NFL playoff picture: How did Week 12 shake up the standings in the AFC and the NFC?

NFL playoff picture: How did Week 12 shake up the standings in the AFC and the NFC?

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We have reached Thanksgiving week here in the United States.

And in the National Football League, some teams have more reasons to be thankful than others.

Another wild slate of NFL action shook up the standings, where we have a new team atop the conference in the AFC, a new division leader in the AFC as well, and a host of teams fighting for their playoff lives.

What are the AFC playoff standings?

Here is how things stand in the AFC:

1. New England Patriots (10-2)
2. Denver Broncos (9-2)
3. Indianapolis Colts (8-3)
4. Baltimore Ravens (6-5)
5. Los Angeles Chargers (7-4)
6. Jacksonville Jaguars (7-4)
7. Buffalo Bills (7-4)

8. Pittsburgh Steelers (6-5)
9. Houston Texans (6-5)
10. Kansas City Chiefs (6-5)
11. Miami Dolphins (4-7)
12. Cincinnati Bengals (3-8)
13. Cleveland Browns (3-8)
14. Las Vegas Raiders (2-9)
15. New York Jets (2-9)
16. Tennessee Titans (1-10)

Let’s start at the top of the conference. With the Denver Broncos on a bye week, the door was open for the New England Patriots to ease ahead of them atop the conference standings. It was not pretty for the Patriots against the Cincinnati Bengals — and the health of their offensive line is now an issue after a few key players left due to injuries — but New England’s win moves them to the top spot for now.

The Indianapolis Colts slide back to No. 3 in the AFC after their loss to the Kansas City Chiefs (more on them in a moment) and we have a new team at No. 4. After starting the year 1-5 the Baltimore Ravens, winners of five straight games, now lead the AFC North. Baltimore improved to 6-5 with Sunday’s win over the New York Jets, while the Pittsburgh Steelers dropped to 6-5 thanks to their loss to the Chicago Bears.

At the moment Baltimore holds the tiebreaker edge thanks to a better division record (2-0 versus 2-1 for Pittsburgh). That sees the Steelers slide out of the playoffs entirely.

We then see three 7-4 teams (the Chargers, the Jaguars, and the Bills) fill out slots five, six, and seven. Los Angeles slots in at No. 5 thanks to their 6-2 record in AFC play, while Jacksonville comes in at No. 6 thanks to a 4-2 record in conference games. Buffalo’s 4-3 record in conference play feels like it could be something to watch down the stretch.

Up next are the three 6-5 teams: Pittsburgh, Houston, and Kansas City. The Chiefs have a 3-4 record in the AFC, which drops them to No. 10, while the Steelers have a tiebreaker advantage over the Texans based on their Strength of Victory. So while Sunday’s win over the Colts was huge for Kansas City’s playoff hopes, there is still work to be done.

If the playoffs began today, the Patriots would be home while these would be the matchups on Wild Card Weekend:

  • No. 7 Buffalo at No. 2 Denver
  • No. 6 Jacksonville at No. 3 Indianapolis
  • No. 5 Los Angeles at No. 4 Baltimore

What are the NFC playoff standings?

Here is the state of play in the NFC:

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

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

Last week the Los Angeles Rams moved into the lead in the NFC West with their win over the Seattle Seahawks.

This week, the Rams moved into the top spot in the conference.

With the Philadelphia Eagles losing to the Dallas Cowboys, and the Rams defeating the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday Night Football, the Rams are now sitting in the No. 1 spot in the NFC.

Philadelphia slides down to No. 2 after their loss to the Cowboys, while the Chicago Bears are still in the No. 3 spot after their win over the Pittsburgh Steelers. While the Buccaneers’ loss to the Rams dropped Tampa Bay leve with the Carolina Panthers at 6-5, the Buccaneers still hold the lead in the division thanks to a 2-0 record in NFC South play, compared with a 2-1 mark for the Panthers.

But Carolina can move into first with a win later tonight over the San Francisco 49ers.

Moving to the bottom of the playoff picture in the NFC, as things stand the 49ers are in over the Detroit Lions. Both teams have 7-4 records but at the moment the 49ers have the tiebreaker edge based on NFC record, 7-2 versus 4-3 for Detroit.

And yes, the Cowboys are hanging around.

At the very bottom of the standings, the Giants were the first team officially eliminated with their loss to the Lions.

If the playoffs began today the Rams would have the lone bye week in the NFC. These would be the three matchups on Wild Card Weekend:

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

What about 49ers-Panthers?

A few weeks ago, tonight’s game between the Panthers and the 49ers did not seem like it would be pivotal for the NFC playoff picture.

But that is just how fast things can change in the NFL.

Right now the Buccaneers and Panthers are tied atop the NFC South standings, with Tampa Bay winning the tiebreaker based on a better record in division play. But if the Panthers win tonight, they’ll move into sole possession of first place in the division. That would also drop the 49ers out of a playoff spot, and bump the Lions up into the seventh spot in the NFC.

A 49ers win, however, keeps San Francisco in as the No. 7 seed, and also keeps Tampa Bay atop the NFC South and in the playoffs as the No. 4 seed in the NFC.

Update: With San Francisco’s win, the 49ers remain in the playoff picture as the No. 7 seed, and Tampa Bay remains atop the NFC South. Carolina stays in the No. 8 spot, but have a tiebreaker advantage over the Cowboys for that position based on a win over Dallas.

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Deadspin | Carson Benge, Mets on the climb as they welcome consistent Cardinals Jun 7, 2026; San Diego, California, USA; New York Mets right fielder Carson Benge (3) hits a RBi triple during the eighth inning against the San Diego Padres at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: David Frerker-Imagn Images The St. Louis Cardinals are five games out of first in the National League Central. The New York Mets are five games out of the league’s final wild-card spot. And while the Cardinals seek a fifth straight win when they visit the Mets on Tuesday night, not everything about their series revolves around the number five. For example, after enduring four West Coast trips in the first two months of their difficult season, the Mets start a stretch where they don’t have to leave the Eastern time zone for 35 straight games. The Mets enter this stretch after winning seven of their past 10, which enabled them to shave two games from their wild-card deficit. Rookie outfielder Carson Benge helped the Mets earn a split of their fourth West Coast trip by going 5-for-5 and scoring three times in Sunday’s 7-3 win at San Diego. Benge has posted a .316 average (42-for-133) with five homers and 20 RBIs in his past 34 games after hitting .189 in April, when the Mets endured a 12-game losing streak. “I’m not surprised,” Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said of Benge. “We’ve seen the type of player and the talent (he is) and a lot of the things he can do on the baseball field. He’s finally settling, he’s comfortable, he’s playing his game, and we’re going to see a lot of games like that when he’s locked in.” The Cardinals have been locked in all season as they continue to be unfazed by deficits. When they stretched their winning streak to four with a 5-3 win over Cincinnati on Sunday, Victor Scott II and Ivan Herrera drove in runs in the eighth inning on balls that did not leave the infield and went for errors, giving the Cards their 19th comeback victory. “We continue to do a nice job of just staying focused,” St. Louis manager Oliver Marmol said. “That’s a big part of this. You can easily get distracted and start to think about what just happened or start thinking too far ahead of what it’s going to take to come back. But the guys just continue to stay focused on what’s right in front of them and have done a nice job of coming back often.” Jordan Walker keeps doing the job regardless of the score. He has strung together four straight multi-hit games and owns a .478 average (11-for-23) in his past five games. Dustin May (3-6, 4.59 ERA), who is 0-4 with a 3.86 ERA in his past seven starts, opens the series for St. Louis. May has completed at least six frames in five of those outings and took a no-decision last Tuesday while allowing three runs on five hits in 5 2/3 innings against Texas. May did not face the Mets when the Cardinals took two of three March 30-April 1. The right-hander has three no-decisions and a 4.97 ERA in three career appearances (two starts) against the Mets. He’s held Juan Soto to two hits in 11 at-bats. Freddy Peralta (4-4, 3.63), who is 3-1 with a 3.40 ERA in his past seven starts, goes for the Mets. Peralta allowed one run on six hits in six innings during a 7-1 win on Wednesday at Seattle after allowing 11 runs over his previous three outings. Peralta is 5-6 with a 4.50 ERA in 21 career appearances (17 starts) against the Cardinals. –Field Level Media #Deadspin #Carson #Benge #Mets #climb #consistent #CardinalsJun 7, 2026; San Diego, California, USA; New York Mets right fielder Carson Benge (3) hits a RBi triple during the eighth inning against the San Diego Padres at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: David Frerker-Imagn Images

The St. Louis Cardinals are five games out of first in the National League Central. The New York Mets are five games out of the league’s final wild-card spot.

And while the Cardinals seek a fifth straight win when they visit the Mets on Tuesday night, not everything about their series revolves around the number five.

For example, after enduring four West Coast trips in the first two months of their difficult season, the Mets start a stretch where they don’t have to leave the Eastern time zone for 35 straight games.

The Mets enter this stretch after winning seven of their past 10, which enabled them to shave two games from their wild-card deficit.

Rookie outfielder Carson Benge helped the Mets earn a split of their fourth West Coast trip by going 5-for-5 and scoring three times in Sunday’s 7-3 win at San Diego. Benge has posted a .316 average (42-for-133) with five homers and 20 RBIs in his past 34 games after hitting .189 in April, when the Mets endured a 12-game losing streak.

“I’m not surprised,” Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said of Benge. “We’ve seen the type of player and the talent (he is) and a lot of the things he can do on the baseball field. He’s finally settling, he’s comfortable, he’s playing his game, and we’re going to see a lot of games like that when he’s locked in.”


The Cardinals have been locked in all season as they continue to be unfazed by deficits. When they stretched their winning streak to four with a 5-3 win over Cincinnati on Sunday, Victor Scott II and Ivan Herrera drove in runs in the eighth inning on balls that did not leave the infield and went for errors, giving the Cards their 19th comeback victory.

“We continue to do a nice job of just staying focused,” St. Louis manager Oliver Marmol said. “That’s a big part of this. You can easily get distracted and start to think about what just happened or start thinking too far ahead of what it’s going to take to come back. But the guys just continue to stay focused on what’s right in front of them and have done a nice job of coming back often.”

Jordan Walker keeps doing the job regardless of the score. He has strung together four straight multi-hit games and owns a .478 average (11-for-23) in his past five games.

Dustin May (3-6, 4.59 ERA), who is 0-4 with a 3.86 ERA in his past seven starts, opens the series for St. Louis. May has completed at least six frames in five of those outings and took a no-decision last Tuesday while allowing three runs on five hits in 5 2/3 innings against Texas.

May did not face the Mets when the Cardinals took two of three March 30-April 1. The right-hander has three no-decisions and a 4.97 ERA in three career appearances (two starts) against the Mets. He’s held Juan Soto to two hits in 11 at-bats.

Freddy Peralta (4-4, 3.63), who is 3-1 with a 3.40 ERA in his past seven starts, goes for the Mets. Peralta allowed one run on six hits in six innings during a 7-1 win on Wednesday at Seattle after allowing 11 runs over his previous three outings.

Peralta is 5-6 with a 4.50 ERA in 21 career appearances (17 starts) against the Cardinals.


–Field Level Media

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