NFL Playoff Picture: Updated AFC, NFC Playoff Seedings After Week 14
With their convincing 36-19 home victory Sunday over the Indianapolis Colts , the Jacksonville Jaguars broke a tie and took sole possession of first place in the AFC South. Trevor Lawrence and the Jags now control their own destiny to play at least one home playoff game.
The Colts, who had been the AFC’s No. 1 seed for a good chunk of the season, have now lost three straight games and are on the outside looking in. The Houston Texans inherit the No. 7 seed thanks to their Sunday night win over the Kansas City Chiefs , and the Colts are left trying to figure out how to proceed at quarterback with Daniel Jones suffering an Achilles injury.
The New England Patriots , meanwhile, had a bye this week but lost their spot as the AFC’s No. 1 seed thanks to the Denver Broncos ’ victory over the Las Vegas Raiders .
The Los Angeles Rams ’ rout of the Arizona Cardinals coupled with the Chicago Bears ’ loss to the Green Bay Packers returned them to the top spot in the NFC. The Packers move ahead of the Bears for now, though these classic rivals will meet again in Week 16.
Here’s a look at the playoff picture if the season ended today:
AFC Playoff Seeding
-
Denver Broncos
-
New England Patriots
-
Jacksonville Jaguars
-
Houston Texans
AFC Wild Card Round (Broncos get bye):
Texans at Patriots
Chargers
at Jaguars
Bills
at Steelers
NFC Playoff Seeding
-
Los Angeles Rams
-
Green Bay Packers
-
Chicago Bears
NFC Wild Card Round (Rams get bye):
Bears at Packers
49ers
at Eagles
Seahawks
at Buccaneers
Here’s a breakdown of the NFL ’s tiebreaking procedure
This story was originally published by Athlon Sports on Dec 8, 2025, where it first appeared in the NFL section. Add Athlon Sports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
