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The NFL playoff race is heating up as the calendar flips to December, the penultimate month of the 2023 regular season. With only six weeks of games left through Week 18, 14 teams are looking to position themselves well as either division leaders or wild-card hopefuls.
Although there are some dominant teams headed to a return to the playoffs, most scenarios are in flux with seeding and potential entrants. Here’s a look at the updated NFL playoff picture during a 13-game slate with six teams on bye in Week 13:
POWER RANKINGS: 49ers jump Eagles at top; Packers, Colts keep rising as Chiefs, Steelers fade for Week 14
NFL standings for Week 13
AFC playoff picture
1.. Miami Dolphins (9-3), first place, AFC East. The Dolphins matched the Ravens’ record in their dominant road victory at the Commanders. For now they have the conference record tiebreaker to jump into this spot. With beating Washington, they opened up a 3-game division lead on the idle Bills.
2. Baltimore Ravens (9-3), first place, AFC North. The Ravens went into their bye with a half-game lead for home-field advantage and the lone playoff bye, over three teams right behind them. The tiebreakers, however, will shake things up a bit depending on which of two favored teams, the Chiefs and Jaguars, join the Dolphins in winning in separate matchups. The Ravens also lead the Steelers by 1.5 games in the division.
3. Jacksonville Jaguars (8-3), first place, AFC South. The Jaguars have saw their division lead over the Colts and Texans fall to 1.5 games with both of those teams winning on Sunday. The Jaguars will try to push it back up to 2 games with five games left to play vs. the Bengals on Monday.
4. Kansas City Chiefs (8-4), first place, AFC West. The Chiefs have wins over the Jaguars and Dolphins to help them in the tiebreakers. They will win the division again and push for No. 1. But losing to the Packers on the road in Week 13 will keep them as the wort division front-runner should the Jaguars join the Dolphins in winning on Monday night.
5. Pittsburgh Steelers (7-5), second place, AFC North. The Steelers lost Kenny Pickett and all their offensive promise in one fell swoop against the Cardinals, also hurt by the weather in the shocking upset at home. They remain here, however, because of the Browns also losing.
6. Indianapolis Colts (7-5) second place, AFC South. The Colts kept up their surprise playoff momentum, still with a head-to-head tiebreaker ahead of the Texans, with a win over the Titans in Tennessee in Week 13. The Colts don’t have a rematch with the Texans until Week 18 in Indianapolis.
7. Cleveland Browns (7-5), third place, AFC North. The Browns also lost to a lesser overall NFC West foe in the Rams, only on the road. Joe Flacco tried to get their offense going but now the concern is the defense falling apart and regressing at the wrong time.
Who’s in the hunt?
8. Houston Texans (7-5)
9. Denver Broncos (6-6)
10. Buffalo Bills (6-6)
11. Cincinnati Bengals (5-6)
12. Los Angeles Chargers (5-7)
13. Las Vegas Raiders (5-7)
14. New York Jets (4-8)
15. Tennessee Titans (4-8)
The Texans beat the Broncos Houston in a key wild-card determining matchup in Week 13. The Bills and Raiders are off to regroup for a run, while the Bengals are hanging on by a thread with no Joe Burrow. The Chargers won on the road at the Patriots to maintain a playoff pulse, but the Titans and Jets lose close games at home.
NFC playoff picture
1. Philadelphia Eagles (10-2), first place, NFC East. The Eagles fell for the second time this season as their run of beating high-quality opponents in comeback fashion ended in getting routed by the 49ers at home. They now lead the division by only one game over the Cowboys and are in real danger of losing home-field advantage and the lone bye to the 49ers, too.
2. San Francisco 49ers (9-3), first place, NFC West. The 49ers’ red-hot ways since getting fully healthy around Brock Purdy after their bye continue with a dominant offensive performance against the Eagles. They made a statement that they are the new team to beat in the conference, wherever they play. Up three games on the Rams and Seahawks, another division title is coming, too.
3. Detroit Lions (9-3), first place, NFC North. The Lions are still in great shape to win the division with a 3-game lead over the Vikings and the Packers after beating the Saints in New Orleans in Week 13. But they’re looking more like the No. 2 seed will be their ceiling.
4. Atlanta Falcons (6-6), first place, NFC South. The Falcons are in control of the NFL’s weakest division thanks to beating the Saints and earning the head-to-head tiebreaker in Week 12. They got to .500 and increased their lead to a full game by beating the Jets in Week 13.
5. Dallas Cowboys (9-3), second place, NFC East. The Cowboys opened Week 13 by rallying to beat the Seahawks on Thursday night, keeping the heat on the losing Eagles ahead of them before hosting that team in Dallas in Week 14. They can finish No. 1, No, 2 or No. 3 if they win the division and are locked into No. 5 again otherwise.
6. Minnesota Vikings (6-6), second place, NFC North. The Vikings jumped up a spot during their bye with the Seahawks losing on Thursday night to match their record on Thursday night. They have the tiebreaker over the three other .500 NFC teams based on conference record, but right behind them is the team in third place in the division.
7. Green Bay Packers (6-6), third place, NFC North. The Packers moved into the final playoff spot thanks to having the second-best conference record after the Vikings, to whom they already lost but face again in Minnesota in Week 17. The Packers also hold key wins over the Rams and Saints in the wild-card race.
Who’s in the hunt?
8. Los Angeles Rams (6-6)
9. Seattle Seahawks (6-6)
10. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (5-7)
11. New Orleans Saints (5-7)
12. New York Giants (4-8)
13. Chicago Bears (4-8)
14. Washington Commanders (4-9)
The Rams and Seahawks are the best wild-card bets here now, while the Saints and Buccaneers will still have their sights on making the playoffs via still winning the weak South over the Falcons.
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