NFL Playoff Bracket Scenarios 2025-26 Week 13, Standings After Panthers vs. 49ers

The San Francisco 49ers picked up a huge win in the NFC wild-card race on Monday night over the Carolina Panthers.

Kyle Shanahan's team moved to 8-4 and kept its seventh position in the NFC standings.

The 49ers can build on their advantage in the wild-card race in games against the Cleveland Browns and Tennessee Titans in Weeks 13 and 15 before their schedule gets more difficult.

At 6-6, Carolina's focus should be more on the NFC South than the wild-card race since it plays the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on two occasions in the final three weeks of the regular season.

AFC Standings

AP Photo

Division Leaders

New England (10-2)

Denver (9-2)

Indianapolis (8-3)

Baltimore (6-5)

Wild-Card Race

Los Angeles Chargers (7-4)

Jacksonville (7-4)

Buffalo (7-4)

Pittsburgh (6-5)

Houston (6-5)

Kansas City (6-5)

Miami (4-7)

Cincinnati (3-8)

Cleveland (3-8)

Las Vegas (2-9)

New York Jets (2-9)

Tennessee (1-10)

The AFC North and wild-card races will come under the microscope on Thanksgiving.

The Kansas City Chiefs visit the Dallas Cowboys in a game that Andy Reid's team needs to win in order to put pressure on everyone else above it in the standings.

Kansas City's playoff hopes won't be completely crushed if it loses to Dallas, but the odds to make one of the three wild-card spots get slimmer.

The Baltimore Ravens will try to extend their winning streak against the Cincinnati Bengals and a returning Joe Burrow.

Cincinnati doesn't have a real shot at the postseason, but with Burrow at the helm, it could play spoiler over the next six weeks.

The Bengals play the Ravens twice in the next three weeks. They play the Buffalo Bills in the middle of those two games.

Baltimore has the Steelers in between the two meetings with the Bengals. At least one win over the Bengals and a victory over the Steelers would be beneficial to the Ravens' chances of winning the AFC North.

A sweep of those games would put the Ravens into a fantastic position with three games remaining, but first, they must beat the Bengals on Thursday.

NFC Standings

AP Photo

Division Leaders

Los Angeles Rams (9-2)

Philadelphia (8-3)

Chicago (8-3)

Tampa Bay (6-5)

Wild-Card Race

Seattle (8-3)

Green Bay (7-3-1)

San Francisco (8-4)

Detroit (7-4)

Carolina (6-6)

Dallas (5-5-1)

Atlanta (4-7)

Minnesota (4-7)

Arizona (3-8)

Washington (3-8)

New Orleans (2-9)

New York Giants (2-10)

San Francisco remained in the No. 7 seed with its win over Carolina.

The 49ers play Cleveland in Week 13, have off in Week 14 and host Tennessee in Week 15. They can go into Week 16 with a 10-4 record and a clear shot at the Nos. 5 or 6 seeds.

San Francisco finishes with the Chicago Bears, Indianapolis Colts and Seattle Seahawks. All three of those games will impact the playoff races in all sorts of capacities.

Carolina's focus should be on the NFC South. The Panthers are now two games back of the 49ers with a disadvantage in the head-to-head tiebreaker against San Francisco.

The Panthers might drop to 6-7 against the Los Angeles Rams in Week 13, but that won't matter if they can beat the Buccaneers twice and pull in front in the NFC South.

Tampa Bay is on a three-game losing streak and has a banged-up quarterback in Baker Mayfield. That puts Carolina squarely in the divisional title race no matter what happens against the Rams.