NFL Playoff Picture: Updated AFC, NFC Playoff Seedings After Week 15

The New England Patriots still control their own destiny to win the AFC East, but the Buffalo Bills — five-time defending division champs — stood their ground in Week 15. The Patriots would have clinched the division with a win Sunday. After storming back from a 21-0 deficit to win, Josh Allen and the Bills are now one game behind the Patriots with three games left in the regular season.

The last time the Bills were not AFC East champs was 2019, when the Patriots won it in Tom Brady’s final season in New England. As of now, the Patriots remain the No. 2 seed in the AFC. The Bills are the No. 6 seed. Buffalo’s last three games: at Cleveland Browns, home vs. Philadelphia Eagles, home vs. New York Jets, New England’s last three: at Baltimore Ravens, at Jets, home vs. Miami Dolphins.

While the Bills still have a chance to keep their division title streak alive, the Kansas City Chiefs ended their streak in the AFC West and were eliminated from the playoffs altogether. This will be the first season since 2015 that a team other than the Chiefs wins the division, and the first time since 2014 that Kansas City will not be in the playoffs.

The Los Angeles Rams held onto the top seed in the NFC with their big win over the Detroit Lions, while the Chicago Bears vaulted into the No. 2 spot — and first place in the NFC North — with an easy win over the Cleveland Browns while the Green Bay Packers lost in Denver.

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

AFC Playoff Seeding

1. Denver Broncos
2. New England Patriots
3. Jacksonville Jaguars
4. Pittsburgh Steelers
5. Los Angeles Chargers
6. Buffalo Bills
7. Houston Texans

AFC Wild Card Round (Broncos get bye):
Texans at Patriots
Bills at Jaguars
Chargers at Steelers

NFC Playoff Seeding

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

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

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