Four of the Chiefs' final six games will be against AFC West foes, including two against the Broncos and one each against the Raiders and Chargers. With that said, the division remains very much in play.
But they now have a full game lead in the AFC West, where the other three teams are all 6-5. The Chiefs will return from their bye week with their playoff positioning unchanged. At the moment, the answer is very much in doubt. The question with the Titans is not whether they'll make the playoffs, but rather - given their health and the results of their past two games - whether they can be considered likely to make a deep run. They'll have a bye in Week 13 and then return to play the Jaguars and Steelers, two teams who are going in the wrong direction. The good news for the Titans is that a two-game losing streak hasn't really damaged their standing in the AFC South, where they have a two-game lead with five games left to play. FPI doesn't like their chances of winning the division, much less earning home-field advantage, but they're all legitimate possibilities for the Patriots. Amazingly, at least to some, the Patriots can begin the process of locking down the AFC East in Week 13 when they travel to Buffalo. It's additionally wild that this has all come with rookie quarterback Mac Jones, who is playing well but isn't among the league's top 10 in Total QBR. And overall, they lead the NFL with a point differential of plus-144. They've won six in a row and by at least 18 points in five of those. The Patriots keep giving us reasons to think they're one of the best teams in the NFL. Can the Ravens truly hold off the Patriots, Titans, Chiefs and Bills? We don't often say this, given the competitiveness of the rivalry, but the Ravens have a strong chance of advancing their quest when they play the reeling Steelers on Sunday. Their presence at the top of the rankings reflects a conference that is truly up for grabs among a half-dozen teams. You can view that as a sign of strength for Lamar Jackson's Ravens. The quarterback of the AFC's top seed threw four interceptions Sunday night - and his team still won. Our next update will post after Sunday night's game between the Broncos and Chiefs, and then again after an important Patriots-Bills game on Monday night. As always, we lay out the possibilities and likelihoods. What follows is a look at where the NFL stands with six weeks remaining until the playoffs begin. When Week 13 is completed, the Cowboys will still be in a commanding spot in their division, and the Saints will be looking up at too many teams in the NFC wild-card race. This weekend's games won't really change the current trajectory of either team. The Saints missed a major opportunity to get back into the playoff picture and now face steep odds of returning to the postseason. They took care of business Thursday night against a depleted Saints team, winning 27-17 and snapping a two-game losing streak. The Cowboys are almost certainly going to win the NFC East, whether you think they are good or bad, in disarray or coming together, balanced or with glaring holes. Your Thursday night NFL playoff picture update for Week 13, following the Cowboys-Saints game, goes a little like this: NFL, Arizona Cardinals, Baltimore Ravens, Buffalo Bills, Carolina Panthers, Cincinnati Bengals, Cleveland Browns, Dallas Cowboys, Denver Broncos, Green Bay Packers, Indianapolis Colts, Kansas City Chiefs, Las Vegas Raiders, Los Angeles Chargers, Los Angeles Rams, Minnesota Vikings, New England Patriots, New Orleans Saints, Philadelphia Eagles, Pittsburgh Steelers, San Francisco 49ers, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Tennessee Titans, Washington NFL playoff picture 2021 - Standings, bracket, scenarios after Cowboys-Saints, plus Week 13 outlook You have reached a degraded version of because you're using an unsupported version of Internet Explorer.įor a complete experience, please upgrade or use a supported browser