NFL Playoffs 2024-25: AFC and NFC Bracket Predictions for Postseason

The 2024 NFL regular season is racing toward the finish line and providing more clarity on the upcoming playoffs.

Four teams—two in each conference—have officially secured their postseason invitations. Two of them have wrapped up division titles. On the opposite end of the standings, there are already seven teams who've been bounced from the race.

There isn't a ton of wiggle room remaining, but there are things to sort out. We'll dissect the latest standings and predict how the undecided races will play out.

Division Leaders

1. Kansas City (12-1)

2. Buffalo (10-3)

3. Pittsburgh (10-3)

4. Houston (8-5)

Wild-Card Race

5. Baltimore (8-5)

6. Los Angeles Chargers (8-5)

7. Denver (8-5)

8. Indianapolis (6-7)

9. Miami (6-7)

10. Cincinnati (4-8)

Eliminated

11. Cleveland (3-10)

12. Jacksonville (3-10)

13. New York Jets (3-10)

14. Tennessee (3-10)

15. New England (3-10)

16. Las Vegas (2-11)

The Chiefs and Bills are both champions of their respective divisions, but they aren't in an identical spot. Between Buffalo's loss to the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday and Kansas City's latest nail-biter—this one a two-point triumph won on a walk-off field goal—the Chiefs are now two games up on their closest competitors for the No. 1 seed.

If Kansas City maintains this advantage, it would only need two home playoff wins to book its fifth Super Bowl trip in six seasons. Buffalo, meanwhile, would need three playoff wins—at least one on the road—to be a Super Bowl participant for the first time since 1993.

Pittsburgh looks like it would clearly do whatever it can to keep pressure on those two. The Steelers' 3-2 start feels like a distant memory given the 7-1 heater they've been on ever since, though the gauntlet that is their remaining schedule—at Philadelphia, at Baltimore, vs. Kansas City in consecutive weeks—means they'll have to bring their best to keep this up.

That's why most eyes on this playoff picture will gravitate toward the wild-card race, where the Chargers, Ravens and Broncos all hold identical records. Baltimore, though, owns head-to-head wins over Los Angeles and Denver, so its spot in the No. 5 seed feels relatively safe. L.A., meanwhile, handled Denver in their first meeting, though these teams will lock horns again in Week 16.

This won't be the most fun prediction, but our crystal ball sees nothing changing. The seven teams in the current field will comprise the actual one in the very same order where they sit.

Division Leaders

1. Detroit (12-1)

2. Philadelphia (11-2)

3. Seattle (8-5)

4. Tampa Bay (7-6)

Wild-Card Race

5. Minnesota (11-2)

6. Green Bay (9-4)

7. Washington (8-5)

8. Los Angeles Rams (7-6)

9. Atlanta (6-7)

10. Arizona (6-7)

11. San Francisco (6-7)

12. Dallas (5-7)

13. New Orleans (4-8)

14. Chicago (4-9)

15. Carolina (3-10)

Eliminated

16. New York Giants (2-11)

If the football gods are going to deliver chaos in the stretch run, it feels likeliest to happen in this conference.

No division titles have been handed out yet, though Detroit and Philadelphia have clinched playoff spots. There are multiple division races that are too close to call, there are a handful of teams within striking distance of the last wild card spot and only the Giants have been officially eliminated.

Having said all that, chaos might not be in the cards here, either.

The Vikings have won six straight, and the Eagles' winning streak spans nine games, and they haven't closed the gap for the No. 1 seed because the Lions are allergic to losing. Detroit has some stiff competition ahead (vs. Buffalo in Week 15, vs. Minnesota in Week 18), but there just isn't a great reason to doubt the Lions.

The Eagles and Vikings might just be stuck in their respective seeds. The Packers and Commanders, meanwhile, probably aren't climbing any higher, so they'll just have to make sure they don't get caught from behind.

The questions in this conference, then, revolve around the division title chases in the NFC South and the NFC West. The Buccaneers climbed ahead of the Falcons in the South, but Tampa must maintain that edge because it dropped the two-game season series between them.

The Seahawks, meanwhile, nabbed a bit of breathing room while knocking off the Cardinals and sweeping that series to claim that potential tiebreaker. However, Seattle has a tricky road ahead (vs. Green Bay next week and vs. Minnesota the following) and finishes against an L.A. team that won their first matchup. Seattle is the favorite to win this division, but it still has work to do.

The way our crystal ball sees things, the only change from this point will be the Rams tracking down the Seahawks to claim the NFC West crown and the No. 3 seed.