The playoff picture is becoming clearer as we approach the end of the NFL regular season.
The 2023-24 NFL regular season will end after Week 18 on Sunday, Jan. 7, 2024. The NFL playoffs will begin Jan. 13 with two games, and Wild Card Weekend will run through Jan. 15. The Super Bowl will be played on Sunday, Feb. 11, 2024.
Which teams have clinched a playoff spot, and who has the best odds going forward? After reading, be sure to check out our NFL Playoff Predictor to predict the rest of Week 18 and see how the playoff field shakes out.
Update: This story was updated Sunday, Jan. 7 with the latest information.
NFL Teams With Playoff Spots Clinched
San Francisco 49ers
Date playoff spot clinched: Dec. 11, 2023
The 49ers became the league’s first team to clinch a spot in the postseason in Week 14 after the Green Bay Packers’ 24-22 loss to the New York Giants.
San Francisco entered Week 17 tied with the Philadelphia Eagles for the best record in the NFC, but finished with the conference championship secured after defeating the Washington Commanders and seeing the Eagles take a surprising loss to the Arizona Cardinals. Christian McCaffery, Brock Purdy, and Co. have combined to form one of the league’s top contenders this season.
With their seeding officially set, the 49ers are now able to rest players in Week 18 and shift fully into playoff preparation mode.
Dallas Cowboys
Date playoff spot clinched: Dec. 17, 2023
The Cowboys entered Week 15 with quite a few scenarios to clinch a playoff berth — 14, to be exact — but ultimately locked up a playoff spot before that Sunday’s loss to the Buffalo Bills after other results worked in their favor.
MORE: Remaining NFL Strength of Schedule 2023
Dallas kept itself in the hunt for the NFC East title with its controversial Week 17 win over the Detroit Lions on Saturday night, but will still need help from the Eagles to move up into a top-four seed for the playoffs. Philadelphia cannot clinch the division this week, however, after the Cowboys’ victory.
Needless to say, the race for one of the conference’s top four seeds between Dallas and Philadelphia is a key storyline to watch over the final two weeks of the season.
Philadelphia Eagles
Date playoff spot clinched: Dec. 17, 2023
The Eagles became the NFC’s third team to officially clinch a playoff spot in Week 15 as they got the needed results before even taking a loss to the Seahawks.
Philadelphia entered Week 17 with a pair of scenarios to wrap up the NFC East title involving either it winning or tying against the Cardinals along with the Cowboys falling to or tying with the Lions. Neither of those Dallas outcomes happened, so the Eagles will have to wait until Week 18 to have their next shot at clinching the division.
Still, Philadelphia can maintain a one-game edge in the division by taking care of business against the sputtering Cardinals.
Baltimore Ravens
Date playoff spot clinched: Dec. 17, 2023
The Ravens became the first AFC team to officially punch their ticket to the postseason in Week 15 with a win over the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday Night Football after other results also worked in their favor.
Baltimore also took care of business in its colossal Christmas Day clash with the 49ers in Week 16, maintaining its edge atop the AFC standings. The Ravens have looked the part of perhaps the NFL’s best team throughout the season and continued proving that as they clinched the AFC North title and the AFC championship with Week 17’s dominant win over the Dolphins.
Detroit Lions
Date playoff spot clinched: Dec. 24, 2023
The Lions made history in Week 16 as the franchise clinched its first divisional title since 1993, locking up the NFC North crown and a playoff berth with their 30-24 win over the Minnesota Vikings.
Detroit has been among the NFL’s top teams for much of the season and showed that level of competition in Saturday’s hard-fought battle with the Cowboys, one that ended in controversy. The Lions’ loss to Dallas all but killed their hopes of winning the NFC, but they will finish no worse than third in the conference and could still move up by season’s end.
Miami Dolphins
Date playoff spot clinched: Dec. 24, 2023
The Dolphins also clinched a playoff berth in Week 16 after pulling off a narrow 22-20 win over the Cowboys, a crucial victory that also left them in position to have at least a shot at winning the AFC.
Miami has more potential clinching scenarios heading into its crucial Week 18 showdown with the Buffalo Bills. The Dolphins could lock up the AFC’s No. 2 seed with a win, or could finish as a wild card team with a loss and let division rival Buffalo jump up to finishing second in the conference.
Cleveland Browns
Date playoff spot clinched: Dec. 28, 2023
The Browns secured their first playoff berth since 2020 and just their third trip to the postseason since 1999 in Week 17 with their 37-20 victory over the New York Jets.
Cleveland has gone through its fair share of ups and downs this season, but a recent run of four straight victories helped it lock up a postseason berth with room to spare. Cleveland locked up the AFC’s top Wild Card spot shortly after and will look to build on the momentum from its strong finish to the regular season.
Los Angeles Rams
Date playoff spot clinched: Dec. 31, 2023
After a one-year hiatus, the Rams are back in the postseason as they clinched a playoff spot following the Seattle Seahawks’ loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers on New Year’s Eve.
Clinching the spot was also made possible by the Rams’ 26-25 victory over the New York Giants earlier in the day, the team’s third straight win and sixth of its last seven.
Kansas City Chiefs
Date playoff spot clinched: Dec. 31, 2023
The Chiefs clinched their eighth straight AFC West championship by beating the Cincinnati Bengals 25-17 at Arrowhead Stadium. Their division title streak, which began in 2016, is the second longest in NFL history behind only the New England Patriots, who won the AFC East 11 consecutive seasons from 2009 through 2019.
Although, the Patrick Mahomes-led offense has put forth uncharacteristically low offensive production this time season. Ahead of Sunday’s matchup, the Chiefs were averaging their fewest points and yards per game in the Mahomes era, which began in 2018 when he took over as the team’s starting quarterback.
Houston Texans
Date playoff spot clinched: Jan. 6, 2024
The Texans have seen their share of ups and downs throughout DeMeco Ryans’ first year at the helm, but back-to-back wins to finish the regular season ultimately got them where they hoped to be at year’s end. C.J. Stroud emerged as Houston’s franchise quarterback amid a breakout rookie campaign, guiding the team to its first playoff berth since 2018.
The Texans officially locked up the AFC South title and conference’s No. 4 seed as well Sunday after the Jaguars’ loss.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Date playoff spot clinched: Jan. 7, 2024
It was far from pretty, but Tampa Bay notched a 9-0 win over the Carolina Panthers on Sunday to lock up a postseason spot in the final week of the regular season. The Buccaneers clinched their third straight division title with the victory, having won five of their last six games to get the job done after a bumpy start.
Buffalo Bills
Date playoff spot clinched: Jan. 7, 2024
The Bills locked up a spot in the playoffs even before their Sunday Night Football clash with the Miami Dolphins after the Jaguars’ surprising loss to the Titans officially put Buffalo in the playoffs. Now, the Bills play for seeding against Miami with a chance to take the AFC’s No. 2 seed by winning the contest. Otherwise, they can finish no higher than sixth.
Pittsburgh Steelers
Date playoff spot clinched: Jan. 7, 2024
The Steelers did their part to keep their postseason hopes alive heading into Sunday after besting the short-handed Baltimore Ravens in the teams’ clash Saturday. Pittsburgh then also got the help it needed Sunday when the Jaguars lost to the Titans, wrapping up its third playoff berth in the last four years in the process.
Green Bay Packers
Date playoff spot clinched: Jan. 7, 2024
The Packers were firmly in control of their own playoff destiny heading into Sunday’s clash with the Chicago Bears. A win would lock up a postseason berth for Green Bay, regardless of other results.
Green Bay was ultimately able to take home a 17-9 win over the Bears and will face the Cowboys in the Wild Card round.
Updated Week 18 NFL Standings
AFC
- Baltimore Ravens (13-4)
- Miami Dolphins (11-5)
- Kansas City Chiefs (11-6)
- Houston Texans (10-7)
- Cleveland Browns (11-6)
- Buffalo Bills (10-6)
- Pittsburgh Steelers (10-7)
- Cincinnati Bengals (9-8)
- Jacksonville Jaguars (9-8)
- Indianapolis Colts (9-8)
- Las Vegas Raiders (8-9)
- Denver Broncos (8-9)
- New York Jets (7-10)
- Tennessee Titans (6-11)
- Los Angeles Chargers (5-12)
- New England Patriots (4-13)
NFC
- San Francisco 49ers (12-5)
- Dallas Cowboys (12-5)
- Detroit Lions (12-5)
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers (9-8)
- Philadelphia Eagles (11-6)
- Los Angeles Rams (10-7)
- Green Bay Packers (9-8)
- Seattle Seahawks (9-8)
- New Orleans Saints (9-8)
- Minnesota Vikings (7-10)
- Chicago Bears (7-10)
- Atlanta Falcons (7-10)
- New York Giants (6-11)
- Washington Commanders (4-13)
- Arizona Cardinals (4-13)
- Carolina Panthers (2-15)
Want to predict the rest of the 2023 season with our FREE NFL Playoff Predictor? Looking for the most up-to-date NFL standings? What about a breakdown of team depth charts or the NFL schedule? Pro Football Network has you covered with that and more!