NFL Playoff Scenarios 2024: Reviewing Post-Week 17 AFC, NFC Picture, Bracket

The Los Angeles Rams are one of the hotter teams in football entering the 2023 NFL playoffs and Sunday, cashed their ticket to the dance with a dramatic victory over a gutsy New York Giants team.

They currently sit at the sixth seed in the NFC, with a potential date against former quarterback Jared Goff and the Detroit Lions on the horizon.

They are far from the only team for whom the playoff picture clarified in Week 17, with others earning their way to the postseason via big wins or setting up divisional title showdowns in the final week of the regular season.

Who is in, who is on the brink, and what would the playoff brackets look like if they started today?

Find out with this early preview of the NFL playoffs.

AFC Playoff Picture

Michael Owens/Getty Images

BALTIMORE, MARYLAND - DECEMBER 31: Tua Tagovailoa #1 of the Miami Dolphins looks on during the national anthem prior to an NFL football game between the Baltimore Ravens and the Miami Dolphins at M&T Bank Stadium on December 31, 2023 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Michael Owens/Getty Images)

Current AFC standings are:

1. Baltimore Ravens (13-3, AFC North) (X, Y, Z)
2. Miami Dolphins (11-5, AFC East) (X)
3. Kansas City Chiefs (10-6, AFC West) (X)
4. Jacksonville Jaguars (9-7, AFC South)
5. Cleveland Browns (11-5, Wildcard) (X)
6. Buffalo Bills (10-6, Wildcard)
7. Indianapolis Colts (9-7, Wildcard)

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On the Bubble

Houston Texans (9-7)

Pittsburgh Steelers (9-7)

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Eliminated

New England Patriots (4-12)

Los Angeles Chargers (5-11)

Tennessee Titans (5-11)

New York Jets (6-10)

Las Vegas Raiders (7-9)

Denver Broncos (8-8)

Cincinnati Bengals (8-8)

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(X): clinched playoffs, (Y): clinched division, (Z): clinched No. 1 seed

NFC Playoff Picture

Matthew Pearce/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

ARLINGTON, TX - DECEMBER 30: Dallas Cowboys wide receiver CeeDee Lamb (88) catches a pass for a touchdown during the game between the Dallas Cowboys and the Detroit Lions on December 30, 2023 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Matthew Pearce/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Current NFC playoff standings are:

1. San Francisco 49ers (12-4, NFC West) (X, Y, Z)
2. Dallas Cowboys (11-5, NFC East) (X)
3. Detroit Lions (11-5, NFC North) (X, Y)
4. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (8-8, NFC South)
5. Philadelphia Eagles (11-5, Wildcard) (X)
6. Los Angeles Rams (9-7, Wildcard) (X)
   
7. Green Bay Packers (8-8, Wildcard)

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On the Bubble

New Orleans Saints (8-8)

Seattle Seahawks (8-8)

Minnesota Vikings (7-9)

Chicago Bears (7-9)

Atlanta Falcons (7-9)

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Eliminated

Carolina Panthers (2-14)

Arizona Cardinals (4-12)

Washington Commanders (4-12)

New York Giants (5-11)

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(X): clinched playoffs; (Y): clinched division, (Z): clinched No. 1 seed

Wildcard Round Bracket

Matthew Pearce/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

ARLINGTON, TX - DECEMBER 30: Detroit Lions place kicker Michael Badgley (17) looks up at the goal posts before a field goal attempt during the game between the Dallas Cowboys and the Detroit Lions on December 30, 2023 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Matthew Pearce/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

NFC Bracket

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

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AFC 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

Resilient Bills Travel to Miami for Clash Over AFC East Title

Timothy T Ludwig/Getty Images

ORCHARD PARK, NEW YORK - DECEMBER 31: Josh Allen #17 of the Buffalo Bills looks on after a game against the New England Patriots at Highmark Stadium on December 31, 2023 in Orchard Park, New York. (Photo by Timothy T Ludwig/Getty Images)

For the majority of the 2023 season, it appeared as though the Miami Dolphins would run away with the AFC East crown and a top-two seed in the playoffs. A few stumbles on their part, including a 56-19 dismantling by the Baltimore Ravens in Week 17, and a red-hot run by the Bills late in the season, have resulted in a division title up for grabs in the final week of the regular season.

The Bills will travel to Miami in Week 18, not only for the right to cash their playoff ticket but to win the division title and host a home playoff game. It is a scenario that looked all but impossible five weeks earlier when the Bills lost to the Philadelphia Eagles and sat at the 11 seed in the playoff standings.

Since then, the team has not lost, amassing four victories in a row and looking like a juggernaut in the AFC.

Perhaps that is where they will operate best.

A season ago, they hosted a divisional round playoff game against the Cincinnati Bengals and were embarrassed, in the snow, by Joe Burrow and company. They fell short a season earlier by allowing Patrick Mahomes to lead the Kansas City Chiefs right down the field with 13 seconds left, losing heartbreakingly.

This year, they fought their way back from the brink of elimination to stay in the hunt and now, could see their resiliency and determination pay off with a division championship and an opportunity to go on a real tear in an AFC that, other than Baltimore and its dominance, has been wide open all season.

Allen and Co. have been the trendy team in the NFL for three years now. Here in 2023, though, they look like that scrappy team that came from out of nowhere to impress pundits, analysis, and fans in the first place, and if history tells us anything, it is that six other teams should be prepared to battle for the right to represent the AFC in the Super Bowl.

Because the Bills certainly will be.