2025 26 Nfl Playoff Picture Current Standings Clinch Scenarios

Bonisiwe Shabane

-Dec 21, 2025, 9:20 AM

2025 26 nfl playoff picture current standings clinch scenarios

x Team has clinched a playoff berth. y Team has clinched their division title. e Team has been eliminated from playoff contention. k Team has been knocked out of division title contention. NFC Teams knocked out of 1 seed contention: NYG, ARI, WAS, NO, ATL, TB, DAL, DET, MIN, GB, CAR, PHI AFC Teams knocked out of 1 seed contention: LV, CLE, TEN, NYJ, CIN, KC,... CHI has clinched the NFC North division title.

DEN has clinched the AFC West division title. JAX cannot clinch the AFC South division title this week. DET has been eliminated from playoff contention. In a dramatic late-season stretch, the 2025-26 NFL playoff picture underwent a major reshuffle after Week 15. denver secured the AFC West crown and its path to the No. 1 seed, while los Angeles clinched the NFC West but fell behind Seattle on tiebreakers following an overtime loss to the Rams’ rival.

Kansas City saw its playoff streak end, opening the door for a tightly contested finish as wild-card races grab center stage. With three weeks left, every matchup matters for seeding, division titles, and postseason positioning. From coast to coast,teams are racing to lock in home-field advantage and avoid the dreaded “play-in” scenarios. The latest results also intensify the chatter about potential breakouts in Week 16 and beyond. For real-time updates,readers can consult the official playoff picture page from the NFL and cross-check with league-wide projections as the schedule unfolds. The Broncos continued their dominant run, improving to 12-2 and clinching the AFC West.

Their record puts them squarely in the driver’s seat for the top seed and home-field advantage throughout the conference playoffs. In the East, the Patriots hold a pleasant lead at 11-3, but a loss could still alter the destiny of the conference’s seeding table. Across the rest of the conference, the South remains a three-team fight among the Jaguars, Texans, and Colts, each with a legitimate shot at a division title or a wild-card berth. The Chargers and Bills occupy the wild-card spots, while the Ravens hover on the cusp of clinching with some help. The Week 16 slate features key showdowns that could reshape the tally: a potential No.1 seed decision between the Broncos and a high-pedigree foe, a win-and-in scenario for Patriots at baltimore, and a divisional-momentum... Week 16 delivered historic playoff drama across both conferences as ten teams clinched postseason berths.

The Seahawks rallied from a 30-14 fourth quarter deficit to stun the Rams 38-37 in overtime on Thursday night and clinched a playoff berth while taking over the NFC’s No. 1 seed at 12-3. The Bears mounted a miraculous comeback to beat the Packers 22-16 in overtime on Saturday after recovering an onside kick and clinching a playoff berth at 11-4. The Broncos hold the AFC’s No. 1 seed at 12-3. The Patriots clinched at 12-3.

The Jaguars clinched at 11-4 with their sixth straight victory. Five AFC teams and five NFC teams have clinched playoff berths. Updated: After Monday Night Football, Week 16 (December 23, 2025), 2025 season Fourteen teams make the postseason with seven from each conference. The top seed gets a first round bye and home field advantage. The Broncos clinched a playoff berth and hold the AFC’s No.

1 seed at 12-3. The Patriots clinched at 12-3 and hold the No. 2 seed. The Jaguars clinched at 11-4 and hold the No. 3 seed. The Chargers and Bills both clinched at 11-4.

The Seahawks clinched and hold the NFC’s No. 1 seed at 12-3. The Bears clinched at 11-4 and hold the No. 2 seed. The Eagles clinched the NFC East at 10-5. The 49ers and Rams both clinched at 11-4.

Ten teams have clinched playoff berths with one week remaining. Want to test different scenarios? Check out our Free Playoff Picture Simulator for Week 17 to see how each game impacts the playoff race. We’re getting to the end of the 2025 NFL regular season. Through the Christmas Day tripleheader, the NFL playoff picture is coming into focus. The Broncos beat the Chiefs to stay atop the AFC standings, and the Lions lost to both eliminate themselves from playoff contention and clinch a spot for the Packers.

Going forward, Saturday’s games should provide more clarity as well. If the Ravens beat the Packers at Lambeau Field, they’ll remain in the hunt for an AFC North title and the Bears will earn the NFC North. With a Baltimore loss, the Steelers would clinch the division and Green Bay would remain alive for a division title. In the Texans-Chargers game, Los Angeles is relegated to a wild-card berth with a loss while Houston would clinch a playoff berth with a win. However, a Chargers win would force a winner-take-all in Denver next week for the AFC West. The NFL playoff picture is coming into focus.

As the season winds through December and January, we’re highlighting each team that has clinched a spot in the 2025-26 NFL playoffs. The 2026 NFL Playoffs get started on Saturday, January 10 with four teams kicking off the Wild Card round. The playoff field will feature 14 teams with 12 of them playing that first weekend and the No. 1 seed in each conference getting a bye to the Divisional Round. This year, the opening round features two games on Saturday, three games on Sunday, and one game on Monday. Eight teams will face off in the Divisional round, with that weekend featuring two games on Saturday the 17th and two games on Sunday the 18th.

The Conference Championship round follows with the final four teams facing off on Sunday the 25th. The final two teams square off in Santa Clara, California at Super Bowl 60 on Sunday, February 8, 2026. The field is slowly filling up as teams punch their ticket for the 2026 NFL Playoffs. Below is each team that has clinched a playoff berth. How they clinched: Win over Green Bay Packers (34-26) to improve to 12-2. Week 17 of the NFL season is under way after a trio of games took place on Christmas Day.

The Dallas Cowboys' 30-23 road win over the Washington Commanders kicked off the festivities. Both teams played for pride with their playoff hopes gone, and they turned in a solid game to open the day. Then the Minnesota Vikings, behind a phenomenal defensive performance, stunned the visiting Detroit Lions 20-10 to knock them out of playoff contention. Finally, the Denver Broncos held off an impressive effort from a severely shorthanded Kansas City Chiefs team en route to a 20-13 road victory. With the win, Denver stayed first in the AFC. Following those results, here's a look at the current NFL standings and playoff scenarios.

The Detroit Lions suffered a heartbreaking and controversial loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday. Along with the emotional loss, it does make their road to the NFL Playoff much tougher. However, Dan Campbell and the Lions aren't dead yet, and if there's one team that can fight and claw their way into the dance, it's them. Chiefs owner Clark Hunt announced Monday that the team is moving out of Arrowhead Stadium in Missouri and into Kansas starting in 2031. The decision comes after Jackson County, Missouri, voters rejected a 40-year extension of a local sales tax that would have funded major renovations at Arrowhead Stadium, along with a new stadium for the Kansas... "We get one team that gets to go to that Super Bowl every year," Cowboys' owner Jerry Jones told reporters after the loss.

"Two that get to go to those [conference] games. I'm looking forward next year of getting back in that championship game and maybe beyond. And then, I'll be right at the top of the list of how long it's been since you've been to one. And that's how you do it. Right at the top. And this will all go away."

"But look, for me, I think you have to look at these 12 games we've played. It's been a heck of a schedule," he told reporters after the game. "Our guys have battled like crazy. We've made tough plays down the stretch. Tonight, they made one more play than us. You put yourself in a position, you wish that they could hit a shot on you.

Not just hit a free throw. And that was disappointing overall. Proud of our team with what we've done through 12 games." And yet, the old guy was legitimately good in his last 13 starts of the year. He posted a 2.60 ERA, with 70 strikeouts against 24 walks over 72.2 innings. This was when he started putting more trust in a sweeping slider that ended up being the best pitch in his arsenal, to the tune of a plus-eight Run Value.

2025 26 Nfl Playoff Picture Current Standings Clinch Scenarios

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