With a the Buffalo Bills on a bye, a big Thursday Night Football game, a Sunday night contest featuring two NFC playoff hopefuls, and a Monday night game featuring two AFC playoff teams, Sunday afternoon felt a little light as far as the NFL Playoff Picture was concerned, but the endings of these games were absolutely insane.
The Houston Texans lost to the Tennessee Titans after their kicker missed a chip shot to tie, the Kansas City Chiefs won in the last seconds, the Chicago Bears improbably forced overtime against the Minnesota Vikings, and the Dallas Cowboys and Washington Commanders scored four touchdowns in the last three minutes but missed extra points decided the outcome.
At the top of the NFC, the Detroit Lions continued their winning ways, becoming the first 10-win team in the NFL in 2024 before they were joined by the Chiefs.
The Minnesota Vikings continue pushing the Lions, just one game back in the NFC North. The Philadelphia Eagles can move within a game of Detroit with a Sunday night win over the Rams.
The Seattle Seahawks leapt into third place by defeating the Arizona Cardinals and the fourth-place Atlanta Falcons held steady on their bye thanks to a head-to-head loss to Seattle. The Cardinals went from third place to out of the playoff picture completely as the only team in the NFL with a winning record that doesn’t hold a playoff spot.
In the NFC Wild Card, the Vikings at 9-2 control the position while the Green Bay Packers won in convincing fashion to stick at sixth. The Washington Commanders had a golden opportunity against the Cowboys backups but couldn’t seal the deal, and are now just a half-game from being out of the playoff picture completely.
On Thursday, the Pittsburgh Steelers fell to the Cleveland Browns in a snow globe, and the rest of the AFC was watching with bated breath. The Steelers entered the week in third place in the AFC and they will leave in third place, but the door opened for several teams with their loss.
With the Pittsburgh loss, the Buffalo Bills opened up a full game lead over the Steelers for second place in the conference. The top four seeds in the AFC can’t change, as the Chiefs, Bills, Steelers, and Texans are also locked into fourth this week.
Here are the current NFL playoff standings and the division standings are below.
Note: In the standings below, only the pertinent tiebreakers are listed. Teams marked with an asterisk have been eliminated from winning their division.
1. Kansas City Chiefs (10-1)
2. Buffalo Bills (9-2)
3. Pittsburgh Steelers (8-3)
4. Houston Texans (7-5)
5. Los Angeles Chargers (7-3)
6. Baltimore Ravens (7-4)
7. Denver Broncos (7-5)
8. Miami Dolphins (5-6)
9. Indianapolis Colts (5-7)
10. Cincinnati Bengals (4-7)
11. Cleveland Browns (3-8, 3-3 AFC)
12. New York Jets (3-8, 3-5 AFC, win over TEN)
13. Tennessee Titans (3-8, 3-4 AFC, loss to NYJ)
14. New England Patriots (3-9)*
15. Jacksonville Jaguars (2-9, 2-4 AFC)
16. Las Vegas Raiders (2-9, 2-7 AFC)*
NFC standings during Week 12
1. Detroit Lions (10-1)
2. Philadelphia Eagles (8-2)
8. Seattle Seahawks (6-5, win over ARI, win over ATL)
4. Atlanta Falcons (6-5. loss to SEA)
5. Minnesota Vikings (9-2)
6. Green Bay Packers (8-3)
7. Washington Commanders (7-5)
8. Arizona Cardinals (6-5, loss to SEA)
9. Los Angeles Rams (5-5, 2-1 NFCW)
10. San Francisco 49ers (5-6, win over TB)
11. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (5-6, loss to SF)
12. New Orleans Saints (4-7, 3-4 NFC)
13. Chicago Bears (4-7, 2-4 NFC)
14. Dallas Cowboys (4-7, 2-5 NFC)
15. Carolina Panthers (3-8)
16. New York Giants (2-9)*
Key playoff picture takeaways, Week 12
Tampa Bay Bucs handle their business
Tampa entered Sunday a game and a half back of Atlanta with the Falcons on a bye. The Buccaneers crushed the Giants to start a run where they’ll likely be favored in all but one game (Week 15 @ Chargers). The wild card and division race are both open to the Bucs thanks to their closing schedule.
Detroit Lions win a workmanlike effort
Detroit wasn’t overly impressive in Week 12, but they’re so good right now that even a fairly low key effort was more than enough. The Colts led early, but the Lions took control in the second quarter and never looked back. Detroit now heads into a huge home stretch against the Bears, Packers, and Bills.
The Miami Dolphins quietly lurking in AFC Wild Card race
Tua Tagovailoa has been pretty good in the games he’s started and finished this year, and the Miami Dolphins are still sort of hanging around the outskirts of the Wild Card picture. They easily handled the New England Patriots on Sunday to move to 5-6, just one game back of the final playoff spot.
Houston Texans are lucky the AFC South is terrible
The Houston Texans beat a bad Dallas Cowboys team in Week 11, but lost two games before that. On Sunday against the Tennessee Titans, they couldn’t stop tripping over themselves even against a team at the bottom of the standings. They needed multiple Titans mistakes just to stay in the game, but ultimately couldn’t overcome their own miscues. They’re lucky the rest of the AFC South has been poor and they are firmly in fourth place in the AFC right now.
Chiefs escape with bounce-back win
Kansas City looked like they would roll to victory in Charlotte, but Bryce Young and the Panthers gave them everything they could handle. Carolina tied it late with a touchdown and two-point conversion, but Patrick Mahomes did what he usually does and drove the Chiefs down to secure a game-winning field goal.
Washington Commanders blow big opportunity against Cowboys
The Commanders hosted a short-handed Cowboys squad and struggled all day long. They led twice in the first half, but the Cowboys hung close and took over in the second half. Washington looked like they might force overtime with a late miracle catch-and-run touchdown, but Austin Seibert missed an extra point and Dallas secured the win.
Minnesota Vikings keeping pressure on Lions, Wild Card race
The Minnesota Vikings moved to nine wins on Sunday, the second-most in the NFC. Unfortunately for them, the only team with more wins is also in their division. Minnesota kept pace with Detroit and the two teams face off in the final week of the season and could be for the NFC North crown. Either way, it looks like both teams are going to be in the playoffs, as Minnesota is now four wins better than the eighth-place team in the conference.
Every team with a winning record is in NFL Playoff position
Usually there are teams that are good and just not good enough, but every team with a winning record was in a playoff spot heading into the week. The Cardinals at 6-5 are the only team on the outside looking in despite sporting a winning record.
Multiple NFL teams eliminated from divisional races
For the first time in 2024, teams have been eliminated from a portion of the playoff picture. The 2-9 New York Giants can’t climb into the lead in the NFC East. In the AFC, the Las Vegas Raiders and the New England Patriots have both been eliminated from their division races, as well.
Seahawks take the lead in NFC West race
The Cardinals could not build on their divisional lead and now at least two teams are tied at the top, pending the Rams game against the Eagles. Arizona took an early 3-0 lead, but could not get much of anything going the rest of the game and the Seahawks offense did just enough to secure a 16-6 win. Seattle holds the division lead thanks to now having the head-to-head tiebreaker over Arizona until they face off again in two weeks.
Packers maintain pace, 49ers stumble further
The 49ers were missing numerous players due to injury and it showed. They hung close for stretches, but the Packers pulled away to win in a rout. Green Bay maintained pace with Detroit and Minnesota while San Francisco now sits a game back of the top of the NFC West.
Denver Broncos are proving they belong in Wild Card race
We talked about the Denver Broncos a lot this week. They are proving to be legitimate contenders in the AFC playoff picture fueled by Bo Nix and Sean Payton’s mind meld. They are one game out of the top spot in the Wild Card race and tied in the win column with the Los Angeles Chargers. They finish their 2024 regular season at the Chargers, at the Bengals, and home vs the Chiefs so they still have a ways to go.
Monday Night Football is going to be so important to the AFC standings
The Baltimore Ravens are one game behind the Steelers in the AFC North following Pittsburgh’s Thursday night loss. Baltimore can’t pass them with a MNF win, but they can pull within a half game and they are also in the midst of a Wild Card race. That race is currently led by Baltimore’s Monday night opponent, the Los Angeles Chargers. Both teams want to solidify their playoff position with a win to close out Week 12.
NFL Division Standings
AFC East standings
- Buffalo Bills, 9-2
- Miami Dolphins, 5-6
- New York Jets, 3-8
- New England Patriots*, 3-9
AFC North standings
- Pittsburgh Steelers, 8-3
- Baltimore Ravens, 7-4
- Cincinnati Bengals, 4-7
- Cleveland Browns, 3-8
AFC South standings
- Houston Texans, 7-5
- Indianapolis Colts, 5-7
- Tennessee Titans, 3-8
- Jacksonville Jaguars, 2-9
AFC West standings
- Kansas City Chiefs, 10-1
- Los Angeles Chargers, 7-3
- Denver Broncos, 7-5
- Las Vegas Raiders*, 2-9
NFC East standings
- Philadelphia Eagles, 8-2
- Washington Commanders, 7-5
- Dallas Cowboys, 4-7
- New York Giants*, 2-9
NFC North standings
- Detroit Lions, 10-1
- Minnesota Vikings, 9-2
- Green Bay Packers, 8-3
- Chicago Bears, 4-7
NFC South standings
- Atlanta Falcons, 6-5
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 5-6
- New Orleans Saints, 4-7
- Carolina Panthers, 3-8
NFC West standings
- Los Angeles Rams, 6-5
- Arizona Cardinals, 6-5
- Seattle Seahawks, 5-5
- San Francisco 49ers, 5-6
