The Lions and Packers solidified their playoff spots, while the Giants became the first NFL team to be mathematically eliminated on Thanksgiving Day. Here’s the NFL playoff picture for Week 13 heading into Black Friday:
NFC Playoff image
HEAD OF THE DIVISION
1. Detroit Lions (11-1): Holds on to beat Bears.
2. Philadelphia Eagles (9-2): 2.5-game lead in the NFC East.
3. Seattle Seahawks (6-5): Have a head-to-head matchup over the Falcons and Cardinals.
4. Atlanta Falcons (6-5): One-game lead in NFC South.
WILD CARDS
5. Minnesota Vikings (9-2): Lost at home to Lions.
6. Green Bay Packers (9-3): Lost at home to Lions and Vikings.
7. Washington Commanders (7-5): Need to reverse their recent slide.
OUTSIDE VIEW
8. Arizona Cardinals (6-5): Sunday’s loss to the Seahawks was a big one.
9. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (5-6): Own the NFC record tiebreaker over the Rams.
10. Los Angeles Rams (5-6): Have the major tiebreaker over the 49ers.
11. San Francisco 49ers (5-6): The preseason NFC favorites are in danger of missing the playoffs.
12. Dallas Cowboys (5-7): Thanksgiving win keeps them alive.
13. New Orleans Saints (4-7): Two games out of the division.
14. Chicago Bears (4-8): Deep in last place in the NFC North.
15. Carolina Panthers (3-8): Playing much better football lately.
16. New York Giants (2-10): Mathematically eliminated.
AFC playoff picture
HEAD OF THE DIVISION
1. Kansas City Chiefs (10-1): The reigning champions sit atop the conference.
2. Buffalo Bills (9-2): If they can catch the Chiefs in the standings, they’ll have a head-to-head tiebreaker.
3. Pittsburgh Steelers (8-3): Beating the Ravens head-to-head was big.
4. Houston Texans (7-5): Not playing well, but should win the AFC South by default.
WILD CARDS
5. Baltimore Ravens (8-4): Big win over the Chargers on Monday night.
6. Los Angeles Chargers (7-4): Big loss to Ravens on Monday night.
7. Denver Broncos (7-5): Bo Nix led them to a two-game lead in the wild-card race.
OUTSIDE VIEW
8. Indianapolis Colts (5-7): Catching the Texans in the AFC South will be a long shot.
9. Miami Dolphins (5-7): A loss to the Packers on Thanksgiving hurt any hopes of making a late-season run.
10. Cincinnati Bengals (4-7): Apparently need to run the table to make the playoffs.
11. Cleveland Browns (3-8): Deshaun Watson has dug himself a hole that Jameis Winston won’t be able to dig himself out of for the Browns.
12. New York Jets (3-8): Aaron Rodgers’ experience is headed for disaster.
13. Tennessee Titans (3-8): Big upset over the Texans on Sunday.
14. New England Patriots (3-9): Drake Maye is promising, but this team is far from contention.
15. Jacksonville Jaguars (2-9): Doug Pederson is on the hot seat.
16. Las Vegas Raiders (2-9): Antonio Pierce is on the hot seat.
Clinching scenarios
Buffalo Bills (9-2) vs. San Francisco 49ers (5-6); Sunday night, 8:20 p.m. ET, NBC
Buffalo clinched the AFC East division title:
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BUF win
Kansas City Chiefs (10-1) vs. Las Vegas Raiders (2-9); Friday, 3:00 PM ET, Main Video
Kansas City clinched a spot in the playoffs:
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KC to win
NFC
Detroit Lions (10-1) vs. Chicago Bears (4-7); Thursday, 12:30 p.m. ET, CBS
Detroit made the playoffs:
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SF loss or tie + ARI loss or tie + SEA loss + TB loss or tie
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SF loss or tie + ARI loss + SEA tie + TB loss or tie
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SF loss or tie + ARI loss or tie + SEA loss + WAS loss or tie + ATL loss
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SF Loss or Draw + ARI Loss or Draw + SEA Loss + WAS Loss + ATL Draw
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SF loss or tie + ARI loss + SEA tie + WAS loss or tie + ATL loss
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SF loss or draw + ARI loss + SEA draw + WAS loss + ATL draw
Note: There are other scenarios in which Detroit can secure a playoff spot with a tie and other outcomes that include the Lions securing the power play tiebreaker.