NFL Standings 2024: Week 13 Records, Playoff Bracket Scenarios and Wild Card Picture

The first dozen weeks of the 2024 NFL season have painted a pretty clear playoff picture.

There's still time for teams to move around, out of or into the bracket, but the campaign is far enough along for a handful of teams to start making postseason plans and a batch of bottom-feeders to start planning their offseason vacations.

Before Week 13 kicks off with a three-game Thanksgiving feast, let's take a look at the latest conference standings.

AFC Standings

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INGLEWOOD, CALIFORNIA - NOVEMBER 25: Lamar Jackson #8 of the Baltimore Ravens throws before a game against the Los Angeles Chargers at SoFi Stadium on November 25, 2024 in Inglewood, California. (Photo by Ric Tapia/Getty Images)

Division Leaders

1. Kansas City Chiefs (10-1)

2. Buffalo Bills (9-2)

3. Pittsburgh Steelers (8-3)

4. Houston Texans (7-5)

Wild-Card Race

5. Baltimore Ravens (8-4)

6. Los Angeles Chargers (7-4)

7. Denver Broncos (7-5)

8. Miami Dolphins (5-6)

9. Indianapolis Colts (5-7)

10. Cincinnati Bengals (4-7)

11. Cleveland Browns (3-8)

12. New York Jets (3-8)

13. Tennessee Titans (3-8)

14. New England Patriots (3-9)

15. Jacksonville Jaguars (2-9)

16. Las Vegas Raiders (2-9)

When scanning this playoff picture, it's clear that the races to watch in the AFC are more about quality than quantity. That's because a handful of spots already feel all but cemented.

The Chiefs, Bills and Texans all enjoy multiple-game leads in their respective division races. There's also a two-game gap between the final wild-card team, Denver, and the next closest competitor, Miami. Barring any late collapses or wild streaks, it feels fairly certain which seven squads will secure their spot at the playoff table.

As for the order of these postseason participants, though, that's where things could get interesting.

After the Steelers' loss to the Browns on Thursday night, it sure looks like the fight for No. 1 will come down to the Chiefs and Bills. Kansas City has a game up on Buffalo, but the Bills hold the tiebreaker after their head-to-head win in Week 11. Kansas City, which needed a walk-off field goal to get past the Carolina Panthers on Sunday, can't afford any kind of slip-up, or Josh Allen's club could swipe the top seed and the home-field advantage that comes along with it.

Maybe it's just as well that the Steelers don't need to focus on the No. 1 seed, because they have enough to worry about within their division. They're only a half-game up on the Ravens, and while Pittsburgh has the head-to-head tiebreaker for now, these teams will tussle again—in Baltimore this time—later this month.

Houston has no external worries given its lack of competition in the AFC South, but if the Texans hope to make any noise in the playoffs, they'll need to figure out whatever has been behind their recent skid (four losses in six games).

The Chargers and Broncos, meanwhile, can abandon hopes of chasing down the Chiefs in the AFC West and instead focus on maintaining their cushions for the final wild-card spots. Those spots feel relatively secure for now, but things could change quickly if the Dolphins can sustain their three-game winning streak.

NFC Standings

Andy Lyons/Getty Images

INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA - NOVEMBER 24: Jared Goff #16 of the Detroit Lions reacts after a 24-6 victory against the Indianapolis Colts at Lucas Oil Stadium on November 24, 2024 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)

Division Leaders

1. Detroit Lions (10-1)

2. Philadelphia Eagles (9-2)

3. Seattle Seahawks (6-5)

4. Atlanta Falcons (6-5)

Wild-Card Race

5. Minnesota Vikings (9-2)

6. Green Bay Packers (8-3)

7. Washington Commanders (7-5)

8. Arizona Cardinals (6-5)

9. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (5-6)

10 Los Angeles Rams (5-6)

11. San Francisco 49ers (5-6)

12. New Orleans Saints (4-7)

13. Chicago Bears (4-7)

14. Dallas Cowboys (4-7)

15. Carolina Panthers (3-8)

16. New York Giants (2-9)

Four teams have a scoring differential north of plus-70 points this season; three of them reside in this conference.

You might think, then, that the fight for the top spot would be headed toward a photo finish. Yet, that won't ever materialize if the Lions keep winning.

Despite some stiff competition from Minnesota and Philadelphia, Detroit still feels unrivaled in the NFC. It's not just the Lions keep stockpiling wins—nine in a row—it's that they are routinely thrashing their opponents. Detroit's 18-point thrashing of Indianapolis on Sunday was only its fourth-most lopsided win of the season.

The Eagles and Vikings are two of this season's best teams, and yet both could have trouble tracking down the Lions. And since Minnesota shares a division with Detroit, there's a real chance that all of these Vikings' wins don't amount to more than the No. 4 seed (or the No. 5 if the Packers can close their one-game gap).

There should be plenty of jostling for postseason seeding down the stretch, but little (if any) of it will come from the NFC South or NFC West. Both of those divisions could wind up with only a single playoff representative, unless Washington, losers of three straight, leaves the door ajar for someone else to snatch up the last wild-card spot.

Atlanta and Seattle both occupy their division's respective driver's seat for now, but neither has any reason to breathe easy. The Falcons have dropped three of their last five—with two of those losses decided by 20-plus points—while the Seahawks, winners of two straight, have just a single game separating them from the last-place 49ers in the NFC West.