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NFL Playoff Picture 2024-25: Standings, Bracket Scenarios After Ravens, Bengals Wins
- Greg Fiume/Getty Images
- Current AFC Playoff Bracket
- 1. Kansas City Chiefs (15-1): Bye to the Divisional Round
- 2. Buffalo Bills (13-3) vs. 7. Denver Broncos (9-7)
- 3. Baltimore Ravens (12-5) vs. 6. Pittsburgh Steelers (10-7)
- 4. Houston Texans (9-7) vs. 5. Los Angeles Chargers (10-6)
- 1. Kansas City Chiefs: 15-1, clinched AFC West title and AFC’s No. 1 seed
- 2. Buffalo Bills: 13-3, clinched AFC East title and AFC’s No. 2 seed
- 3. Baltimore Ravens: 12-5, clinched AFC North title and AFC’s No. 3 seed
- 4. Houston Texans: 9-7, clinched AFC South title and AFC’s No. 4 seed
- 5. Los Angeles Chargers: 10-6, clinched playoff berth
- 6. Pittsburgh Steelers: 10-7, clinched playoff berth
- 8. Cincinnati Bengals: 9-8
- 10. Indianapolis Colts: 7-9
- 12. Las Vegas Raiders: 4-12
- 13. Jacksonville Jaguars: 4-12
- 14. Tennessee Titans: 3-13
- 15. New England Patriots: 3-13
- 16. Cleveland Browns: 3-14
- The Buffalo Bills will assuredly rest their starters Sunday at the New England Patriots (1 p.m. ET) with the AFC East title and No. 2 seed in hand.
- The biggest question is who the Bills will play in the Wild Card round. It could be the Miami Dolphins, who visit the New York Jets (4:25 p.m.) to end the season.
- Miami needs a win and a Denver Broncos loss to the Kansas City Chiefs (4:25 p.m.) in order to do that. The Dolphins are fortunate to play the struggling 4-12 Jets, but the Broncos will host a Chiefs team with no incentive to play their starters after locking in the No. 1 seed.
- The Baltimore Ravens roll into the playoffs as the No. 3 seed after winning their final four games by a combined 92 points.
- They await the eventual No. 6 seed, which will be the Los Angeles Chargers or the Pittsburgh Steelers.
- Right now, Pittsburgh is in the No. 6 seed after losing to the Bengals on Saturday. However, they’ll bump back up to No. 5 if the Chargers fall to the host Las Vegas Raiders (4:25 p.m.). Both teams would be 10-7, but Pittsburgh earned the head-to-head tiebreaker after beating L.A. 20-10 earlier this season.
- Meanwhile, the Bengals have to play a nervy waiting game. They need Miami to lose to the Jets and Denver to fall to Kansas City. That’s a lot easier said than done, given the Jets’ 4-12 record and the Chiefs’ lack of incentive to play their starters, plus Denver being at home.
- The Houston Texans clinched the AFC South three weeks ago and will be the AFC’s No. 4 seed. However, they are going into Week 18 on a cold stretch after going 3-5 in their last eight games, capped by a 31-2 defeat to the Baltimore Ravens on Christmas Day.
- Houston has one more opportunity to go into the playoffs in any sort of rhythm on Sunday when it visits the Tennessee Titans (1 p.m.).
- The Chiefs have earned the No. 1 seed and will host a Divisional Round matchup on either January 18 or 19.
- The Chargers clinched a playoff berth after crushing the New England Patriots 40-7 last Saturday. They’ll finish the season against the team they started it against, the Raiders. L.A. beat Las Vegas 22-10 in Week 1 and will go to Vegas this time.
- A win secures the No. 5 seed and a date with a reeling Texans team. A loss means a trip to Baltimore, which can make a case for being the NFL’s best team at the moment given how it’s played the last four weeks.
- Denver’s destiny is in its own hands. It’s win-and-in for the Broncos, who will go to Buffalo for the playoffs if they beat Kansas City.
- If they lose, it’s over. If Miami loses to the Jets, the Broncos would lose the head-to-head tiebreaker against the Bengals by virtue of their 30-24 overtime loss last Saturday. If Miami beats the Jets, then the Dolphins win a three-team conference record tiebreaker (7-5 Miami, 6-6 Cincinnati, 5-7 Denver).
