NFL Playoff Bracket Picture 2024-25: AFC, NFC Standings After Week 12 SNF
The Kansas City Chiefs and Detroit Lions became the first two NFL teams to reach 10 wins in Week 12's early-afternoon window.
The Chiefs survived an upset bid from the Carolina Panthers to keep their spot atop the AFC standings.
Detroit's day was a bit different, as it blew past the Indianapolis Colts to keep its edge in the NFC.
Both teams still haven't created any separation at the top of their respective conferences. Kansas City is one game up on the Buffalo Bills, while Detroit is only ahead by one on the Philadelphia Eagles.
Not all teams in playoff spots avoided upsets, though, as the Washington Commanders and Houston Texans went down.
Washington and Houston did not drop out of their playoff positions yet, but the results at least allowed some chasing teams to potentially gain ground.
AFC Standings
1 of 2
Division Leaders
1. Kansas City (10-1)
2. Buffalo (9-2)
3. Pittsburgh (8-3)
4. Houston (7-5)
Wild-Card Race
5. Los Angeles Chargers (7-3)
6. Baltimore (7-4)
7. Denver (7-5)
8. Miami (5-6)
9. Indianapolis (5-7)
10. Cincinnati (4-7)
11. Cleveland (3-8)
12. New York Jets (3-8)
13. Tennessee (3-8)
14. New England (3-9)
15. Jacksonville (2-9)
16. Las Vegas (2-9)
Kansas City avoided an unexpected slip-up with a last-minute with over Carolina to become the first AFC team to reach 10 wins.
The Chiefs are still a full game ahead of the Buffalo Bills for home-field advantage. The long-time rivals are the only likely contenders for the No. 1 overall seed.
The Pittsburgh Steelers and Houston Texans each lost in Week 12 to drop further away from the Chiefs.
Pittsburgh's primary concern has to be the AFC North title because it is only a game in front of the Baltimore Ravens. The gap can drop to a half-game if the Ravens beat the Los Angeles Chargers on Monday night.
Houston is still comfortably in front in the AFC South since it has a two-game lead and two head-to-head wins over the Indianapolis Colts.
The Colts fell to 5-7 with a loss to the Lions, but they are still in the mix for the final wild-card spot.
However, the Colts and the Miami Dolphins must be near-perfect for the rest of the regular season to catch up to the Denver Broncos, who joined the growing list of teams with at least seven wins with a late-afternoon win over the Las Vegas Raiders.
NFC Standings
2 of 2
Division Leaders
1. Detroit (10-1)
2. Philadelphia (9-2)
3. Seattle (6-5)
4. Atlanta (6-5)
Wild-Card Race
5. Minnesota (9-2)
6. Green Bay (8-3)
7. Washington (7-5)
8. Arizona (6-5)
9. Tampa Bay (5-6)
10 Los Angeles Rams (5-5)
11. San Francisco (5-6)
12. New Orleans (4-7)
13. Chicago (4-7)
14. Dallas (4-7)
15. Carolina (3-8)
16. New York Giants (2-9)
Detroit continued to cruise with its win over the Colts.
The Lions are 10-1, but they only have a one-game edge in the NFC North over the Vikings, who eked out an overtime win over the Bears.
Detroit owns the head-to-head tiebreaker over Minnesota and the two teams do not meet again until Week 18 at Ford Field.
The Eagles joined the Lions and Vikings in the group of NFC teams with nine or 10 wins with an emphatic win over the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday night.
Philadelphia already picked up an edge in the NFC East on Sunday afternoon due to the Washington Commanders' loss to the Dallas Cowboys. The Eagles are three games ahead of the Commanders in the loss column right now.
Washington is now just a half-game ahead of the Arizona Cardinals for the final wild-card spot. Arizona dropped down to eighth in the NFC standings with its loss to the Seattle Seahawks.
The Seahawks, in turn, took over first place in the NFC West and the No. 3 seed. They own a head-to-head tiebreaker over NFC South-leading Atlanta.
With their Sunday night loss, the Rams fell to 5-6 and further away from the wild-card hunt.
However, the Rams and 49ers are still in the mix for the NFC West title at 5-6 because they are a single game back of the Seahawks.
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