NFL Playoff Picture If Season Ended Today

Raise your hand if you predicted before the season that the first team to reach double-digit victories in 2025 would be the New England Patriots. Now, for those of you who raised your hands, admit you are lying. Nobody could have made such a bold prediction, and yet the Patriots did indeed improve to 10-2 with a 26-20 win over the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 12. With the Denver Broncos (9-2) on their bye, New England takes over the No. 1 seed in the AFC. And coupled with the Buffalo Bills’ Thursday night loss to the Houston Texans, the Patriots now lead the AFC East by two-and-a-half games.

Meanwhile, the Pittsburgh Steelers’ loss to the Chicago Bears coupled with a Baltimore Ravens victory over the New York Jets means there is a new leader in the AFC North. It was only a few weeks ago that the Ravens were 1-5; if the seaosn ended today, they are playoff-bound.

In the NFC, Sunday night’s victory for the Los Angeles Rams over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers changed everything. The Rams took over the No. 1 seed with the win, while the Bucs loss temporarily gives the Carolina Panthers an edge in the NFC South race and pushed the Bucs out of the playoff picture for the first time all season. Both teams are 6-5 for now, though Carolina plays the San Francisco 49ers on Monday night. Regardless, the division will come down to the head-to-head series: The Bucs and Panthers play twice in the last three weeks of the season.

Here’s a look at the playoff picture if the season ended today:

AFC Playoff Seeding

1. New England Patriots
2. Denver Broncos
3. Indianapolis Colts
4. Baltimore Ravens
5. Los Angeles Chargers
6. Jacksonville Jaguars
7. Buffalo Bills

AFC Wild Card Round (Patriots get bye):
Bills at Broncos
Jaguars at Colts
Chargers at Ravens

NFC Playoff Seeding

1. Los Angeles Rams
2. Philadelphia Eagles
3. Chicago Bears
4. Carolina Panthers
5. Seattle Seahawks
6. Green Bay Packers
7. San Francisco 49ers

NFC Wild Card Round (Rams get bye):
49ers at Eagles
Packers at Bears
Seahawks at Panthers

Here’s a breakdown of the NFL’s tiebreaking procedure