NFL Playoff Bracket Picture 2024-25: AFC, NFC Standings After Week 9 SNF

Two different types of playoff races are taking place in the AFC and NFC.

The AFC only has nine teams with more than three victories and the Kansas City Chiefs have a clear lead over the rest of the field in the race for the No. 1 overall seed.

The Buffalo Bills are doing their best to put pressure on the Chiefs. They downed the Miami Dolphins with a walk-off field goal in Sunday's early afternoon window.

Over in the NFC, 13 teams have at least three wins and three of the four division races are tightly contested.

The Detroit Lions gained some important separation in the late-afternoon window with a win over the Green Bay Packers.

Detroit is only one game in front of the Minnesota Vikings, though, after the Vikings took down the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday night.

The NFC North is just one of a few exciting races set to play out over the second half of the 2024 NFL season.

AFC Standings

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ORCHARD PARK, NEW YORK - NOVEMBER 03: Josh Allen #17 of the Buffalo Bills throws a pass against the Miami Dolphins during the second quarter at Highmark Stadium on November 03, 2024 in Orchard Park, New York. (Photo by Bryan M. Bennett/Getty Images)

Division Leaders

1. Kansas City (7-0)

2. Buffalo (7-2)

3. Pittsburgh (6-2)

4. Houston (6-3)

Wild-Card Race

5. Baltimore (6-3)

6. Los Angeles Chargers (5-3)

7. Denver (5-4)

8. Indianapolis (4-5)

9. Cincinnati (4-5)

10. New York Jets (3-6)

11. Miami (2-6)

12. Tennessee (2-6)

13. Cleveland (2-7)

14. Jacksonville (2-7)

15. Las Vegas (2-7)

16. New England (2-7)

Buffalo's last-second win powered by Tyler Bass' 61-yard game-winning field goal creates some separation between itself and the Houston Texans, who lost to the New York Jets on Thursday.

Sunday's win over the Miami Dolphins may end up being meaningful in the long run for the Bills since there's a logjam of teams with four, five and six wins beneath them in the standings.

The Baltimore Ravens, Los Angeles Chargers and Cincinnati Bengals all won in the early Sunday window.

Baltimore is just a half-game back of the Pittsburgh Steelers, who are off in Week 9, in the AFC North, while Cincinnati is all of a sudden a contender for the division crown as well.

The Chargers and Denver Broncos will likely be fighting for one of the three wild-card spots since the Kansas City Chiefs are 7-0 at their bye week.

The list of wild-card contenders may not be as big in the AFC, as it is in the NFC, though since six teams in the conference have two wins.

Even the New York Jets with three wins may not be considered a serious threat to land a playoff spot by some people, despite their Thursday win over the Texans.

NFC Standings

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EAST RUTHERFORD, NEW JERSEY - NOVEMBER 03: Jayden Daniels #5 of the Washington Commanders is chased by Micah McFadden #41 of the New York Giants during the first half at MetLife Stadium on November 03, 2024 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images)

Division Leaders

1. Detroit (7-1)

2. Washington (7-2)

3. Atlanta (6-3)

4. Arizona (5-4)

Wild-Card Race

5. Minnesota (6-2)

6. Philadelphia (6-2)

7. Green Bay (6-2)

8. Tampa Bay (4-4)

9. Chicago (4-4)

10. Los Angeles Rams (4-4)

11. San Francisco (4-4)

12. Seattle (4-5)

13. Dallas (3-5)

14. Carolina (2-7)

15. New Orleans (2-7)

16. New York Giants (2-7)

The Washington Commanders kept rolling in their win over the New York Giants to remain ahead of the Philadelphia Eagles.

Washington is ahead of the Eagles by a half-game with two weeks until their first head-to-head meeting of the season in Week 11. Philadelphia moved into the top wild-card spot thanks to losses elsewhere across the NFC.

The NFC East is likely down to a two-horse race after the latest Dallas Cowboys loss to the Atlanta Falcons. Dallas is four games back of Washington in the win column and three behind the Eagles. There's a real possibility the Cowboys do not even contend for a wild-card spot.

A bit of clarity was provided in the NFC North with Detroit's 24-14 win over Green Bay. The Lions currently own the head-to-head tiebreakers over the Packers and Vikings.

The Vikings edged ahead of the Packers and Eagles in the wild-card race with their Sunday night win at home over the Colts. They are a half-game in front of Green Bay and above the Eagles on the strength of victory tiebreaker.

The Chicago Bears did not help themselves with a road loss to the Arizona Cardinals. The wild-card feels like the only hope now for Caleb Williams and Co. with a three-game deficit to Detroit.

Arizona used its win to remain atop the NFC West for another week. The Cardinals still have two games against the Seattle Seahawks and one versus the San Francisco 49ers.

The Niners, Seahawks and Los Angeles Rams all have four victories, so holding on the division lead will be tough for the Cardinals. All three of the chasers in the NFC West may have to hunt down first place if they can't make up the two-game gap to the wild-card spots.

The only certain thing at the moment is the Atlanta Falcons' status atop the NFC South. They are two full games ahead of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Falcons could have a 2.5-game lead if the Bucs lose to the Chiefs on Monday night.