The 2022 NFL season is down to one week and one game.
Although the playoff picture for the AFC and NFC won't be finalized until Week 18, it's time to keep looking at the updated standings and which teams would be in the playoffs if the season ended on Sunday of Week 17.
Here's a breakdown of the NFL's latest playoff field and seedings, as well as a look at the contenders on the brink of joining the postseason party:
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NFL standings for Week 17
AFC playoff picture
1. Kansas City Chiefs (13-3), champions, AFC West. The Chiefs put pressure on the the Bills by beating the Broncos at home on Sunday. They remain down a head-to-head tiebreaker to the Bills, to whom they lost at home in Week 6. The Chiefs will look to win out in Week 18 and hope the Bills lose once to take the top seed.
2. Buffalo Bills (12-3), champions, AFC East. The Bills blew out the Bears in Week 16, clinching a third consecutive division title. Now the Bills can focus on holding off the Chiefs for the home-field advantage and the lone bye. The key to that is beating the Bengals in Cincinnati on Monday. The Bills can no longer clinch No. 1 in Week 17 after the Chiefs won.
3. Cincinnati Bengals (11-4), first place, AFC North. The Bengals beat the Patriots in Week 16 for their seventh consecutive victory. That kept them right behind the Bills and Chiefs in the conference and still ahead of the winning Ravens in the division. Cincinnati will host Baltimore on Monday night before playing Buffalo there in Week 17. The Bengals can clinch the division with a win after the Ravens lost.
4. Jacksonville Jaguars (8-8), first place, AFC South. The Jaguars stayed here by beating the Texans in Week 17. Jacksonville is ahead of Tennessee by a full game and a head-to-head tiebreaker because of winning in Nashville in Week 14. Despite the Titans falling in Dallas in Week 17, the division comes down to Week 18, when the Jaguars host the Titans with the tiebreaker of division record on the line.
5. Los Angeles Chargers (10-6), second place, AFC West. The red-hot Chargers clinched a wild-card spot with their convincing Week 16 road rout of the Colts and kept rolling vs. the crosstown Rams to jump the losing Ravens in Week 17. They are looking more dangerous with Justin Herbert, Austin Ekeler and an improving defense.
6. Baltimore Ravens (10-6), second place, AFC North. The Ravens couldn't take care of the Steelers at home without Lamar Jackson on Sunday night, which means their Week 18 game at Cincinnati would become meaningless (except for seeding) if the Bengals win on Monday as the Ravens already have at least the second-wild card berth in hand.
7. New England Patriots (8-8), second place, AFC East. The Patriots beat the Dolphins on Sunday to split the season series and even their overall records at .500. New England jumped Miami into this final wild-card sport because it now has a better division record (3-2 vs. 2-3, giving it the head-to-head tiebreaker.
Who's in the hunt?
8. Miami Dolphins (8-8), third place, AFC East
9. Pittsburgh Steelers (8-8), third place, AFC North
11. Tennessee Titans (7-9), second place, AFC South
The Patriots knocked down the Dolphins and the Steelers won on Sunday night to keep pace and make things interesting for three teams going into Week 18. The Steelers need to beat the Browns in Week 18 and hope the Patriots and Dolphins (who both beat them) lose their games. The Titans will just hope to win at the Jaguars in their finale to get in as AFC South champions.
Who's out?
10. New York Jets (7-9), last place, AFC East12. Cleveland Browns (7-9), last place, AFC North13. Las Vegas Raiders (6-10), third place, AFC West14. Indianapolis Colts (4-11-1), third place, AFC South15. Denver Broncos (4-12), last place, AFC West16. Houston Texans (2-13-1), last place, AFC South
The Jets and Raiders were the latest teams to be eliminated with their losses on Sunday. The Browns were the only one of this group to win in Week 17. The Texans are looking great for the No. 1 overall pick after falling to the Jaguars.
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NFC playoff picture
1. Philadelphia Eagles (13-3), first place, NFC East. The Eagles have already clinched a playoff berth and will clinch the division with one more win or a Cowboys loss, which will need to wait until Week 18 after Sunday's bad Jalen Hurts-less home loss to the Saints. They also have work to do to take care of home-field advantage and the lone bye.
2. San Francisco 49ers (12-4), champions, NFC West. The 49ers, after surviving the Raiders in overtime in Las Vegas for their ninth consecutive victory, now have a shot at the No. 1 seed after jumping the Vikings. They just need a win in Week 18 over the Cardinals and an Eagles loss to the Commanders. in that case, they would win the conference-record tiebreaker with a strong 10-2 mark in NFC play.
3. Minnesota Vikings (12-4), champions, NFC North. The Vikings no longer have a path to the top seed after losing to the Packers on Sunday, being passed by the 49ers. They lost to the Eagles and Cowboys head-to-head and their conference record isn't good enough vs. the 49ers. They are likely stuck here ahead of the Buccaneers.
4. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (8-8), champions, NFC South. The Buccaneers finally won the division for a second consecutive title with their comeback home win over the Panthers on Sunday. They are locked into this seed for the playoffs, hosting either the Eagles (again) or Cowboys in the wild-card round.
5. Dallas Cowboys (12-4), second place, NFC East. The Cowboys kept putting pressure on the Eagles by beating the Titans on Thursday night to open Week 17 and cut the lead to only game. They can still win the division but need to beat the Commanders in Week 18 while the Eagles lose to the Giants. They split with the Eagles but hold the key division-record tiebreaker (4-1 vs. 3-2). They have a shot at the No. 1 seed along with the division title if they can win while the 49ers lose.
6. New York Giants (9-6-1), third place, NFC East. The Giants clinched a wild-card berth behind the Eagles and Cowboys with their easy win over the Colts on Sunday. They are locked into this seed with the Commanders losing behind them to be eliminated and the Lions, Seahawks and Packers unable to catch them.
7. Seattle Seahawks (8-8), second place, NFC West. The Seahawks are back in this position as they hold the three-way tiebreaker over the other two .500 teams in the NFC, the Lions and Packers. They will make the playoffs with a win over the Rams in Week 18 and a Packers loss to the Lions, because they hold the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Lions from a Week 4 win at Detroit.
Who's in the hunt?
8. Detroit Lions (8-8), second place, NFC North
8. Green Bay Packers (8-8), third place, NFC North
The Packers will be in the playoffs as the No. 7 team in the NFC with a win over the Lions. If the Lions win, they would need the Seahawks to lose to the Rams to make the playoffs.
Who's out?
10. Washington Commanders (7-8-1), last place, NFC East
11. New Orleans Saints (7-9), last place, NFC South
12. Carolina Panthers (6-10), third place, NFC South
13. Atlanta Falcons (6-10), last place, NFC South
14. Los Angeles Rams (5-11), third place, NFC West
15. Arizona Cardinals (4-12), last place, NFC West16. Chicago Bears (3-13), last place, NFC North
The Panthers were eliminated when they lost the game and division to the Buccaneers. The Falcons and Rams are playing hard to the end. The Cardinals and Bears are struggling to overcome key injuries and limping to the finish line.
