NFL playoff picture 2017: Where teams stand after Week 15

The Steelers and Eagles punched tickets to the playoffs a week ago. The Patriots, Vikings, and Jaguars joined them in Week 15.

The Rams needed help to clinch in Week 15, but those hopes ended Saturday with Detroit’s win.

With just a couple weeks left to play, there are intriguing wild card races in both conferences with several teams still in the mix and a few divisions that are still razor tight. One was the AFC West, but that was cleared Saturday night when the Chiefs beat the Chargers, 30-13, to take a one-game lead with two games left to play.

Kansas City owns tiebreakers over both the Chargers and the Raiders, so the lead means the division will almost certainly end in the Chiefs’ favor.

The other important result Saturday was a 20-10 win for the Lions that keeps the pressure on the rest of the NFC Wild Card contenders.

Here’s how things currently stand after Week 15:

**clinched division
*clinched playoff spot

Baltimore Ravens (8-6)
Los Angeles Chargers (7-7)
Oakland Raiders (6-8)
Miami Dolphins (6-8)

New York Jets (5-9)
Cincinnati Bengals (5-9)
Denver Broncos (5-9)
Houston Texans (4-10)
Indianapolis Colts (3-11)
Cleveland Browns (0-14)

The marquee matchup of the weekend was the duel between the Patriots and Steelers for the top spot in the conference. The game was a barnburner, to say the least. New England won — as usual against Pittsburgh — after a thrilling last few moments. Now the Steelers and Patriots have identical 11-3 records with the tiebreaker belonging to the Patriots via the head-to-head victory.

Jacksonville officially made the playoffs for the first time in a decade. The win over Houston also keeps the Jaguars ahead of the Titans, who dropped a game on the road to the suddenly hot 49ers.

Kansas City all but locked up the AFC West with a crucial win over the Chargers that secured tiebreakers over both Los Angeles and Oakland.

The Bills stayed in line for a wild card berth with a win over the Dolphins, but Baltimore is right there with them after beating up on the winless Browns. The 7-7 Chargers are still alive despite a Saturday loss at 7-7.

**clinched division

Detroit Lions (8-6)
Seattle Seahawks (8-6)
Dallas Cowboys (8-6)

Green Bay Packers (7-7)
Washington (6-8)
Arizona Cardinals (6-8)
Tampa Bay Buccaneers (4-10)
San Francisco 49ers (4-10)
Chicago Bears (4-10)
New York Giants (2-12)

The Eagles’ clinching of the NFC East last week came with an unfortunate knee injury for Carson Wentz. It’s up to Nick Foles to lead Philadelphia for the remainder of the season and he started that by locking up a first-round bye with a win on the road over the Giants.

Minnesota easily clinched the NFC North crown with a beatdown of the Cincinnati Bengals, who were officially eliminated and will soon be looking for a new coach.

The Rams currently sit in the No. 3 seed and after dunking on the Seahawks, they now are in firm control of the NFC West race. The win over Seattle wasn’t enough to clinch, but it gives the Rams a two-game lead with two games to play and all but guarantees the team its first division title since 2003.

Maybe the tightest race in the NFL, though, is the three-way dash for the NFC South crown. The Saints stayed on top with a home victory over the Jets, while the Panthers held off the Packers — who had Aaron Rodgers back — to keep things even.

The Falcons are bringing up the rear but own a wild card berth. They were able to keep ahold of it, and knock the Packers out of the playoff contention, with a win on Monday night against the Buccaneers.