NFL Playoff Picture 2025-26, Standings, Bracket Scenarios After Seahawks vs. 49ers

The Seattle Seahawks secured the No. 1 overall seed in the NFC and the NFC West title on Saturday night.

Seattle's defense dominated the matchup with the San Francisco 49ers to land a first-round bye.

Elsewhere in the NFC, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers did their part to stay alive in the NFC South with a home win over the Carolina Panthers on Saturday.

The win didn't secure the division title for the Bucs, though, since they need the Atlanta Falcons to lose on Sunday for that to happen.

The rest of the playoff fields in the AFC and NFC will be determined during Sunday's Week 18 games.

AFC Standings

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Division Leaders

1 Denver Broncos (13-3; clinched AFC West)

2. New England Patriots (13-3; clinched AFC East)

3. Jacksonville Jaguars (12-4; clinched playoff berth)

4. Pittsburgh Steelers (9-7)

The equation is easy to understand for the Denver Broncos, Jacksonville Jaguars and Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday.

Denver needs a win to secure home-field advantage and the No. 1 overall seed in the AFC. The Broncos can clinch that with a New England Patriots loss as well.

Jacksonville must win, or get a Houston Texans loss, to secure the AFC South title.

Pittsburgh must beat the Baltimore Ravens to win the AFC North. A loss to the Ravens eliminates Aaron Rodgers and Co.

Wild-Card Race

5. Houston Texans (11-5; clinched playoff berth)

6. Los Angeles Chargers (11-5; clinched playoff berth)

7. Buffalo Bills (11-5; clinched playoff berth)

The Texans, Los Angeles Chargers and Buffalo Bills are all locked into the AFC playoff field and will play for seeding on Sunday.

Houston can still win the AFC South with a win over the Indianapolis Colts and an unlikely Jacksonville defeat to the Tennessee Titans.

The Chargers are playing their backups in Denver, so they are the most likely team to drop to 11-6.

Buffalo will likely beat the New York Jets at home, which opens up a chance for the Bills to move up from the No. 7 spot.

In the Hunt

9. Baltimore Ravens (8-8)

Baltimore is in a win-and-in scenario on Sunday in Pittsburgh. A loss eliminates the Ravens from playoff contention.

Eliminated

8. Indianapolis Colts (8-8)

10. Miami Dolphins (7-9)

11. Cincinnati Bengals (6-10)

12. Kansas City Chiefs (6-10)

13. Cleveland Browns (4-12)

14. Tennessee Titans (3-13)

15. New York Jets (3-13)

16. Las Vegas Raiders (2-14)

NFC Standings

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Division Leaders

1 Seattle Seahawks (14-3; clinched NFC West)

2. Chicago Bears (11-5; clinched NFC North)

3. Philadelphia Eagles (11-5; clinched NFC East)

4. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (8-9)

Seattle landed the No. 1 seed and a first-round bye with its 13-3 win over the 49ers.

The Seahawks finished on top of a NFC West that could have three 12-win teams if the Los Angeles Rams beat the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday.

Tampa Bay is still alive in the NFC South title hunt. but everything is now out of its control.

The Buccaneers need a Falcons loss to the New Orleans Saints to officially secure the NFC South.

If Atlanta wins, it would pull Carolina, Tampa Bay and Atlanta into a three-way tiebreaker at 8-9 in which the Panthers would win the tiebreaker.

Wild-Card Race

5. San Francisco 49ers (12-5; clinched playoff berth)

6. Los Angeles Rams (11-5; clinched playoff berth)

7. Green Bay Packers (9-6-1; clinched playoff berth)

San Francisco will either be the No. 5 or No. 6 seed after Saturday's loss to Seattle.

The Rams need a win over Arizona to leapfrog the 49ers and face the NFC South winner in the wild-card round. A Cardinals win allows San Francisco to remain in the No. 5 seed.

The Green Bay Packers will be the No. 7 seed and travel to either Chicago or Philadelphia in the wild-card round.

In the Hunt

10. Carolina Panthers (8-9)

Carolina needs an Atlanta win over New Orleans on Sunday to win the NFC South and host a playoff game next week.

Eliminated

8. Minnesota Vikings (8-8)

9.Detroit Lions (8-8)

11. Dallas Cowboys (7-8-1)

12. Atlanta Falcons (7-9)

13. New Orleans Saints (6-10)

14. Washington Commanders (4-12)

15. Arizona Cardinals (3-13)

16. New York Giants (3-13)