NFL playoff picture Week 18: Live updates, standings, clinching scenarios (through Saturday)
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By: Kevin Nogle
We keep track of the live NFL playoff standings throughout Week 18.
The final weekend of the 2022 NFL regular season is here. The NFC and AFC playoff picture will play out over the two days and 16 games on the schedule. There are two games slotted for Saturday, with the remainder coming on Sunday, concluding with the Detroit Lions at Green Bay Packers on Sunday Night Football.
How will the playoffs shake out? Over the last few weeks here on The Phinsider, we will keep up with all of the action throughout the weekend, updating the playoff picture with each game’s results. We track of who is clinching what spot in the postseason and which teams have seen their 2022 hopes dashed.
The NFL has officially canceled the Buffalo Bills at Cincinnati Bengals game that was started last Monday night, but was suspended when safety Damar Hamlin went into cardiac arrest in the first quarter. Canceling the game has added a wrinkle into the playoff picture, with the AFC standings decided by winning percentage, rather than by straight records given the Bengals and Bills will play one fewer game than the rest of the league. It has also opened the possibility of a neutral-site AFC Championship game and potentially a coin-toss to decide who will host a potential wildcard game between the Bengals and Baltimore Ravens.
All of that will play out throughout the 16 games on the Week 18 schedule. We will track all of it here as well.
Coming into the final weekend of the season, the AFC has the Kansas City Chiefs in the top spot, while the Buffalo Bills are holding on to the second seed. The Cincinnati Bengals are in the third spot, while the Jacksonville Jaguars are in the fourth seed. The Chiefs, Bills, and Bengals have all claimed their division titles, while the Jaguars need to win on Saturday night to claim the AFC South. The Los Angeles Chargers and the Baltimore Ravens hold the first two wild card positions and are locked into the playoffs. The final spot in the postseason is currently held by the New England Patriots, a spot they will clinch with a win this weekend. The Miami Dolphins and Pittsburgh Steelers are chasing the Patriots for that spot. The Tennessee Titans can jump into the playoffs if they beat the Jaguars, pulling the AFC South title away from them; the Jaguars, even with a loss, could factor into the playoffs as the final wild-card team with losses from the other contenders.
For the NFC side of the bracket, the Philadelphia Eagles hold the top spot in the standings, but they have not yet clinched the NFC East division. The San Francisco 49ers, Minnesota Vikings, and Tampa Bay Buccaneers are in the second through fourth positions and have all claimed their respective division titles. The Dallas Cowboys, who could unseat the Eagles in the NFC East, and the New York Giants are locked into the playoffs, currently in the fifth and sixth positions. The Seattle Seahawks are in the final position right now as the seventh seed, but they are not guaranteed to end the weekend there. The Detroit Lions and Green Bay Packers are both on the outside looking in heading into the weekend.
How will everything look at the end of the week and the season? Our live standings below will keep you up to date.
Week 18 Schedule
Finals
Kansas City Chiefs 31 – 13 Las Vegas Raiders
Tennessee Titans 16 – 20 Jacksonville Jaguars
Schedule
Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Atlanta Falcons, Sunday, 1 p.m. ET
New England Patriots at Buffalo Bills, Sunday, 1 p.m. ET
Minnesota Vikings at Chicago Bears, Sunday, 1 p.m. ET
Baltimore Ravens at Cincinnati Bengals, Sunday, 1 p.m. ET
Houston Texans at Indianapolis Colts, Sunday, 1 p.m. ET
New York Jets at Miami Dolphins, Sunday, 1 p.m. ET
Carolina Panthers at New Orleans Saints, Sunday, 1 p.m. ET
Cleveland Browns at Pittsburgh Steelers, Sunday, 1 p.m. ET
New York Giants at Philadelphia Eagles, Sunday, 4:25 p.m. ET
Dallas Cowboys at Washington Commanders, Sunday, 4:25 p.m. ET
Los Angeles Chargers at Denver Broncos, Sunday, 4:25 p.m. ET
Los Angeles Rams at Seattle Seahawks, Sunday, 4:25 p.m. ET
Arizona Cardinals at San Francisco 49ers, Sunday, 4:25 p.m. ET
Detroit Lions at Green Bay Packers, Sunday, 8:20 p.m. ET
AFC Playoff Picture (through Week 18 Saturday)
Week 18 Clinching Scenarios:
Buffalo Bills – Cannot clinch top seed
Clinch AFC top seed (home-field advantage and bye) with:
- Bills win and
Chiefs loss/tieOR - Bills tie and
Chiefs loss
Note: A Bills win would force a neutral-site AFC Championship if both the Chiefs and Bills advance to that mark.
Jacksonville Jaguars – Clinched division
Clinch AFC South division championship with:
- Jaguars win
Clinch playoff berth with:
Patriots loss and Dolphins loss and Steelers loss
Kansas City Chiefs – Clinched first round bye
Clinch AFC top seed (home-field advantage and bye) with:
- Chiefs win and Bills loss/tie OR
-
Chiefs tieand Bills loss
Clinch first-round bye (potential neutral site AFC Championship) with:
- Chiefs win OR
- Bills loss OR
-
Chiefs tieand Bills tie
Miami Dolphins
Clinch playoff berth with:
- Dolphins win and Patriots loss/tie OR
- Dolphins tie and Patriots loss and Steelers loss/tie
New England Patriots
Clinch playoff berth with:
- Patriots win OR
- Patriots tie and Dolphins loss/tie and Steelers loss/tie OR
- Dolphins loss and Steelers loss and Jaguars win/tie
Pittsburgh Steelers
Clinch playoff berth with:
- Steelers win and Dolphins loss/tie and Patriots loss/tie OR
- Steelers tie and Dolphins loss and Patriots loss
Tennessee Titans – Cannot clinch
Clinch AFC South division championship with:
Titans win
Live Standings:
1 – Kansas City Chiefs (14-3, AFC West champion)+<
2 – Buffalo Bills (12-3, AFC East champion)+*
3 – Cincinnati Bengals (11-4, AFC North champion)+*
4 – Jacksonville Jaguars (9-8, AFC South champion)+*
5 – Los Angeles Chargers (10-6, Wild Card 1)^*
6 – Baltimore Ravens (10-6, Wild Card 2)^*
7 – New England Patriots (8-8, Wild Card 3)*
In the hunt
Miami Dolphins (8-8)*
Pittsburgh Steelers (8-8)*
Eliminated
New York Jets (7-9)*
Cleveland Browns (7-9)*
Tennessee Titans (7-10)
Las Vegas Raiders (6-11)
Indianapolis Colts (4-11-1)*
Denver Broncos (4-12)*
Houston Texans (2-13-1)*
* Still to play
^ Clinched playoff berth
+ Clinched division title
< Clinched top seed/bye week
Week 17 Elimination Scenarios:
Jacksonville Jaguars – Clinched division
Eliminated from playoff contention with:
-
Jaguars lossand Dolphins win/tie OR -
Jaguars lossand Patriots win/tie OR -
Jaguars lossand Steelers win/tie
Eliminated from AFC South division championship with:
Jaguars loss
Miami Dolphins
Eliminated from playoff contention with:
- Dolphins loss OR
- Patriots win OR
- Dolphins tie and Patriots tie OR
- Dolphins tie and Steelers win
New England Patriots
Eliminated from playoff contention with:
- Patriots loss and Dolphins win/tie OR
- Patriots loss and Steelers win/tie OR
- Patriots loss and
Jaguars lossOR - Patriots tie and Dolphins win OR
- Patriots tie and Steelers win
Pittsburg Steelers
Eliminated from playoff contention with:
- Steelers loss OR
- Patriots win OR
- Dolphins win OR
- Steelers tie and Patriots tie OR
- Steelers tie and Dolphins tie
Tennessee Titans – Eliminated
Eliminated from AFC South division championship and playoff contention with:
- Titans loss/tie
NFC Playoff Picture (through Week 18 Saturday)
Week 17 Clinching Scenarios:
Dallas Cowboys
Clinch NFC top seed (home-field advantage and bye) with:
- Dallas win and Eagles loss and 49ers loss/tie
Clinch NFC East division championship with:
- Cowboys win and Eagles loss
Detroit Lions
Clinch playoff berth with:
- Lions win and Seahawks loss/tie OR
- Lions tie and Seahawks loss OR
- Lions tie and Seahawks tie and Commanders win
Green Bay Packers
Clinch playoff berth with:
- Packers win
Philadelphia Eagles
Clinch NFC top seed (home-field advantage and bye) with:
- Eagles win/tie OR
- Cowboys loss/tie and 49ers loss/tie
Clinch NFC East division championship with:
- Eagles win/tie OR
- Cowboys loss/tie
San Francisco 49ers
Clinch NFC top seed (home-field advantage and bye) with:
- 49ers win and Eagles loss
Seattle Seahawks
Clinch playoff berth with:
- Seahawks win and Packers loss/tie OR
- Seahawks tie and Lions tie and Commanders loss/tie
Live Standings:
1 – Philadelphia Eagles (13-3, NFC East leader)^*
2 – San Francisco 49ers (12-4, NFC West champion)+*
3 – Minnesota Vikings (12-4, NFC North champion)+*
4 – Tampa Bay Buccaneers (8-8, NFC South champion)+*
5 – Dallas Cowboys (12-4, Wild Card 1)^*
6 – New York Giants (9-6-1, Wild Card 2)^*
7 – Seattle Seahawks (8-8, Wild Card 3)*
In the hunt
Detroit Lions (8-8)*
Green Bay Packers (8-8)*
Eliminated
Washington Commanders (7-8-1)*
New Orleans Saints (7-9)*
Carolina Panthers (6-10)*
Atlanta Falcons (6-10)*
Los Angeles Rams (5-11)*
Arizona Cardinals (4-12)*
Chicago Bears (3-13)*
*Still to play
^Clinched playoff berth
+Clinched division title
Week 17 Elimination Scenarios:
Detroit Lions
Eliminated from playoff contention with:
- Lions loss OR
- Lions tie and Seahawks tie and Commanders loss/tie OR
- Seahawks win
Green Bay Packers
Eliminated from playoff contention with:
- Packers loss/tie
Seattle Seahawks
Eliminated from playoff contention with:
- Seahawks loss OR
- Seahawks tie and Lions win OR
- Seahawks tie and Lions tie and Commanders win OR
- Packers win
Originally posted on The Phinsider
