NFL playoff picture: Week 11 results shaking up standings

With huge games in both the NFC and AFC playoff pictures, the standings could definitely see a huge shift during Week 11.

Headlining the early window was a divisional matchup featuring the Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens. The Steelers took the lead in the AFC North while the Ravens lead the Wild Card race after Pittsburgh’s win.

The late afternoon window on Sunday features an absolutely massive game in the AFC with the first-place Kansas City Chiefs visiting the division-leading Buffalo Bills, who were second heading into the week. The Bills didn’t pass the Chiefs with their win, but it puts the top seed and the bye within reach for Buffalo.

A bunch more playoff teams were later on Sunday with the Atlanta Falcons vs Denver Broncos, Seattle Seahawks vs San Francisco 49ers, and Sunday night’s Cincinnati Bengals vs the Los Angeles Chargers. The Broncos won to solidify their standing in an improbable position while the Seahawks moved into a tie for eighth place. The Bengals season may be over with seven losses while the Chargers are now on top of the Wild Card race.

The Washington Commanders and Philadelphia Eagles kicked off Week 11 on Thursday night. The Eagles wore down the Commanders to get to 8-2, just a half-game back of the Detroit Lions at the top of the NFC. Meanwhile, Washington still holds onto a playoff spot at 7-4.

The Dallas Cowboys are irrelevant here, but the Houston Texans also play on Monday night.

Here are the current NFL playoff standings during the say on Sunday and we will keep updating as the games go final.

Note: In the standings below, only the pertinent tiebreakers are listed.

AFC standings during Week 11

1. Kansas City Chiefs (9-1)
2. Buffalo Bills (9-2)
3. Pittsburgh Steelers (8-2)
4. Houston Texans (6-4)
5. Los Angeles Chargers (7-3)
6. Baltimore Ravens (7-4)
7. Denver Broncos (6-5)
8. Indianapolis Colts (5-6)
9. Miami Dolphins (4-6)
10. Cincinnati Bengals (4-7)
11. New York Jets (3-8, 2-1 vs. common NE opponents)
12. New England Patriots (3-8, 0-3 vs. common NYJ opponents)
13. Cleveland Browns (2-8, 2-3 AFC)
14. Tennessee Titans (2-8, 2-4 AFC)
15. Las Vegas Raiders (2-8, 2-6 AFC)
16. Jacksonville Jaguars (2-9)

NFC standings during Week 11

1. Detroit Lions (9-1)
2. Philadelphia Eagles (8-2)
3. Arizona Cardinals (6-4)
4. Atlanta Falcons (6-5)
5. Minnesota Vikings (8-2)
6. Green Bay Packers (7-3)
7. Washington Commanders (7-4)
8. Los Angeles Rams (5-5, 2-1 NFCW)
9. Seattle Seahawks (5-5, 1-2 NFCW, win over SF)
10. San Francisco 49ers (5-5, 1-3 NFCW, loss to SEA)
11. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (4-6, 4-3 NFC)
12. Chicago Bears (4-6, 2-3 NFC)
13. New Orleans Saints (4-7)
14. Dallas Cowboys (3-6)
15. Carolina Panthers (3-7)
16. New York Giants (2-8)

Week 11 NFL playoff picture takeaways

Kansas City Chiefs unbeaten season ended by the Bills

Only two teams have ever finished an NFL regular season undefeated and only one of them finished the year without a loss. The Chiefs came in at 9-0 but with the worst point differential of any 9-0 team in NFL history. They were 4-0 in games when trailing at halftime, but they kept finding ways to win.

Shakeup in the NFC East division race from Week 10 continues

The Commanders lost to the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Philadelphia Eagles beat the Dallas Cowboys in Week 10, flipping Washington and Philly in the standings. The Eagles move from sixth to second in the conference while the Commanders fall all the way from second to sixth. The result on Thursday night just further solidified the change.

Lions are the team to beat in the NFC

Nobody expected the Jaguars to put up much of a fight in Week 11, but the Lions still impressed in crushing them. The Eagles and Vikings are hanging close so Detroit has to keep winning, but they are the clear best team in the conference.

Packers escape and end Bears’ playoff chances

The Bears almost shocked the Packers in Chicago, but Green Bay blocked the potential game-winning field goal attempt. Chicago drops to 4-6 and while they are not eliminated, their playoff chances are circling the drain after a solid start. On the other hand, Green Bay maintained pace with the Lions and Vikings, and remain in one of the wild card berths.

Steelers take care of business

The Steelers hosted the Ravens and did just enough to handle their business. Some key late stops held up an 18-16 victory that gave them the early edge in the tiebreaker. The Steelers also have the conference record tiebreaker edge on the Bills, so Pittsburgh is currently the No. 2 team in the AFC pending the outcome of Chiefs-Bills.

NFC South could be quite the mess

The Falcons were slight underdogs going into Denver, but seemed like they could spring the modest upset. Instead, Bo Nix picked them apart as the Broncos crushed the Falcons. With the Saints winning, three games separate first from last place in the NFC South.

The NFC West division race is tight-tight

The Arizona Cardinals are 6-4 while the rest of the NFC West is 5-5. With multiple games among the teams down the stretch, it’s likely to come down to the wire.

Cincinnati Bengals’ playoff hopes are virtually extinct

The Bengals had a heartbeat entering Week 11, especially because they were playing a team ahead of them in the Wild Card race. A win and they are just one game out of a playoff spot. Instead they lost to fall to seven losses on the year. Three seven-loss teams nabbed Wild Card spots in 2023, but with two games remaining against the Pittsburgh Steelers, their room for error has evaporated heading into their bye.

Every NFL team with a winning record is in playoff position

In both the AFC and NFC, every team with a winning record is now in a playoff position. The 6-5 Denver Broncos hold the final spot in the AFC while the 7-4 Washington Commanders hold the final spot in the NFC. Three NFC West teams sit at .500 right now, on the outside looking in.

How does Monday Night Football impact the NFL playoff standings?

The Dallas Cowboys are basically out of the NFC playoff race at 3-6 and without their starting quarterback for the rest of the year. The Houston Texans lead the AFC West.

With a win, the Texans move to 7-4 to stay two games clear in the AFC South. The Cowboys’ loss would move them all the way down to 15th out of the 16 teams in the NFC.

If the Cowboys win, they will be 4-6 but with four remaining NFC East games, they could still get past the Commanders for a Wild Card spot. The Texans losing their third straight would mean the Colts are just one game back in the division (but the Texans own the tiebreaker).