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Updated · Week 10 · 50,000 seasons played out
AFC playoff picture
The AFC seeds today are Bills (8-1), Chiefs (7-2), Jaguars (7-2), Steelers (6-2), Broncos (7-2), Bengals (6-2) and Browns (6-4).
AFC playoff picture
Seeds 1 to 4 lead their divisions. Seeds 5 to 7 are the wild cards. See what a wild card is and how many wins it takes.
- 1BUFBuffalo Bills8-1 AFC East leader, week off in round one99+ in 100
- 2KCKansas City Chiefs7-2 AFC West leader96 in 100
- 3JAXJacksonville Jaguars7-2 AFC South leader99 in 100
- 4PITPittsburgh Steelers6-2 AFC North leader85 in 100
- 5DENDenver Broncos7-2 Wild card92 in 100
- 6CINCincinnati Bengals6-2 Wild card94 in 100
- 7CLECleveland Browns6-4 Wild card50 in 100
In the hunt
- 8NENew England Patriots5-5 First team out41 in 100
- 9LVLas Vegas Raiders4-5 AFC West20 in 100
- 10BALBaltimore Ravens4-5 AFC North10 in 100
- 11HOUHouston Texans3-6 AFC South12 in 100
- 12INDIndianapolis Colts3-7 AFC South1 in 100
- 13NYJNew York Jets2-8 AFC East<1 in 100
- 14MIAMiami Dolphins1-8 AFC East<1 in 100
- 15TENTennessee Titans1-8 AFC South<1 in 100
- 16LACLos Angeles Chargers0-8 AFC West<1 in 100
The AFC race on one field
The further right a marker sits, the better that team's playoff chance.
Tiebreakers in play
- The Steelers are ahead of the Bengals on head to head.
- The Chiefs are ahead of the Broncos on division record.
- The Chiefs are ahead of the Jaguars on conference record.
- The Raiders are ahead of the Ravens on conference record.
- The Dolphins are ahead of the Titans on conference record.
Every step is in our guide to NFL tiebreakers.
AFC chances in full
| Seed | Team | Record | Playoff chance | Win division | Top seed | Since last week |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | BUF Bills | 8-1 | 99+ | 97 | 42 | +2 |
| 2 | KC Chiefs | 7-2 | 96 | 57 | 14 | +5 |
| 3 | JAX Jaguars | 7-2 | 99 | 98 | 18 | +1 |
| 4 | PIT Steelers | 6-2 | 85 | 35 | 5 | +1 |
| 5 | DEN Broncos | 7-2 | 92 | 41 | 11 | +1 |
| 6 | CIN Bengals | 6-2 | 94 | 58 | 10 | 0 |
| 7 | CLE Browns | 6-4 | 50 | 7 | <1 | +20 |
| 8 | NE Patriots | 5-5 | 41 | 3 | <1 | -20 |
| 9 | LV Raiders | 4-5 | 20 | 2 | <1 | +2 |
| 10 | BAL Ravens | 4-5 | 10 | 1 | <1 | +1 |
| 11 | HOU Texans | 3-6 | 12 | 2 | <1 | -13 |
| 12 | IND Colts | 3-7 | 1 | <1 | <1 | 0 |
| 13 | NYJ Jets | 2-8 | <1 | <1 | <1 | -1 |
| 14 | MIA Dolphins | 1-8 | <1 | <1 | <1 | 0 |
| 15 | TEN Titans | 1-8 | <1 | <1 | <1 | 0 |
| 16 | LAC Chargers | 0-8 | <1 | <1 | <1 | 0 |
AFC magic numbers
Wins to clinch a spot is the magic number: that many more wins put the team in the playoffs, whatever any other team does. Losses to be out is the elimination number.
| Seed | Team | Record | Wins to clinch a spot | Wins to win the division | Losses to be out | This week |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | BUF Bills | 8-1 | 5 | 5 | Not yet | |
| 2 | KC Chiefs | 7-2 | 6 | Tiebreak | Not yet | |
| 3 | JAX Jaguars | 7-2 | 5 | 5 | Not yet | |
| 4 | PIT Steelers | 6-2 | 7 | 9 | Tiebreak | |
| 5 | DEN Broncos | 7-2 | 6 | Tiebreak | Not yet | |
| 6 | CIN Bengals | 6-2 | 7 | 9 | Not yet | |
| 7 | CLE Browns | 6-4 | 7 | Needs help | Not yet | |
| 8 | NE Patriots | 5-5 | Needs help | Needs help | 7 | |
| 9 | LV Raiders | 4-5 | Tiebreak | Needs help | 7 | |
| 10 | BAL Ravens | 4-5 | Tiebreak | Needs help | 7 | |
| 11 | HOU Texans | 3-6 | Needs help | Needs help | 6 | |
| 12 | IND Colts | 3-7 | Needs help | Needs help | 5 | |
| 13 | NYJ Jets | 2-8 | Needs help | Needs help | 4 | |
| 14 | MIA Dolphins | 1-8 | Needs help | Needs help | 4 | |
| 15 | TEN Titans | 1-8 | Needs help | Needs help | 4 | |
| 16 | LAC Chargers | 0-8 | Needs help | Needs help | 4 |
These numbers are proved, not played out. Needs help means even winning every game left is not enough on its own. Tiebreak means it would come down to a tiebreaker that cannot be settled yet. See who can clinch this week on the NFL clinching scenarios page.
How to read it
The order above is today's standings with every tie broken by the league's rules. The chance next to each team looks ahead: it is how often that team made the playoffs when we played out the rest of the season 50,000 times.
Questions people ask
Who is in the AFC playoff picture right now?
The seven AFC playoff places today belong to Bills (8-1), Chiefs (7-2), Jaguars (7-2), Steelers (6-2), Broncos (7-2), Bengals (6-2) and Browns (6-4). Updated Nov 15, 4:31 PM ET.
Which AFC teams are in the hunt?
The next teams outside the AFC playoff places are the Patriots, Raiders and Ravens.
How are ties in the playoff picture broken?
Teams level on record are split by the NFL tiebreaking procedures: head to head first, then division or conference record, then common games, and more steps after that.