NFL Playoff Scenarios 2023-24: Wildcard Picture, Postseason Bracket Post-Week 17
The Buffalo Bills are in playoff contention following a 27-21 victory over the New England Patriots Sunday and more importantly, can climb from the outhouse of the Wildcard picture and into the penthouse of an AFC East division title if they can knock off the Miami Dolphins in Week 18.
Quarterback Josh Allen and Co. have been one of the hottest teams in the NFL over the last month and hope to finally make good on all of the hype and buzz surrounding the team over the last three seasons by finally returning to the Super Bowl for the first time since 1994.
As things stand following the early slate of Sunday games, they would have to go through familiar foe Kansas City to do so.
Find out what other Wildcard matches would dominate headlines if the playoffs started today with this look at the current playoff picture and brackets.
AFC Playoff Bracket
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AFC Playoff Bracket
1. Baltimore Ravens (BYE)
7. Indianapolis Colts at 2. Miami Dolphins
6. Buffalo Bills at 3. Kansas City Chiefs
5. Cleveland Browns at 4. Jacksonville Jaguars
The most intriguing match-up here is the rematch of the Chiefs and Bills from Week 14, which ended in controversy when a jaw-dropping, game-winning play from Kansas City tight end Travis Kelce to wide receiver Kadarius Toney was nullified by an offsides call against the latter.
The Bills have been red-hot while the Chiefs just narrowly escaped the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 17 to win the AFC West for the eighth consecutive year (more on that in a moment), and one would be hard-pressed to imagine a scenario where the Bills are not the favorites in that game outside of home-field advantage.
Of course, with Buffalo playing Miami for the AFC East crown in Week 18, it is entirely possible that Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen will not square off in another epic playoff encounter until later on, if at all.
For both their sakes, considering both the reeling Chiefs and the fact that Allen has not yet gotten the best of Mahomes in a playoff setting, it may be for the best,
NFC Playoff Brackets
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NFC Playoff Brackets
1. San Francisco 49ers (BYE)
7. Seattle Seahawks at 2. Dallas Cowboys
6. Los Angeles Rams at 3. Detroit Lions
5. Philadelphia Eagles at 4. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
If things hold steady and the above match-ups play out, the NFL will not have booked a better storyline for the Wildcard round of these playoffs than Los Angeles at Detroit.
Matthew Stafford returning to Detroit to play in a postseason game, with the team for whom he won a Super Bowl and against the team he was drafted to and was the heart and soul of, is already juicy enough.
Add in the fractured relationship between Lions quarterback Jared Goff and Rams head coach Sean McVay that necessitated the trade for Stafford in the first place, and you have a game brimming with story threads for fans unfamiliar with the two teams to invest in.
On the field, it would be a shootout of a game, with two high-powered offenses looking to outscore the other and cash their ticket to the divisional round.
Not to mention an opportunity for each quarterback to rewrite their own narratives.
May the football gods give us all of this.
Kansas City Clinches AFC West
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The Kansas City Chiefs will represent the AFC West as its champions in the playoffs, thanks to a 25-17 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals Sunday.
It was not pretty and required kicker Harrison Butker to connect on all six of his field goal attempts, thus scoring 18 of his team's points, but the only number that matters is the final score.
The Chiefs' defense came up big, tallying six sacks and pressuring Cincinnati quarterback Jake Browning all game long. Tony Romo touted the unit on Sunday's broadcast and pointed to it as a big reason Kansas City can still win a Super Bowl, despite scoring at a much smaller clip than in years past.
He is not wrong. Defense does win championships, despite the NFL's attempts to take it out of the game. The Chiefs rank second in total team defense, allowing just 287.3 yards a game and a total of 30 touchdowns all season.
As Romo reminded viewers, it is the fewest the team has given up since 1995, a staggering statistic in a season dominated by Taylor Swift gossip and questions about the struggles of the offense.
A team playing that well defensively, with a quarterback in Mahomes who has a noted flair for the moment, can go to any stadium, win, and set up a return to football's biggest stage.
Will it happen?
Not if they have to play Baltimore, who looked very much like the class of the league in Week 17 as they dramatically destroyed the Miami Dolphins, 56-19.
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