NFL Standings 2022-23: Week 17 Records, Playoff Scenarios, Wild-Card Picture Review
Justin Herbert will soon be making his playoff debut. Because for the first time since the 2018 season, the Los Angeles Chargers are heading to the postseason.
On Monday night, the Chargers coasted to a 20-3 win over the Indianapolis Colts at Lucas Oil Stadium, clinching a playoff berth with the victory. Los Angeles will be one of the three AFC wild cards, as the Kansas City Chiefs already clinched the AFC West title.
With two weeks to go in the regular season, nine teams have secured their spots in the NFL's 14-team playoff field. So five postseason berths are still up for grabs, as well as four division titles and the No. 1 seed in both the AFC and NFC.
Now that Week 16 is complete, here's a look at the full standings and complete playoff picture for both conferences heading into Week 17, the penultimate week of the regular season.
Full NFL Standings
AFC East
Buffalo Bills (12-3)
Miami Dolphins (8-7)
New England Patriots (7-8)
New York Jets (7-8)
AFC North
Cincinnati Bengals (11-4)
Baltimore Ravens (10-5)
Pittsburgh Steelers (7-8)
Cleveland Browns (6-9)
AFC South
Jacksonville Jaguars (7-8)
Tennessee Titans (7-8)
Indianapolis Colts (4-10-1)
Houston Texans (2-12-1)
AFC West
Kansas City Chiefs (12-3)
Los Angeles Chargers (9-6)
Las Vegas Raiders (6-9)
Denver Broncos (4-11)
NFC East
Philadelphia Eagles (13-2)
Dallas Cowboys (11-4)
New York Giants (8-6-1)
Washington Commanders (7-7-1)
NFC North
Minnesota Vikings (12-3)
Detroit Lions (7-8)
Green Bay Packers (7-8)
Chicago Bears (3-12)
NFC South
Tampa Bay Buccaneers (7-8)
Carolina Panthers (6-9)
New Orleans Saints (6-9)
Atlanta Falcons (5-10)
NFC West
San Francisco 49ers (11-4)
Seattle Seahawks (7-8)
Los Angeles Rams (5-10)
Arizona Cardinals (4-11)
AFC Playoff Picture
Bye: No. 1 Buffalo Bills (12-3, clinched AFC East)
No. 2 Kansas City Chiefs (12-3, clinched AFC West) vs. No. 7 Miami Dolphins (8-7)
No. 3 Cincinnati Bengals (11-4, clinched playoff berth) vs. No. 6 Los Angeles Chargers (9-6, clinched playoff berth)
No. 4 Jacksonville Jaguars (7-8) vs. No. 5 Baltimore Ravens (10-5, clinched playoff berth)
In the hunt: New England Patriots (7-8), New York Jets (7-8), Tennessee Titans (7-8), Pittsburgh Steelers (7-8), Las Vegas Raiders (6-9)
The Bills will have their first opportunity to clinch the No. 1 seed (and the first-round bye that comes with it) in Week 17. But it's not going to be an easy task.
In order for that to happen, Kansas City will need to lose at home to Denver on Sunday, then Buffalo will have to go on the road and beat Cincinnati on Monday night. The Chiefs are likely to cruise against the Broncos, while the Bills are going to get tested by the Bengals.
Cincinnati has plenty of incentive for that Week 17 matchup, too. The Bengals can clinch the AFC North title this week if they beat the Bills and the Ravens lose at home to the Steelers on Sunday night.
The No. 5 seed will likely go to either Cincinnati or Baltimore (whichever finishes second in the AFC North), and Los Angeles should stay at No. 6. Miami could ensure that it will be the AFC's third wild-card team in Week 17.
The Dolphins can clinch a playoff berth if they beat the Patriots on the road on Sunday and the Jets lose to the Seahawks on the road that day. Miami, which hasn't reached the postseason since the 2016 season, will be looking to get back on track after losing four consecutive games.
The AFC South race can't be decided in Week 17, but the Jaguars are now in control. They already beat the Titans once this season, and the teams will meet again in Jacksonville in Week 18. So the Jags are in a great spot after winning four of their past five games. Tennessee, meanwhile, has lost five in a row to fall out of a playoff spot.
NFC Playoff Picture
Bye: No. 1 Philadelphia Eagles (13-2, clinched playoff berth)
No. 2 Minnesota Vikings (12-3, clinched NFC North) vs. No. 7 Washington Commanders (7-7-1)
No. 3 San Francisco 49ers (11-4, clinched NFC West) vs. No. 6 New York Giants (8-6-1)
No. 4 Tampa Bay Buccaneers (7-8) vs. No. 5 Dallas Cowboys (11-4, clinched playoff berth)
In the hunt: Seattle Seahawks (7-8), Detroit Lions (7-8), Green Bay Packers (7-8), Carolina Panthers (6-9), New Orleans Saints (6-9)
The Eagles could have clinched the NFC East title and the No. 1 seed in the conference with a win over the Cowboys in Week 16. But Dallas defeated Philadelphia, preventing that from happening. That may have only delayed that scenario by a week, though.
If the Eagles beat the Saints at home on Sunday, they'll clinch the NFC East championship and the NFC's top seed. It's possible Philadelphia will have already won the division title by that point, though, as a Dallas loss to Tennessee on Thursday night will make the Eagles the NFC East champions.
Philadelphia can also clinch the No. 1 seed with losses by Dallas (at Tennessee), Minnesota (at Green Bay) and San Francisco (at Las Vegas) this week.
There's only one way the Buccaneers can wrap up the NFC South race this week: with a home win over the Panthers on Sunday. If that doesn't happen, then a division champion won't be crowned until Week 18.
The Giants can clinch a playoff berth with a home win over the Colts on Sunday. Several clinching scenarios also exist for New York based on different combinations of losses by Washington, Seattle, Detroit and Green Bay. But the Giants won't have to worry about any of those if they take care of business themselves.
The only possible scenario in which the Commanders will clinch a playoff berth this week is if they beat the Browns on Sunday and the Lions (vs. the Bears), Seahawks (vs. the Jets) and the Packers (vs. the Vikings) all lose.