The playoff races are significantly heating up around the NFL with four weeks left to play, as plenty has changed around the NFC. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have taken over the NFC South as the Atlanta Falcons continued their free fall, while the New Orleans Saints (5-8) stayed alive in the division race.
The Detroit Lions locked up their playoff berth with Thursday night’s win over the Green Bay Packers, the first team in the NFC to clinch. The Philadelphia Eagles also clinched a berth on Sunday.
In the AFC, the Buffalo Bills damaged their chances for home-field advantage with a loss to the Los Angeles Rams. The Miami Dolphins also stayed alive in the playoff race with their win over the New York Jets.
Below is a breakdown of the conference standings with Week 14 nearly in the books:
AFC playoff picture
Seed Team W L T PCT 1 x-Chiefs 11 1 0 .917 2 y-Bills 10 3 0 .769 3 Steelers 10 3 0 .769 4 Texans 8 5 0 .615 5 Chargers 8 4 0 .667 6 Ravens 8 5 0 .615 7 Broncos 8 5 0 .615 8 Colts 6 7 0 .462 9 Dolphins 6 7 0 .462 10 Bengals 4 8 0 .333
y- clinched division
x- clinched playoff berth
1. Kansas City Chiefs (11-1)
The Chiefs remain the No. 1 seed in the AFC, and can take a two-game lead in the conference with a win over the Chargers on Sunday night. They will also clinch the AFC West with a win.
Remaining schedule: vs. Chargers, at Browns, vs. Texans, at Steelers, at Broncos
2. Buffalo Bills (10-3)
Buffalo trails Kansas City by two games for home-field advantage after its loss to Los Angeles, but has the head-to-head tiebreaker. The Bills already clinched the AFC East, and have the strength of victory tiebreaker over the Steelers.
Remaining schedule: at Lions, vs. Patriots, vs. Jets, at Patriots
3. Pittsburgh Steelers (10-3)
The Steelers upped their lead in the AFC North by two games over the Ravens with their win over the Browns (they also have the head-to-head tiebreaker over Baltimore). Pittsburgh is tied with Buffalo for the No. 2 seed, but loses the strength of victory tiebreaker.
Remaining schedule: at Eagles, at Ravens, vs. Chiefs, vs. Bengals
4. Houston Texans (8-5)
The Texans remain at No. 4 in the conference as they were on a bye this week. They still lead the AFC South by two games over the Colts.
Remaining schedule: vs. Dolphins, at Chiefs, vs. Ravens, at Titans
5. Los Angeles Chargers (8-4)
The Chargers are the No. 5 seed in the AFC and will remain there with a win over the Chiefs.
Remaining schedule: at Chiefs, vs. Buccaneers, vs. Broncos, at Patriots, at Raiders
6. Baltimore Ravens (8-5)
The Ravens are the No. 6 seed in the AFC and were on a bye this week. They are two games behind the Steelers in the AFC North (Pittsburgh owns the tiebreaker). Baltimore has the head-to-head tiebreaker over Denver by virtue of its Week 9 victory.
Remaining schedule: at Giants, vs. Steelers, at Texans, vs. Browns
7. Denver Broncos (8-5)
The Broncos still hold the final playoff spot as they were on a bye this week, leading the Colts and Dolphins for the No. 7 seed by two games. Denver loses the head-to-head tiebreaker with Baltimore for the No. 6 seed.
Remaining schedule: vs. Colts, at Chargers, at Bengals, vs. Chiefs
8. Indianapolis Colts (6-7)
The Colts are two games out of the final wild-card spot in the AFC, as they were on a bye this week. They remain two games behind the Texans for the division lead. The Colts have the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Dolphins by virtue of their Week 7 victory.
Remaining schedule: at Broncos, vs. Titans, at Giants, vs. Jaguars
9. Miami Dolphins (6-7)
The Dolphins’ AFC playoff hopes are still alive with their win over the Jets. Miami is two games behind Denver for the final playoff spot.
Remaining schedule: at Texans, vs. 49ers, at Browns, at Jets
10. Cincinnati Bengals (4-8)
The Bengals remain the No. 10 seed in the AFC, three games in the loss column behind the Broncos for the final wild-card spot. They play the Cowboys on