Eight playoff teams were in action on Sunday in Week 14, and the playoff picture was shaken up as a result
The NFL playoff field has begun filling as teams started clinching berths in Week 13. The Detroit Lions joined the field when they held off the Green Bay Packers on Thursday Night Football. Only one other game this weekend featured two teams holding one of the 14 playoff spots heading into Week 14.
With eight teams in playoff position in action on Sunday, the positioning was bound to change, and it shuffled in both conferences.
The only game featuring two current playoff teams was in Minnesota, where the five seed Minnesota Vikings hosted the four seed Atlanta Falcons. The division-leading Baltimore Ravens and Houston Texans are on their bye weeks along with two wild card teams in the Denver Broncos and Washington Commanders. Also on bye were the Indianapolis Colts, who are two games out of a playoff spot.
The Baltimore Ravens moved up in the AFC playoff picture on their bye, passing the Los Angeles Chargers who lost to the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday night. Baltimore is fifth while the Chargers are sixth.
In the NFC, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers leapfrogged the Atlanta Falcons for the top spot in the NFC South. Atlanta is now out of the playoff picture for the time being.
The Chiefs clinched the AFC West while the Eagles clinched a playoff spot.
Now onto the standings:
1. x-Detroit Lions (12-1)
2. x-Philadelphia Eagles (11-2)
3. Seattle Seahawks (8-5)
4. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (7-6)
5. Minnesota Vikings (11-2)
6. Green Bay Packers (9-4)
7. Washington Commanders (8-5)
8. Los Angeles Rams (7-6)
9. Atlanta Falcons (6-7, 6-3 NFC)
10. Arizona Cardinals (6-7, win over SF, 3-6 NFC)
11. San Francisco 49ers (6-7, loss to ARI)
12. Dallas Cowboys (5-7)*
13. New Orleans Saints (5-8)
14. Chicago Bears (4-8, 2-5 NFC)*
15. Carolina Panthers (3-10)
16. New York Giants (2-11) — eliminated
1. y-Kansas City Chiefs (12-1)
2. y-Buffalo Bills (10-3, SOV 59 wins)
3. Pittsburgh Steelers (10-3, SOV 52 wins)
4. Houston Texans (8-5)
5. Baltimore Ravens (8-5, win over LAC)
6. Los Angeles Chargers (8-5, win over DEN, loss to BAL)*
7. Denver Broncos (8-5, loss to LAC)*
8. Indianapolis Colts (6-7, win over MIA)
9. Miami Dolphins (6-7, loss to IND)*
10. Cincinnati Bengals (4-8)*
11. Cleveland Browns (3-10) — eliminated
12. Jacksonville Jaguars (3-10) — eliminated
13. New York Jets (3-10) — eliminated
14. Tennessee Titans (3-10) — eliminated
15. New England Patriots (3-10) — eliminated
16. Las Vegas Raiders (2-11) — eliminated
Note: In the five-way tie between Cleveland, Jacksonville, New York, Tennessee, and New England, divisional tiebreakers first drop the Titans (loss to Jaguars) and the Patriots (common games tiebreaker to Jets). The Jets then drop behind the Browns and Jaguars due to the conference record tiebreaker and the Browns finish ahead of the Jaguars due to head-to-head. Then it’s the Jaguars and Jets, where Jacksonville wins a head-to-head tiebreaker. The Jets and Titans go head to head after that, and New York beat Tennessee. The Titans beat the Patriots, so they are next.
Teams with an asterisk (*) have been eliminated from divisional contention
Teams with an “x” have clinched a playoff spot
Teams with a “y” have clinched their division
The Kansas City Chiefs have won their division for the ninth straight year, the second-longest streak in NFL history. The Patriots won the AFC East from 2009 to 2019, a stretch of 11 seasons.
The Chargers were inches from beating the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday night, but KC got the bounce off the upright and through on the game-winning field goal try. The Chargers fall back into the group of wild card teams at 8-5, but are still two games clear of the rest of the field.
The Bills and Rams had an offensive showcase on Sunday, putting up a combined 86 points. The Rams came out on top and are just one game out of the wild card as well as the NFC West lead. The Bills, meanwhile, may have blown their chance at the one seed with the loss and their defense was exposed in a big way. It won’t get easier; they get the Lions next week.
The Seattle Seahawks took a two-game lead in the NFC West with their win over the Arizona Cardinals. Seattle picked off Kyler Murray twice and Geno Smith was efficient, but the Seahawks rode Zach Charbonnet’s 22 carries for 134 yards and two touchdowns. Both touchdown runs came in the first half as the Seahawks took a 24-10 lead into halftime and milked the clock effectively in the second half.
New York seemed like they were going to deal Miami a devastating blow for their playoff chances. Instead, the Dolphins stormed back and claimed an overtime win. Miami is tied with the Colts as the first team out, two games behind the three wild card teams with four to play. The loss eliminates the Jets from playoff contention.
The Steelers continued rolling and eliminated a rival in the process. They beat the Browns 42-21 to add a half game to their AFC North lead while the Ravens were on a bye. Pittsburgh has a two-game lead in the division and maintains pace two games back of the Chiefs for the No. 1 seed. They tied the Bills for the two seed and if they run the table, would be second at worst.
The Saints blocked a potential tying field goal for the Giants in the final minute of the game to secure a 14-11 win. New Orleans is two games back of the Bucs with four remaining and faces Tampa in Week 18.
Philly was the biggest favorite of the weekend but they had to battle against a recently surging Panthers squad. They made a defensive stop in the final minute to secure a ninth straight win. With the Commanders on a bye, the Eagles are now three games up in the NFC East with four games remaining. They remain a game back of the Lions. The Eagles entered the week needing a win and losses by the Falcons and Cardinals. All three results happened, so Philly is in the playoffs.
The Buccaneers jumped out early on the Raiders but stumbled in the middle quarters. They held on late and that, coupled with the Falcons loss in Minnesota, means Tampa has a one-game lead in the division. The Falcons beat the Bucs in both matchups this season, so Tampa has to win the division outright to claim the playoff berth.
The Falcons were giving the Vikings a tough time in the first half, but Kirk Cousins fell apart and the wheels came off the defense in the second half. Minnesota maintains pace behind Detroit in the NFC North. The Vikings entered the weekend with a chance to clinch a playoff. berth with a win and losses by the Cardinals and Rams. The Rams won, though, so Minnesota needs to wait one more week.
When they moved to 11 wins in Week 13, the Kansas City Chiefs became the first NFL team in the NFL to clinch a playoff spot. The Buffalo Bills clinched the AFC East last Sunday night, ensuring a home playoff game. The Lions secured their playoff spot with the Thursday night win while the Philadelphia Eagles joined them on Sunday.
In Week 13, the Giants became the first team this season to be officially eliminated from the playoff race. On Black Friday, the Raiders joined them with their tenth loss of the season and they are also eliminated. On Sunday, the Patriots were also eliminated them with a loss and wins by the Chargers and Texans. With the Denver Broncos win on Monday night, they eliminated the Jacksonville Jaguars from the playoffs. In Week 14, the Cleveland Browns joined the list.
