTSIDE LOOKING IN
8. Arizona Cardinals (6-5): Sunday’s loss to the Seahawks was big.
9. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (5-6): Own the NFC record tiebreaker over the Rams.
10. Los Angeles Rams (5-6): Own the head-to-head tiebreaker over the 49ers.
11. San Francisco 49ers (5-6): Preseason NFC favorites are at risk of missing the playoffs.
12. Dallas Cowboys (5-7): Thanksgiving win kept them alive.
13. New Orleans Saints (4-7): Two games out in the division.
14. Chicago Bears (4-8): Deep in last place in the NFC North.
15. Carolina Panthers (3-8): Playing much better football of late.
16. New York Giants (2-10): Mathematically eliminated.
AFC Playoff Picture
DIVISION LEADERS
1. Kansas City Chiefs (10-1): The reigning champs sit atop the conference.
2. Buffalo Bills (9-2): If they can catch the Chiefs in the standings, they’ll have the head-to-head tiebreaker.
3. Pittsburgh Steelers (8-3): Beating the Ravens head to head was big.
4. Houston Texans (7-5): They’re not playing well, but they should win the AFC South by default.
WILD CARDS
5. Baltimore Ravens (8-4): Big win over the Chargers on Monday night.
6. Los Angeles Chargers (7-4): Big loss to the Ravens on Monday night.
7. Denver Broncos (7-5): Bo Nix has led them to a two-game lead in the wild card race.
OUTSIDE LOOKING IN
8. Indianapolis Colts (5-7): Catching the Texans in the AFC South will be a long shot.
9. Miami Dolphins (5-7): Losing to the Packers on Thanksgiving hurt any hopes they had of making a late-season run.
10. Cincinnati Bengals (4-7): Probably need to run the table to get to the playoffs.
11. Cleveland Browns (3-8): Deshaun Watson dug a hole that Jameis Winston won’t be able to dig the Browns out of.
12. New York Jets (3-8): The Aaron Rodgers experience is trending toward disaster.
13. Tennessee Titans (3-8): A big upset over the Texans on Sunday.
14. New England Patriots (3-9): Drake Maye is showing promise, but this team is a long way from contention.
15. Jacksonville Jaguars (2-9): Doug Pederson is on the hot seat.
16. Las Vegas Raiders (2-9): Antonio Pierce is on the hot seat.
Clinching scenarios
Buffalo Bills (9-2) vs. San Francisco 49ers (5-6); Sunday night, 8:20 p.m. ET, NBC
Buffalo clinches AFC East division title with:
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BUF win
Kansas City Chiefs (10-1) vs. Las Vegas Raiders (2-9); Friday, 3 p.m. ET, Prime Video
Kansas City clinches a playoff berth with:
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KC win
NFC
Detroit Lions (10-1) vs. Chicago Bears (4-7); Thursday, 12:30 p.m. ET, CBS
Detroit clinches a playoff berth with:
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SF loss or tie + ARI loss or tie + SEA loss + TB loss or tie
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SF loss or tie + ARI loss + SEA tie + TB loss or tie
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SF loss or tie + ARI loss or tie + SEA loss + WAS loss or tie + ATL loss
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SF loss or tie + ARI loss or tie + SEA loss + WAS loss + ATL tie
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SF loss or tie + ARI loss + SEA tie + WAS loss or tie + ATL loss
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SF loss or tie + ARI loss + SEA tie + WAS loss + ATL tie
Note: There are additional scenarios in which Detroit can clinch a playoff spot with a tie and other outcomes that involve the Lions clinching the strength of victory tiebreaker.
