Every week for the duration of the 2025 regular season, USA TODAY Sports will provide timely updates to the NFL’s ever-evolving playoff picture − typically starting Sunday afternoon and then moving forward for the remainder of the week (through Monday’s and Thursday’s games or Saturday’s, if applicable. And, when the holidays roll around, we’ll be watching then, too).
What just happened? What does it mean? What are the pertinent factors (and, perhaps, tiebreakers) prominently in play as each conference’s seven-team bracket begins to crystallize? All will be explained and analyzed up to the point when the postseason field is finalized on Sunday, Jan. 4.
Here’s where things stand with Week 14 getting underway:
NFC playoff picture
1. Chicago Bears (9-3), NFC North leaders: With back-to-back victories over winning adversaries − in conjunction with the Rams’ stunning Week 13 loss at Carolina − the Bears have now rocketed to the top of the conference. Chicago’s 6-2 record in NFC games sends L.A. (4-3) down a spot. But first place in the division and perhaps conference will be on the line Sunday at Lambeau Field. Remaining schedule: at Packers, vs. Browns, vs. Packers, at 49ers, vs. Lions
2. Los Angeles Rams (9-3), NFC West leaders: The Panthers snapped their NFC-high six-game winning streak in rainy Charlotte, a loss that dropped L.A. out of the conference’s top spot. But the Rams can reclaim it this weekend with a win and some help. Remaining schedule: at Cardinals, vs. Lions, at Seahawks, at Falcons, vs. Cardinals
3. Philadelphia Eagles (8-4), NFC East leaders: Two losses in a row not only mean a lot more scrutiny but − beware − a team that could fall into the Cowboys’ clutches in the division if it’s not careful. Remaining schedule: at Chargers, vs. Raiders, at Commanders, at Bills, vs. Commanders
4. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (7-5), NFC South leaders: They narrowly beat Arizona to narrowly maintain their half-game lead over Carolina in the division. But the schedule is awfully forgiving the rest of the way aside from two meetings with those currently idle Panthers. Remaining schedule: vs. Saints, vs. Falcons, at Panthers, at Dolphins, vs. Panthers
5. Seattle Seahawks (9-3), wild card No. 1: All three of the ‘Hawks’ losses are against NFC opponents, including two in the division − defeats that won’t serve them well in the tiebreaker department. Long trip this weekend in what’s likely a bid to maintain their position. Remaining schedule: at Falcons, vs. Colts, vs. Rams, at Panthers, at 49ers
6. Green Bay Packers (8-3-1), wild card No. 2: They merely maintained their standing (for now) with their Thanksgiving win at Detroit, but a loss would have dropped them from the field entirely. A thin margin for the Pack to be sure … yet they remain just a half-game off the NFC North lead, too − and can rise to the top by beating Chicago on Sunday. Remaining schedule: vs. Bears, at Broncos, at Bears, vs. Ravens, at Vikings
7. San Francisco 49ers (9-4), wild card No. 3: They now have a 1½-game lead on their wild-card pursuers after winning at Cleveland, yet are only a half-game behind the Rams and Seahawks for the NFC West lead. Off this weekend, the Niners are in no danger of vacating the field. Remaining schedule: BYE, vs. Titans, at Colts, vs. Bears, vs. Seahawks
8. Detroit Lions (8-5), in the hunt: Huge win over Dallas on Thursday night. It brought the Lions within a game of the NFC’s final wild card and should help them in the division standings given either the Packers or Bears will lose Sunday. Remaining schedule: at Rams, vs. Steelers, at Vikings, at Bears
9. Carolina Panthers (7-6), in the hunt: The upset of the Rams reaffirmed the Panthers as an outfit to be reckoned with, though they didn’t gain any ground in the wild-card or divisional races. Though Carolina is off this week, it would move atop the NFC South if the Bucs lose to New Orleans. Remaining schedule: BYE, at Saints, vs. Buccaneers, vs. Seahawks, at Buccaneers
10. Dallas Cowboys (6-6-1), in the hunt: Crippling loss Thursday in Motown. Dallas’ best bet now is probably to hope the Eagles continue to struggle and leave the NFC East in play. Remaining schedule: vs. Vikings, vs. Chargers, at Commanders, at Giants
AFC playoff picture
1. New England Patriots (11-2), AFC East leaders: The first team in the league to 11 wins thanks to Monday night’s rollover of the Giants, the Pats are in a very tight race with Denver, the teams’ airtight tiebreakers set to take effect once New England’s bye is over. Remaining schedule: BYE, vs. Bills, at Ravens, at Jets, vs. Dolphins
2. Denver Broncos (10-2), AFC West leaders: Denver held a one-game advantage in the common-games tiebreaker with New England − the difference being the Patriots’ Week 1 loss to the Raiders − before the Pats won Monday night. Remaining schedule: at Raiders, vs. Packers, vs. Jaguars, at Chiefs, vs. Chargers
3. Jacksonville Jaguars (8-4), AFC South leaders: Their Week 13 win in Nashville coupled with Indy’s loss moves the Jags into first place by virtue of the common-games played tiebreaker, which they own by a one-win advantage. Beat the Colts on Sunday, Jacksonville takes over first place outright. Slide back later, and victories over the Chiefs and Chargers could serve them well when it’s time to sort out tiebreakers. Remaining schedule: vs. Colts, vs. Jets, at Broncos, vs. Colts, at Titans
4. Baltimore Ravens (6-6), AFC North leaders: A sloppy performance against the Bengals briefly cost them first place in the division and a slot in the projected playoff field − but Pittsburgh’s loss Sunday conferred it back, the Ravens currently with one additional win over the Steelers in the common-games tiebreaker. Remaining schedule: vs. Steelers, at Bengals, vs. Patriots, at Packers, at Steelers
5. Los Angeles Chargers (8-4), wild card No. 1: They looked fairly fresh while taking out the Raiders in their return from the bye. But QB Justin Herbert got hurt. The Bolts’ 7-2 record in AFC games currently renders them the top-seeded wild card, and Philadelphia won’t affect that. Remaining schedule: vs. Eagles, at Chiefs, at Cowboys, vs. Texans, at Broncos
6. Indianapolis Colts (8-4), wild card No. 2: They’ve dropped three of their past four to fall off the conference pace … and have now ceded first place in the AFC South to Jacksonville after Sunday’s loss to Houston. But win in Duval County, and the Colts go back on top of the division. Though Indy beat the Chargers in Week 7, the three-way tiebreaker (conference record) currently takes precedence, and the Colts are 6-3 in those contests. The schedule doesn’t let up the rest of the way out. Remaining schedule: at Jaguars, at Seahawks, vs. 49ers, vs. Jaguars, at Texans
7. Buffalo Bills (8-4), wild card No. 3: They got back into the win column at Pittsburgh, thus hanging on to the AFC’s final projected wild-card spot. A 5-3 record in conference games leaves Buffalo behind the Chargers and Colts in the wild-card seeding. Remaining schedule: vs. Bengals, at Patriots, at Browns, vs. Eagles, vs. Jets
8. Houston Texans (7-5), in the hunt: They’ve won five of six, including four in a row. If they want to win the AFC South for a third straight year, the Texans likely need to sweep the Colts − and they took their first step toward that with Sunday’s win − while continuing their surge. Remaining schedule: at Chiefs, vs. Cardinals, vs. Raiders, at Chargers, vs. Colts
9. Pittsburgh Steelers (6-6), in the hunt: They’re virtually tied with the Ravens … but won’t be after this weekend’s trip to Baltimore. A 5-3 record in AFC games does slot the Steelers ahead of K.C. (3-4) for now. Remaining schedule: at Ravens, vs. Dolphins, at Lions, at Browns, vs. Ravens
10. Kansas City Chiefs (6-6), in the hunt: Not only will they almost certainly not win the AFC West for the first time since 2015, they could miss the postseason for the first time since 2014 − Andy Reid’s second year in K.C. And don’t forget they’ve lost to the Broncos, Chargers, Bills and Jags, who are all ahead of them. Remaining schedule: vs. Texans, vs. Chargers, at Titans, vs. Broncos, at Raiders
11. Miami Dolphins (5-7), in the hunt: They probably need to win the remainder of their games to even have a shot at postseason qualification. Remaining schedule: at Jets, at Steelers, vs. Bengals, vs. Buccaneers, at Patriots
12. Cincinnati Bengals (4-8), in the hunt: They probably need to win the remainder of their games to even have a shot at postseason qualification … though they have a better one than Miami by virtue of living in this year’s surprisingly subpar AFC North. Remaining schedule: at Bills, vs. Ravens, at Dolphins, vs. Cardinals, vs. Browns