AFC: Who’s in
1. (*) Kansas City Chiefs (12-4)
The Chiefs hammered the Raiders, locked up the top seed in the AFC, home-field advantage throughout the playoffs and probably an MVP award for Patrick Mahomes.
2. (z) New England Patriots (11-5)
The Patriots clinched the AFC East last week and snuffed out the Jets to clinch a first-round bye for what feels like the 50th year in a row. It’s a huge win for them — the Pats have never won a Super Bowl without having a first-round bye.
3. (x) Houston Texans (11-5)
The Texans hammered the Jaguars and Blake Bortles, which shouldn’t have been surprising. The Texans are the third seed.
4. (y) Baltimore Ravens (10-6)
The Ravens survived a scare from Cleveland with a late defensive stop and guaranteed themselves a playoff spot by winning the AFC North.
5. (x) Los Angeles Chargers (12-4)
The Chargers snuck past the Broncos in a game that ultimately didn’t matter with the Chiefs steamrolling the Raiders and winning the AFC West.
6. (x) Indianapolis Colts (10-6)
The Colts manhandled the Titans on Sunday night, with Andrew Luck out-dueling Blaine Gabbert for a win and a playoff berth in Frank Reich’s first year. The win sets up the Colts to play the Texans for the third time this season.
AFC: Who’s Eliminated
7. Pittsburgh Steelers (9-6-1)
8. Tennessee Titans (9-7)
9. Cleveland Browns (7-8-1)
10. Miami Dolphins (7-9)
11. Denver Broncos (6-10)
12. Cincinnati Bengals (6-10)
13. Buffalo Bills (6-10)
14. Jacksonville Jaguars (5-11)
15. New York Jets (4-12)
16. Oakland Raiders (4-12)
NFC: Who’s in
1. (*) New Orleans Saints (13-3)
The Saints didn’t play any of their starters and got smashed by the Panthers and backup quarterback Kyle Allen.
2. (z) Los Angeles Rams (13-3)
The Rams locked up the NFC West weeks ago and clinched the first-round bye by stomping the 49ers.
3. (y) Chicago Bears (12-4)
The Bears took care of business against the Vikings, stomping out their divisional rival and sweeping Minnesota right out of the playoffs, in turn helping the Eagles into the playoffs.
4. (y) Dallas Cowboys (10-6)
The Cowboys had nothing to play for — at all — and played many of their starters the entire game. Good for the playoff momentum, bad for anyone who teased the Giants down to a pick. Sigh. Congrats on the 10 wins, Jason Garrett.
5. (x) Seattle Seahawks (10-6)
The Seahawks locked down the No. 5 seed with a win over the Cardinals (27-24, it wasn’t easy) although they would have been the fifth seed anyway when Minnesota lost.
6. (x) Philadelphia Eagles (9-7)
The Eagles were dead weeks ago and just NEVER GAVE UP and they snuck into the playoffs with a win over Washington and a loss by the Vikings to the Bears. Now they will head to Chicago to say “thanks” as a very dangerous wild-card team.
NFC: Who’s Eliminated
7. Minnesota Vikings (8-7-1)
8. Atlanta Falcons (7-9)
9. Washington Redskins (7-9)
10. Carolina Panthers (7-9)
11. Green Bay Packers (6-9-1)
12. Detroit Lions (6-10)
13. New York Giants (5-11)
14. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (5-11)
15. San Francisco 49ers (4-12)
16. Arizona Cardinals (3-13)
Legend:
(x) – clinched playoff berth
(y) – clinched division
(z) – clinched first-round bye
(*) – clinched home-field advantage
