NFL playoff picture: How Week 14 impacted the Colts, Texans, Broncos, and more

As far as a slate of games goes, Week 14 was as big as it can get for a December in the NFL.

Three games — the Indianapolis Colts vs. the Jacksonville Jaguars, the Pittsburgh Steelers vs. the Baltimore Ravens, and the Chicago Bears vs. the Green Bay Packers — came with first place in their respective divisions on the line. Add in critical games throughout the league, starting with Thursday night’s game between the Detroit Lions and the Dallas Cowboys which was massive for the overall playoff picture, and you have a big week in the NFL.

Now that only Monday Night Football remains, let’s dive into the big picture.

AFC Playoff Standings

Here is the state of play in the AFC ahead of Monday Night Football:

1. Denver Broncos (11-2)
2. New England Patriots (11-2)
3. Jacksonville Jaguars (9-4)
4. Pittsburgh Steelers (7-6)
5. Buffalo Bills (9-4)
6. Los Angeles Chargers (8-4)
7. Houston Texans (8-5)

8. Indianapolis Colts (8-5)
9. Baltimore Ravens (6-7)
10. Kansas City Chiefs (6-7)
11. Miami Dolphins (6-7)
12. Cincinnati Bengals (4-9)
13. New York Jets (3-10) – e
14. Cleveland Browns (3-10) – e
15. Las Vegas Raiders (2-10) – e
16. Tennessee Titans (2-11) – e

We can start at the bottom, where the Cleveland Browns and the New York Jets were both eliminated from playoff contention with losses this week.

Now let’s shift to the top of the AFC. The Denver Broncos moved back into the top spot in the conference with their win over the Las Vegas Raiders, as their 7-2 record in AFC play gives them a current tiebreaker edge over the New England Patriots, who have a 6-2 record in the conference.

But more importantly for Denver, they also clinched a tiebreaker advantage over the Patriots with their win over Las Vegas. The Raiders are one of the “common opponents” between the Patriots and the Broncos, and Denver has gone 6-0 in those games, while the Patriots have lost one.

Week 1 against the Raiders.

That means if both Denver and New England win out, the Broncos will own a tiebreaker advantage thanks to the Patriots’ loss back in Week 1 to the Raiders.

Jacksonville moved into sole possession of first place in the AFC South with their win over the Colts, and remained in the No. 3 spot. Pittsburgh took over the top spot in the AFC North with their win over the Ravens and moved back into the No. 4 spot, while Baltimore dropped out of a playoff spot for now.

The Bills are the No. 5 seed at the moment, but with a win on Monday Night Football, the Chargers will move up to that spot, and Buffalo will slide down a spot.

Thanks to their win on Sunday night, the Houston Texans are now in a playoff spot. Both the Texans and the Indianapolis Colts have matching 8-5 records, but Houston’s win over Indianapolis gives the Texans the advantage for now.

As for the Kansas City Chiefs, they are now one of three teams with a 6-7 record, along with the Baltimore Ravens and the Miami Dolphins. Baltimore holds the edge in tiebreakers right now thanks to a 4-5 conference record, which is better than Kansas City (3-5) and Miami (3-6). Kansas City — who was eliminated from AFC West contention on Sunday night — slots in at No. 10, while the Dolphins are No. 11.

If the playoffs began today, these would be the Wild Card matchups:

• No. 7 Houston at No. 2 New England
• No. 6 Los Angeles at No. 3 Jacksonville
• No. 5 Buffalo at No. 4 Pittsburgh

NFC Playoff Standings

Here is the state of play in the NFC:

1. Los Angeles Rams (10-3)
2. Green Bay Packers (9-3-1)
3. Philadelphia Eagles (8-4)
4. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (7-6)
5. Seattle Seahawks (10-3)
6. San Francisco 49ers (9-4)
7. Chicago Bears (9-4)

8. Detroit Lions (8-5)
9. Carolina Panthers (7-6)
10. Dallas Cowboys (6-6-1)
11. Minnesota Vikings (5-8)
12. Atlanta Falcons (4-9) – e
13. Arizona Cardinals (3-10) – e
14. New Orleans Saints (3-10) – e
15. Washington Commanders (3-10) – e
16. New York Giants (2-11) – e

Just how big was this week in the NFL?

The Chicago Bears entered Week 14 leading the NFC.

Their loss to the Green Bay Packers dropped them to No. 7.

The Los Angeles Rams reclaimed the top spot in the NFC with their win over the Arizona Cardinals. While they have the same record as the Seattle Seahawks, the Rams continue to hold a tiebreaker advantage over the Seahawks thanks to their win over Seattle a few weeks ago.

Things are getting tight in the NFC South, as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are now tied with the Carolina Panthers at 7-6 in the division after losing to the New Orleans Saints. At the moment, the Buccaneers still lead in the division thanks to a better record in common games: Tampa Bay is 5-4 in those games, while the Panthers are 4-5. The difference at the moment are losses by the Panthers against the 49ers and the Cardinals.

If the playoffs began today the Detroit Lions would be out.

Looking at the bottom of the standings two NFC teams were eliminated from playoff contention: The Commanders and the Falcons.

If the playoffs began today, these would be the Wild Card matchups:

• No. 7 Chicago at No. 2 Green Bay
• No. 6 San Francisco at No. 3 Philadelphia
• No. 5 Seattle at No. 4 Tampa Bay

What is at stake in Eagles-Chargers?

While this is a matchup between AFC and NFC contenders, the stakes are still high for both the Philadelphia Eagles and the Los Angeles Chargers on Monday Night Football.

With a win, the Eagles would improve to 9-4 and climb within a half-game of the Packers in the conference, and the Eagles have already beaten Green Bay this season. A loss would see Philadelphia drop to 8-5, still good enough for the No. 3 spot but now just one game ahead of the two NFC South contenders.

As for the Chargers, a win over Philadelphia would bump Los Angeles up a spot to No. 5, dropping the Bills down to No. 6.

A loss to the Eagles would drop the Chargers out of a playoff spot. Los Angeles would be tied with the Texans and the Colts with matching 8-5 records, but tiebreakers would see Houston in the No. 6 spot and the Colts back in a playoff spot at No. 7.