Sunday was a pivotal day when it comes to the NFL playoff picture.
NFL playoff picture: How Week 10 shaped the standings
Here is the current playoff picture in the NFL after all of Sunday’s action.
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Mark Schofield is a former college quarterback and attorney covering the NFL and F1.
Tonight could be even bigger.
Let’s dive into where things stand, and how Monday Night Football between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Green Bay Packers could change things even more.
AFC Playoff Picture
- Indianapolis Colts (8-2, 1st place AFC South) - Week 11: Bye
- Denver Broncos (8-2, 1st place AFC West) - Week 11: vs. Kansas City
- New England Patriots (8-2, 1st place AFC East) - Week 11: vs. New York Jets
- Pittsburgh Steelers (5-4, 1st place AFC North) - Week 11: vs. Cincinnati
- Los Angeles Chargers (7-3) - Week 11: at Jacksonville
- Buffalo Bills (6-3) - Week 11: vs. Tampa Bay
- Jacksonville Jaguars (5-4) - Week 11: vs. Los Angeles Chargers
- Kansas City Chiefs (5-4) - Week 11: at Denver
- Houston Texans (4-5) - Week 11: at Tennessee
- Baltimore Ravens (4-5) - Week 11: at Cleveland
- Cincinnati Bengals (3-6) - Week 11: at Pittsburgh
- Miami Dolphins (3-7) - Week 11: vs. Washington (Game in Madrid)
- New York Jets (2-7) - Week 11: at New England Patriots
- Las Vegas Raiders (2-7) - Week 11: vs. Dallas
- Cleveland Browns (2-7) - Week 11: vs. Baltimore
- Tennessee Titans (1-8) - Week 11: vs. Houston
With the Colts, Broncos, and Patriots all winning, those three teams remained atop the AFC with matching 8-2 records. However, the order changed slightly from last week. Indianapolis remains in the No. 1 spot thanks to a 6-1 record in AFC play, ahead of Denver at 5-2 and New England at 4-2.
Denver’s AFC record — and their win over Las Vegas on Thursday night — is the reason the Broncos are now at No. 2.
Pittsburgh’s loss to the Chargers on Sunday Night Football dropped their record to 5-4, but did not drop them out of the No. 4 spot in the conference. However, the Baltimore Ravens are on the march, and now sit at No. 10 in the AFC standings at 4-5. The Texans’ comeback win moved them to 4-5 as well, and Houston does have a tiebreaker advantage over the Ravens thanks to their win over Baltimore earlier this season.
NFC Playoff Picture
- Philadelphia Eagles (7-2, 1st place NFC East) - Week 11: vs. Detroit
- Seattle Seahawks (7-2, 1st place NFC West) - Week 11: at Los Angeles Rams
- Detroit Lions (6-3, 1st place NFC North) - Week 11: at Philadelphia
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers (6-3, 1st place NFC South) - Week 11: at Buffalo
- Los Angeles Rams (7-2) - Week 11: vs. Seattle
- Chicago Bears (6-3) - Week 11: at Minnesota
- Green Bay Packers (5-3-1) - Week 11: at New York Giants
- San Francisco 49ers (6-4) - Week 11: at Arizona
- Carolina Panthers (5-5) - Week 11: at Atlanta
- Minnesota Vikings (4-5) - Week 11: vs. Chicago
- Dallas Cowboys (3-5-1) - Week 11: at Las Vegas
- Arizona Cardinals (3-6) - Week 11: vs. San Francisco
- Atlanta Falcons (3-6) - Week 11: vs. Carolina
- Washington Commanders (3-7) - Week 11: vs. Miami (Game in Madrid) -
- New Orleans Saints (2-8) - Week 11: Bye
- New York Giants (2-8) - Week 11: vs. Green Bay
While Monday Night Football can reshape the NFC standings tonight — more on that game in the moment — right now the Seattle Seahawks are atop the conference. Seattle’s win over Arizona on Sunday moved the Seahawks to 7-2, and while the Rams have the same record, Seattle’s 2-1 record in the division gives them the tiebreaker advantage for now.
Those two teams meet in Week 11.
Tampa Bay’s loss to the New England Patriots slides them down to No. 4 in the NFC. The Rams slot in at No. 5 as the top Wild Card team, followed by the Lions and the Bears. Yes, if the playoffs began right now, Ricky O’Donnell’s Chicago Bears would be in as the No. 7 team.
How did Eagles-Packers impact the NFL Playoff Picture?
Philadelphia’s 10-7 win on Monday Night Football moved the Eagles to the top spot in the conference. Philadelphia’s 7-2 record is the same as the Seahawks, but the Eagles have the better NFC record (6-1 v.s 4-2).
Green Bay now slides out of the top spot in the NFC North, as the Lions now lead the division. That moves Detroit up to No. 3 in the conference. The Packers are still in the playoffs thanks to a better winning percentage than the San Francisco 49ers. Note: The previous version of this story indicated that the Packers would slide out of a playoff spot with a loss Monday night, which was an error.
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