NFL playoff picture: Week 12 results impacting the standings

The Week 12 games are impacting the standings around the NFL playoff picture.

With a the Buffalo Bills on a bye, a big Thursday Night Football game, a Sunday night contest featuring two NFC playoff hopefuls, and a Monday night game featuring two AFC playoff teams, Sunday afternoon felt a little light as far as the NFL Playoff Picture was concerned, but the endings of these games were absolutely insane.

The Houston Texans lost to the Tennessee Titans after their kicker missed a chip shot to tie, the Kansas City Chiefs won in the last seconds, the Chicago Bears improbably forced overtime against the Minnesota Vikings, and the Dallas Cowboys and Washington Commanders scored four touchdowns in the last three minutes but missed extra points decided the outcome.

At the top of the NFC, the Detroit Lions continued their winning ways, becoming the first 10-win team in the NFL in 2024 before they were joined by the Chiefs.

On Thursday, the Pittsburgh Steelers fell to the Cleveland Browns in a snow globe, and the rest of the AFC was watching with bated breath. The Steelers entered the week in third place in the AFC and they will leave in third place, but the door opened for several teams with their loss.

With the Pittsburgh loss, the Buffalo Bills opened up a full game lead over the Steelers for second place in the conference. The top four seeds in the AFC can’t change, as the Chiefs, Bills, Steelers, and Texans are also locked into fourth this week.

Here are the current NFL playoff standings following Thursday night’s AFC North showdown.

Note: In the standings below, only the pertinent tiebreakers are listed. Teams marked with an asterisk have been eliminated.

AFC standings during Week 12

1. Kansas City Chiefs (10-1)
2. Buffalo Bills (9-2)
3. Pittsburgh Steelers (8-3)
4. Houston Texans (7-5)
5. Los Angeles Chargers (7-3)
6. Baltimore Ravens (7-4)
7. Denver Broncos (6-5)
8. Miami Dolphins (5-6)
9. Indianapolis Colts (5-7)
10. Cincinnati Bengals (4-7)
11. Cleveland Browns (3-8, 3-3 AFC)
12. New York Jets (3-8, 3-5 AFC, win over TEN)
13. Tennessee Titans (3-8, 3-4 AFC, loss to NYJ)
14. New England Patriots (3-9)*
15. Las Vegas Raiders (2-8)*
16. Jacksonville Jaguars (2-9)

NFC standings following Week 11

1. Detroit Lions (10-1)
2. Philadelphia Eagles (8-2)
3. Arizona Cardinals (6-4)
4. Atlanta Falcons (6-5)
5. Minnesota Vikings (9-2)
6. Green Bay Packers (7-3)
7. Washington Commanders (7-5)
8. Los Angeles Rams (5-5, 2-1 NFCW)
9. Seattle Seahawks (5-5, 1-2 NFCW, win over SF)
10. San Francisco 49ers (5-5, 1-3 NFCW, loss to SEA)
11. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (5-6)
12. New Orleans Saints (4-7, 3-4 NFC)
13. Chicago Bears (4-7, 2-4 NFC)
14. Dallas Cowboys (4-7, 2-5 NFC)
15. Carolina Panthers (3-8)
16. New York Giants (2-9)*

Key playoff picture takeaways, Week 12

Tampa Bay Bucs handle their business

Tampa entered Sunday a game and a half back of Atlanta with the Falcons on a bye. The Buccaneers crushed the Giants to start a run where they’ll likely be favored in all but one game (Week 15 @ Chargers). The wild card and division race are both open to the Bucs thanks to their closing schedule.

Detroit Lions win a workmanlike effort

Detroit wasn’t overly impressive in Week 12, but they’re so good right now that even a fairly low key effort was more than enough. The Colts led early, but the Lions took control in the second quarter and never looked back. Detroit now heads into a huge home stretch against the Bears, Packers, and Bills.

The Miami Dolphins quietly lurking in AFC Wild Card race

Tua Tagovailoa has been pretty good in the games he’s started and finished this year, and the Miami Dolphins are still sort of hanging around the outskirts of the Wild Card picture. They easily handled the New England Patriots on Sunday to move to 5-6, just one game back of the final playoff spot.

Houston Texans are lucky the AFC South is terrible

The Houston Texans beat a bad Dallas Cowboys team in Week 11, but lost two games before that. On Sunday against the Tennessee Titans, they couldn’t stop tripping over themselves even against a team at the bottom of the standings. They needed multiple Titans mistakes just to stay in the game, but ultimately couldn’t overcome their own miscues. They’re lucky the rest of the AFC South has been poor and they are firmly in fourth place in the AFC right now.

Chiefs escape with bounce-back win

Kansas City looked like they would roll to victory in Charlotte, but Bryce Young and the Panthers gave them everything they could handle. Carolina tied it late with a touchdown and two-point conversion, but Patrick Mahomes did what he usually does and drove the Chiefs down to secure a game-winning field goal.

Washington Commanders blow big opportunity against Cowboys

The Commanders hosted a short-handed Cowboys squad and struggled all day long. They led twice in the first half, but the Cowboys hung close and took over in the second half. Washington looked like they might force overtime with a late miracle catch-and-run touchdown, but Austin Seibert missed an extra point and Dallas secured the win.

Minnesota Vikings keeping pressure on Lions, Wild Card race

The Minnesota Vikings moved to nine wins on Sunday, the second-most in the NFC. Unfortunately for them, the only team with more wins is also in their division. Minnesota kept pace with Detroit and the two teams face off in the final week of the season and could be for the NFC North crown. Either way, it looks like both teams are going to be in the playoffs, as Minnesota is now four wins better than the eighth-place team in the conference.

Monday Night Football is going to be so important to the AFC standings

The Baltimore Ravens are one game behind the Steelers in the AFC North following Pittsburgh’s Thursday night loss. Baltimore can’t pass them with a MNF win, but they can pull within a half game and they are also in the midst of a Wild Card race. That race is currently led by Baltimore’s Monday night opponent, the Los Angeles Chargers. Both teams want to solidify their playoff position with a win to close out Week 12.

Every team with a winning record is in NFL Playoff position

Usually there are teams that are good and just not good enough, but every team with a winning record is currently in a playoff spot. That’s could change as the NFC West teams are playing in the late window.

Multiple NFL teams eliminated from playoff race

For the first time in 2024, teams have been eliminated from the playoff picture. The 2-9 New York Giants can’t climb into the lead in the NFC East nor get into the Wild Card race. In the AFC, the Las Vegas Raiders and the New England Patriots have both been eliminated. The Jacksonville Jaguars can still win the AFC South, so they have not yet been eliminated.

NFL Division Standings

AFC East standings

1. Buffalo Bills, 9-2
2. Miami Dolphins, 5-6
3. New York Jets, 3-8
4. New England Patriots*, 3-9

AFC North standings

1. Pittsburgh Steelers, 8-3
2. Baltimore Ravens, 7-4
3. Cincinnati Bengals, 4-7
4. Cleveland Browns, 3-8

AFC South standings

1. Houston Texans, 7-5
2. Indianapolis Colts, 5-7
3. Tennessee Titans, 3-8
4. Jacksonville Jaguars, 2-9

AFC West standings

1. Kansas City Chiefs, 10-1
2. Los Angeles Chargers, 7-3
3. Denver Broncos, 6-5
4. Las Vegas Raiders*, 2-8

NFC East standings

1. Philadelphia Eagles, 8-2
2. Washington Commanders, 7-5
3. Dallas Cowboys, 4-7
4. New York Giants*, 2-9

NFC North standings

1. Detroit Lions, 10-1
2. Minnesota Vikings, 10-2
3. Green Bay Packers, 7-3
4. Chicago Bears, 4-8

NFC South standings

1. Atlanta Falcons, 6-5
2. Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 5-6
3. New Orleans Saints, 4-7
4. Carolina Panthers, 3-8

NFC West standings

1. Arizona Cardinals, 6-4
2. Los Angeles Rams, 5-5
3. Seattle Seahawks, 5-5
4. San Francisco 49ers, 5-5