NFL Playoff Picture 2021: Updated AFC, NFC Standings, Super Bowl Odds and More

Half of the 14 NFL playoff participants have been confirmed.

The Kansas City Chiefs are the class from that collection of teams, as they sit at 14-1 with home-field advantage and a first-round bye in the AFC. 

The reigning Super Bowl champion is one of six franchises to secure a divisional title. The AFC South and NFC East will be determined by the Week 17 results. 

Tom Brady's Tampa Bay Buccaneers are the only squad to clinch a wild-card berth, and that status has put them higher on the Super Bowl odds chart than any other non-division winner. 

Of the 10 teams fighting for the final seven playoff spots, the Baltimore Ravens have the best Super Bowl odds. That standing makes perfect sense since they are in the most ideal situation of the non-qualifiers. 

Super Bowl Odds

Mike Roemer/Associated Press

Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook

Kansas City (+180; bet $100 to win $180)

Green Bay (+525)

New Orleans (+700)

Buffalo (+1000)

Seattle (+1000)

Tampa Bay (+1100)

Baltimore (+1300)

Pittsburgh (+2200)

Los Angeles Rams (+2500)

Tennessee (+2800)

Indianapolis (+3300)

Miami (+5000)

Cleveland (+6000)

Chicago (+6600)

Arizona (+7500)

Dallas (+10000)

Washington (+10000)

New York Giants (+15000)

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AFC Playoff Picture

Jack Dempsey/Associated Press

Division Leaders

1. Kansas City (14-1)

2. Pittsburgh (12-3)

3. Buffalo (11-3)

4. Tennessee (10-5)

If the Buffalo Bills defeat the New England Patriots on Monday night, the top three teams in the AFC will be confirmed. 

Kansas City is locked into the No. 1 seed. Buffalo would be the No. 2 seed if it wins out because of its head-to-head tiebreaker over the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Bills host Miami in Week 17.

At the start of December, Pittsburgh was in line to earn the only first-round bye, but now it could face a potentially dangerous matchup with the No. 6 seed. There is a scenario in which the Steelers would play an AFC North opponent for the third time this season. 

Pittsburgh helped the Tennessee Titans remain on top of the AFC South since it beat the Indianapolis Colts in Week 16. The Titans' defeat to the Green Bay Packers kept the two sides tied. Mike Vrabel's squad holds the divisional-record tiebreaker. 

Both the Titans and Colts are favored in Week 17 against the Houston Texans and Jacksonville Jaguars, so the AFC South order should remain the same.

Wild-Card Race

5. Miami (10-5)

6. Baltimore (10-5)

7. Cleveland (10-5)

8. Indianapolis (10-5)

The Colts went from a safe position in the wild-card race to being in danger of missing out on the playoffs entirely.

Frank Reich's squad needs a victory over Jacksonville combined with a loss from one of the Miami Dolphins, Baltimore Ravens and Cleveland Browns. 

The Ravens are the least likely of the group to lose since they are matched up with the Cincinnati Bengals. If Lamar Jackson leads them to their fifth straight win, the Ravens could be viewed as the most dangerous wild-card team. 

Cleveland's loss to the New York Jets put it in a precarious spot ahead of its Week 17 clash with the Steelers. 

The Browns may have a full-strength wide receiver group for the AFC North clash. Head coach Kevin Stefanski said on Monday he is "hoping" to have his wideouts back in practice Thursday, per ESPN.com's Jake Trotter. 

At the moment, the Browns' head-to-head win over the Colts is keeping them inside the top seven in the AFC.

The Browns and Dolphins face the most difficult Week 17 matchups, and if both teams lose while the Colts and Ravens win, Miami would get in as the No. 7 seed based on a better AFC record.

NFC Playoff Picture

Elaine Thompson/Associated Press

Division Leaders

1. Green Bay (12-3)

2. New Orleans (11-4)

3. Seattle (11-4)

4. Washington (6-9)

Green Bay's Week 17 trip to Chicago is one of two NFC games that could flip around the NFC playoff picture. 

If the Packers defeat the Bears, they would lock into the No. 1 seed and force the conference title to go through Lambeau Field. 

If the Bears secure the wild-card status through a victory over Green Bay, the New Orleans Saints and Seattle Seahawks could have a shot at the No. 1 seed. 

New Orleans' only path to home-field advantage is through a Week 17 victory over the Carolina Panthers, a Seattle win over the San Francisco 49ers and a Packers loss.

That would put the three best teams in the NFC level at 12-4 and eliminate the head-to-head tiebreaker that Green Bay holds over the Saints. 

In that scenario, the No. 1 seed would be determined by conference record, which would favor the Saints. New Orleans is 9-2 in NFC play, and a Packers loss would drop the Saints to 9-3 within the conference along with Seattle. 

If the Packers and Saints both lose and the Seahawks win, the NFC would run through the Pacific Northwest. 

The NFC East's clinching scenario is as simple as it comes. The Washington Football Team needs to beat the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday night to get into the playoffs. If not, the winner of the Dallas-New York Giants game that afternoon is in.

Wild-Card Race

5. Tampa Bay (10-5)

6. Los Angeles Rams (9-6)

7. Chicago (8-7)

8. Arizona (8-7)

The NFC wild-card race will be determined by two results. 

The Green Bay-Chicago and Los Angeles-Arizona games will be played at the same time in the late afternoon window Eastern time. 

If the Rams win, they would be in as the No. 6 seed, but a victory could be hard to come by if Jared Goff is out. 

According to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. Goff "is adamant about attempting to play through" a broken and dislocated thumb he suffered on Sunday. 

Sean McVay's team would not make the postseason if it loses to Arizona and if the Bears beat the Packers. 

Chicago needs to beat Green Bay or have Arizona fall to the Rams to lock up a wild-card spot. The Bears currently hold an advantage over the Cardinals through a better win percentage in common games.