Getty The Buccaneers and Saints have both clinched playoff spots.
The holiday season means some NFL teams have giant postseason presents while others are receiving lumps of coal in their stockings as the playoff picture is starting to take shape. So far, four NFC teams have punched their postseason ticket, while three AFC squads have their playoff spot clinched.
The Saints sealed the NFC South title by dropping 52 points against the Vikings on Christmas Day to get the Week 16 slate of games started. New Orleans will be joined by another NFC South team as Tampa Bay clinched a playoff spot less than 24 hours later. Tom Brady will make his NFC playoff debut after two decades of winning Super Bowls in the AFC. Brady has the Bucs on a three-game winning streak since their bye week.
“There’s a lot of guys that have worked hard to get to this point,” Brady noted in his postgame press conference. “10 wins gets you something this year in the NFL. It gets you a spot in the playoffs. There’s going to be a bunch of teams that make it this year, and there’s only going to be one team that ends up happy. So, the more time we can spend improving as a team, improving as a quarterback that I need to do, then the better it is for us.”
Meanwhile, the Cardinals are now in serious danger of missing out on the postseason after their upset loss to the 49ers. With the Cardinals’ loss, the Bears control their own destiny as winning their final two games would send them to the playoffs.
Here’s a look at the NFL playoff standings in the NFC and AFC. We will continue to update the playoff picture as Week 16 games are completed.
NFC Playoff Standings
Teams with an asterisk have already clinched a playoff spot. Teams in bold would make the playoffs if the postseason started today.
| TEAM | W | L | T |
| 1. Packers* | 12 | 3 | 0 |
| 2. Saints* | 11 | 4 | 0 |
| 3. Seahawks* | 11 | 4 | 0 |
| 4. Washington | 6 | 9 | 0 |
| 5. Buccaneers* | 10 | 5 | 0 |
| 6. Rams | 9 | 6 | 0 |
| 7. Bears | 8 | 7 | 0 |
| 8. Cardinals | 8 | 7 | 0 |
| 9. Cowboys | 6 | 9 | 0 |
| 10. Giants | 5 | 10 | 0 |
NFC Playoff Matchups
Here are the current NFC playoff matchups if the postseason started today. The top seed gets a first-round bye and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs.
No. 7 Chicago Bears vs. No. 2 New Orleans Saints
No. 6 L.A. Rams vs. No. 3 Seattle Seahawks
No. 5 Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. No. 4 Washington Football Team
Bye: No. 1 Green Bay Packers
NFC Wild Card Standings
Thanks to playoff expansion, the top three teams in the Wild Card standings will claim a postseason spot. Teams in bold would make the playoffs if the postseason started today.
| TEAM | W | L | T |
| 1. Buccaneers | 10 | 5 | 0 |
| 2. Rams | 9 | 6 | 0 |
| 3. Bears | 8 | 7 | 0 |
| 4. Cardinals | 8 | 7 | 0 |
| 5. Cowboys | 6 | 9 | 0 |
| 6. Giants | 5 | 10 | 0 |
AFC Playoff Standings
Teams with an asterisk have already clinched a playoff spot. Teams in bold would make the postseason if the playoffs started today. The top seed gets a first-round bye and home-field advantage throughout the postseason.
| TEAM | W | L | T |
| 1. Chiefs* | 14 | 1 | 0 |
| 2. Steelers* | 12 | 3 | 0 |
| 3. Bills* | 11 | 3 | 0 |
| 4. Titans | 10 | 5 | 0 |
| 5. Dolphins | 10 | 5 | 0 |
| 6. Ravens | 10 | 5 | 0 |
| 7. Browns | 10 | 5 | 0 |
| 8. Colts | 10 | 5 | 0 |
AFC Playoff Matchups
Here is a look at the current AFC playoff matchups.
No. 7 Cleveland Browns vs. No. 2 Pittsburgh Steelers
No. 6 Baltimore Ravens vs. No. 3 Buffalo Bills
No. 5 Miami Dolphins vs. No. 4 Tennessee Titans
Bye: No. 1 Kansas City Chiefs (Clinched)
AFC Wild Card Standings
The top three teams in the Wild Card standings will claim a playoff spot. Teams in bold would make the playoffs if the postseason started today.
| TEAM | W | L | T |
| 1. Dolphins | 10 | 5 | 0 |
| 2. Ravens | 10 | 5 | 0 |
| 3. Browns | 10 | 5 | 0 |
| 4. Colts | 10 | 5 | 0 |
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