We entered Week 7 with two undefeated teams in the NFL and both were playing in marquee games on Sunday. The 5-0 Minnesota Vikings were playing their division rivals, the one-loss Detroit Lions, and the Kansas City has a Super Bowl rematch with the San Francisco 49ers. Only one finished the week still undefeated.
NFL playoff picture: Chiefs, Lions reign following Week 7
Heading into Week 8, the Kansas City Chiefs and Detroit Lions are atop their conferences.
Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images
Matt Warren is Associate Director of NFL coverage for SB Nation and previously covered the Buffalo Bills for Buffalo Rumblings for more than a decade. If it has to do with math, he covered it, from NFL playoff standings to salary cap analysis.
The Chiefs stayed atop the AFC standings while the Lions jumped the Vikings into first place in the NFC. Kansas City is the lone undefeated team in the NFL heading into Week 8.
In the AFC playoff picture, the Houston Texans lost in Week 7, but stayed in second in the AFC thanks to their undefeated conference record. The Buffalo Bills, for their part, kept pace with a win over the Tennessee Titans. The Baltimore Ravens put an exclamation point on the weekend with a convincing Monday Night Football win to match the Pittsburgh Steelers and Bills, passing both in tiebreakers.
The NFC standings had the Washington Commanders win big and the Seattle Seahawks knock off the Atlanta Falcons to keep pace. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers tumbled out of playoff position following their Monday night loss.
In the AFC, the Indianapolis Colts and Anthony Richardson hold onto the final Wild Card spot while the Chicago Bears are in seventh in the NFC. Both teams are in the position thanks to the conference record tiebreakers at this point.
Note: In the standings below, only the pertinent tiebreakers are listed.
AFC standings following Week 7
1. Kansas City Chiefs (6-0)
2. Houston Texans (5-2, 4-0 AFC)
3. Baltimore Ravens (5-2, 1-0 AFCN, 2-2 AFC)
4. Buffalo Bills (5-2, losses to both HOU and BAL)
5. Pittsburgh Steelers (5-2, 0-0 AFCN)
6. Indianapolis Colts (4-3, 3-2 AFC)
7. Denver Broncos (4-3, 2-2 AFC)
8. Los Angeles Chargers (3-3)
9. Cincinnati Bengals (3-4)
10. Miami Dolphins (2-4)
11. Las Vegas Raiders (2-5, 2-3 AFC, .429 strength of victory)
12. New York Jets (2-5, 2-3 AFC, .154 strength of victory)
13. Jacksonville Jaguars (2-5, 2-4 AFC)
14. Tennessee Titans (1-5)
15. Cleveland Browns (1-6, 1-2 AFC)
16. New England Patriots (1-6, 1-4 AFC)
NFC standings heading into Week 8
1. Detroit Lions (5-1, win over MIN)
2. Washington Commanders (5-2)
3. Seattle Seahawks (4-3, win over ATL)
4. Atlanta Falcons (4-3, win over TB, loss to SEA)
5. Minnesota Vikings (5-1, loss to DET)
6. Green Bay Packers (5-2)
7. Chicago Bears (4-2, 2-0 NFC)
8. Philadelphia Eagles (4-2, 3-2 NFC)
9. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (4-3, loss to ATL)
10. Dallas Cowboys (3-3)
11. Arizona Cardinals (3-4 win over SF)
12. San Francisco 49ers (3-4, loss to ARI)
13. Los Angeles Rams (2-4)
14. New Orleans Saints (2-5, 2-3 NFC)
15. New York Giants (2-5, 1-4 NFC)
16. Carolina Panthers (1-6)
All 4 NFC North teams are in playoff position
The coolest factoid in the playoff picture right now is the emergence of the NFC North. While the Lions and Vikings played this week, it was only the second divisional game of the year, so they haven’t had a chance to beat up on each other.
Has an NFL division ever sent every team to the playoffs?
No NFL division has ever had every member make the playoffs. It wasn’t possible until the 2020 season when the NFL added a third Wild Card to allow the division winner and the three other teams to earn a berth.
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