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There are fewer than eight weeks left in the 2023 NFL regular season, which means we’re in the stretch run to determine what 14 teams will be making the playoffs ahead of Super Bowl 58 in Las Vegas. That makes it another great time to check in on the updated standings across the league.
What teams are leading their divisions or positioned for a wild-card berth now? Who would be missing the postseason based on current records and tiebreakers? Here’s a focus on the NFL playoff picture after Week 11 and going into Week 12:
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NFL standings after Week 11
AFC playoff picture
1. Baltimore Ravens (8-3), first place, AFC North. The Ravens rebounded well from their Week 10 home loss to the Browns by opening Week 11 with a home win over the Bengals. They have opened up a nice lead in the league’s toughest division and now have control over the top seed and home-field advantage over the Chiefs.
2. Kansas City Chiefs (7-3), first place, AFC West. The Chiefs suffered a tough NFC home defeat after their bye, the Super Bowl 57 rematch with the Eagles. That dropped them behind the Ravens by a half-game. They remain ahead of the Jaguars and Dolphins by owning head-to-head tiebreakers over both teams.
3. Jacksonville Jaguars (7-3), first place, AFC South. The Jaguars rebounded from their terrible Week 10 home loss to the 49ers to also keep pace with the Ravens by drubbing the Titans. They also stayed ahead of the Texans in the division before facing them again.
4. Miami Dolphins (7-3), first place, AFC East. The Dolphins are up 2 games on the Bills, to whom they lost earlier in the season. They also are 2.5 games up on the Jets, whom they play for the first time on “Black Friday” in Week 12. That all comes with holding off the upset-minded Raiders at home.
5. Cleveland Browns (7-3), second place, AFC North. The Browns got within a half-game of the Ravens after beating them in Week 11. They did so by winning another walk-off field-goal game over the Steelers to split that season series.
6. Houston Texans (6-4), second place, AFC North. The Texans saw their offense come down to earth a little with some key turnovers from C.J. Stroud, but they held off Kyler Murray and the Cardinals with some big plays from their young defense. They kept pace with the Jaguars and jumped the Steelers as a result.
7. Pittsburgh Steelers (6-4), third place, AFC North. The Steelers couldn’t overcome inept offense beyond Jaylen Warren’s big game and fell by three points in their rematch with the Browns. They slid a spot in the division and also fell behind the Texans because of a slightly worse conference record.
Who’s in the hunt?
8. Buffalo Bills (6-5)
9. Indianapolis Colts (5-5)
10. Denver Broncos (5-5)
11. Cincinnati Bengals (5-5)
12. Las Vegas Raiders (5-6)
13. Los Angeles Chargers (4-6)
14. New York Jets (4-6)
15. Tennessee Titans (3-7)
The Bills got to a half-game of the final wild-card spot and kept pace with the winning Dolphins. The Broncos got a big win to get to .500 on Sunday night.
The Bengals had a big chance to rebound from the Texans loss but they fell again at Baltimore to open Week 11 with Joe Burrow getting hurt with his right wrist early. They’re now in that muddle .500 mix with slimmer playoff hopes with the division already possibly out the window. The Raiders and Chargers suffered key losses on Sunday, too.
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NFC playoff picture
1. Philadelphia Eagles (9-1), first place, NFC East. The Eagles have some defensive issues and a tough schedule ahead, so it will be tricky to maintain this high perch for a second straight season. The key will be beating the Cowboys for a second time in Dallas in Week 14. They got off to the ideal start by beating the Chiefs on the road on Monday night with the Bills next.
2. Detroit Lions (8-2), first place, NFC North. The Lions had to work hard to avoid a major home upset to the Bears, perhaps looking ahead to a big Thanksgiving afternoon game vs. the Packers. With the big comeback win, they kept putting key pressure on the Eagles ahead of them and 49ers behind them.
3. San Francisco 49ers (7-3), first place, NFC West. The 49ers need to work to gain ground on the Eagles ahead of their Week 13 matchup in Philadelphia. They took care of the Buccaneers to stay hot after beating the Jaguars with the Seahawks up next on Thursday.
4. New Orleans Saints (5-5), first place, NFC South. The Saints, who enjoy a bye in Week 11 aren’t a great team, but they are the best in a bad division and may pad their lead more with the Buccaneers needing to play the 49ers. The question is whether injuries to Derek Carr will prompt a QB change in Week 12.
5. Dallas Cowboys (7-3), second place, NFC East. The Cowboys jumped here after routing the Panthers on the road to stay hot before hosting the Commanders on Thanksgiving in Week 12. They will hope to make up more ground on the Eagles after Monday night.
6. Seattle Seahawks (6-4), second place, NFC West. The Seahawks fell down here after losing on the road to the Rams and seeing offensive leaders Geno Smith and Kenneth Walker get hurt in the process. They need to survive the attrition with teams on their heels.
7. Minnesota Vikings (6-5), second place, NFC North. The Vikings saw their five-game winning streak come to a heartbreaking halt in Denver as they ran out of Josh Dobbs magic late without Justin Jefferson. They dropped back behind losing Seattle by a half-game.
Who’s in the hunt?
8. Green Bay Packers (4-6)
9. Los Angeles Rams (4-6)
10. Atlanta Falcons (4-6)
11. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (4-6)
12. Washington Commanders (4-7)
13. Chicago Bears (3-8)
The Packers got a win to revive their wild-card hopes a little, but the Commanders and Bears fell again in tough division games. The Buccaneers and Falcons are still the best bets here to make it via winning the weak NFC South over the Saints.
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