NFL Playoff Scenarios 2023-24 Week 17: Matchups After Raiders, Eagles, Ravens Wins
The Week 16 slate closed with a trio of Christmas Day matchups, and the NFL playoff picture is becoming a bit more clear as the 2023 season rolls into Week 17.
However, Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs kicked off Monday's action with a 20-14 loss to the Las Vegas Raiders, and now they'll have to wait a little longer to secure playoff berth.
Had the Chiefs defeated the Raiders, they would have become the third team in the AFC to clinch a playoff berth.
The Philadelphia Eagles followed that up with a 33-25 win over the New York Giants to remain atop the NFC East with an 11-4 record and remain in contention for the No. 1 seed in the NFC.
The San Francisco 49ers and Baltimore Ravens closed out Week 16 with a hard-fought battle, though both teams had already clinched a playoff berth entering Monday's action and are now fighting for the No. 1 seed in the NFC and AFC, respectively.
Baltimore went on to defeat San Francisco 33-19 to improve to 12-3 on the season. The Ravens are looking like a real Super Bowl contender and it's hard to envision anyone beating Lamar Jackson and Co. in the AFC title race.
Following Monday's action, lets take a look at the current playoff standings and how things would look if the regular season came to a close.
Current AFC Playoff Picture
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Current standings following Monday's slate of games:
- Baltimore Ravens (12-3, AFC North) (Clinched Playoffs)
- Miami Dolphins (11-4, AFC East) (Clinched Playoffs)
- Kansas City Chiefs (9-6, AFC West)
- Jacksonville Jaguars (8-7, AFC South)
- Cleveland Browns (10-5, Wildcard)
- Buffalo Bills (9-6, Wildcard)
- Indianapolis Colts (8-7, Wildcard)
On the Bubble:
Houston Texans (8-7)
Pittsburgh Steelers (8-7)
Cincinnati Bengals (8-7)
Las Vegas Raiders (7-8)
Denver Broncos (7-8)
Eliminated:
New York Jets (6-9)
Tennessee Titans (5-10)
Los Angeles Chargers (5-10)
New England Patriots (4-11)
Current NFC Playoff Picture
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Current standings following Monday's slate of games:
- San Francisco 49ers (11-4, NFC West) (Clinched playoffs and division)
- Philadelphia Eagles (11-4, NFC East) (Clinched playoffs)
- Detroit Lions (11-4, NFC North) (Clinched playoffs and division)
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers (8-7, NFC South)
- Dallas Cowboys (10-5, Wildcard) (Clinched playoffs)
- Los Angeles Rams (8-7, Wildcard)
- Seattle Seahawks (8-7, Wildcard)
On the Bubble:
Minnesota Vikings (7-8)
Atlanta Falcons (7-8)
Green Bay Packers (7-8)
New Orleans Saints (7-8)
Chicago Bears (6-9)
Eliminated:
New York Giants (5-10)
Washington Commanders (4-11)
Arizona Cardinals (3-12)
Carolina Panthers (2-13)
AFC Playoff Bracket
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The current playoff match-ups as of Monday would be:
Bye: Baltimore Ravens
No. 7 Indianapolis Colts at No. 2 Miami Dolphins
No. 6 Buffalo Bills at No. 3 Kansas City Chiefs
No. 5 Cleveland Browns at No. 4 Jacksonville Jaguars
The biggest potential playoff matchup here is the Buffalo Bills visiting the Kansas City Chiefs, for multiple reasons.
The Bills and Chiefs have some pretty significant history, but the matchup has turned into a much larger rivalry in the Josh Allen and Patrick Mahomes era.
During the 2021 playoffs, the Chiefs defeated the Bills 38-24 in the AFC Championship Game to clinch a berth in the Super Bowl. The two teams met again during the 2022 postseason, and Kansas City defeated Buffalo 42-36 in overtime in a divisional round matchup.
More recently, Buffalo defeated Kansas City 20-17 on Dec. 10 courtesy of a controversial offsides penalty on Chiefs wide receiver Kadarius Toney late in the fourth quarter. That victory has sparked a three-game winning streak for the Bills, which have also defeated the Dallas Cowboys and Los Angeles Chargers in that span.
The Chiefs, meanwhile, are spiraling.
Kansas City has lost three of its last four games with their only win coming against the lowly New England Patriots. The team's loss to the Raiders on Monday was brutal as Mahomes tossed an interception and also lost a fumble—both turnovers led to touchdowns for Las Vegas.
The Bills will close out the season with matchups against the Patriots and Miami Dolphins, while the will take on the Chargers and Cincinnati Bengals.
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NFC Playoff Bracket
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The current playoff match-ups as of Monday would be:
Bye: San Francisco 49ers
No. 7 Seattle Seahawks at No. Detroit Lions
No. 6 Los Angeles Rams at No. 3 Philadelphia Eagles
No. 5 Dallas Cowboys at No. 4 Tampa Bay Buccaneers
One of the most interesting matchups in this potential playoff picture is a rematch between the Dallas Cowboys and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
The Cowboys defeated the Buccaneers 31-14 in last year's NFC wildcard round to clinch a berth against the 49ers in the divisional round.
While Dallas remains the better team, both squads look very different this year, and Tampa Bay appears to finally be hitting its stride with Baker Mayfield under center.
The Bucs have won their last four games, including a 30-12 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday that saw Mayfield throw for 283 yards and two touchdowns, both of which were caught by star wideout Mike Evans.
Although the Cowboys have already locked up a playoff spot, they have lost each of their last two games—a 31-10 loss to the Bills and a 22-20 loss to the Dolphins on Sunday.
So while the Bucs are trending up, the Cowboys are seemingly trending down at the wrong time of year.
The Cowboys close out the season with matchups against the Detroit Lions and Washington Commanders, while the Bucs will take on the New Orleans Saints and Carolina Panthers.
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