NFL Playoff Picture 2025: Latest Super Bowl Bracket and AFC, NFC Scenarios
By this time next week, the seeding for the 2024-25 NFL playoffs will be set.
But before that, Week 18 could deliver plenty of shake-ups. Two of the 14 available playoff berths and three of the NFL's eight divisions remain up for grabs.
In the NFC, the South remains unclaimed, with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Atlanta Falcons still in play for the No. 4 seed.
In the AFC, the No. 7 seed is still undecided, with the Denver Broncos having the best shot to lock it up, followed, with less optimistic outlooks, by the Miami Dolphins and Cincinnati Bengals.
What's more—in a turn of events the schedule makers surely dream of—the NFC North will be decided as division foes Detroit and Minnesota go head-to-head in the NFL's final week of regular season action.
Let's take a closer look at the scenarios that will play out in Week 18.
AFC Playoff Picture
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AFC Standings
1. Kansas City Chiefs, 15-1 (clinched AFC West)
2. Buffalo Bills, 13-3 (clinched AFC East)
3. Baltimore Ravens, 11-5 (clinched playoff berth)
4. Houston Texans, 9-7 (clinched AFC South)
5. Pittsburgh Steelers, 10-6 (clinched playoff berth)
6. Los Angeles Chargers, 10-6 (clinched playoff berth)
In the Hunt
7. Denver Broncos, 9-7
On the Bubble
8. Miami Dolphins, 8-8
9. Cincinnati Bengals, 8-8
First, let's take a look a the teams still trying to clinch a playoff berth.
The Denver Broncos can clinch outright with a win over the Kansas City Chiefs. Even if they lose, they can still punch their ticket to the playoffs with losses or ties by the Miami Dolphins and Cincinnati Bengals.
The Dolphins, meanwhile, need some help. They not only need to win their game against the New York Jets; they also need the Broncos to lose.
And the Bengals need the most help of all. To clinch a playoff berth, the Bengals need to defeat the Steelers and need the Broncos and Dolphins to both lose or tie. They currently have a 6 percent chance of making the playoffs.
As for the AFC North, the Baltimore Ravens control their own destiny. They can claim the division crown by beating or tying the Cleveland Browns, or with a Steelers loss or tie.
The Steelers, meanwhile, need to defeat the Bengals in Week 18 and also need the Ravens to fall to the Browns.
NFC Playoff Picture
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NFC Standings
1. Detroit Lions, 14-2 (clinched playoff berth)
2. Philadelphia Eagles, 13-3 (clinched NFC East)
3. Los Angeles Rams, 10-6 (clinched NFC West)
5. Minnesota Vikings, 14-2 (clinched playoff berth)
6. Washington Commanders, 11-5 (clinched playoff berth)
7. Green Bay Packers, 11-5 (clinched playoff berth)
In the Hunt
4. Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 9-7
On the Bubble
Atlanta Falcons, 8-8
The only playoff berth still available in the NFC will be determined by the winner of the NFC South.
Right now, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are in the driver's seat. They need only beat the New Orleans Saints to win the division, or for the Atlanta Falcons to fall to the Carolina Panthers. Their outlook is good: an 89 percent chance of making the playoffs.
The Falcons' outlook is less optimistic. They need to beat the Panthers and for the Bucs to fall to the Saints. They have an 11 percent probability of making the postseason.
In the most exciting scenario of the week, the primetime game between the Minnesota Vikings and Detroit Lions will directly determine the winner of the NFC North and the NFC's No. 1 seed.
The fact that one of these 14-win teams will clinch a first-round playoff bye and home-field advantage, while the other will become the No. 5 seed and have to go on the road, underscores how wild the NFC North has been this season.
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