The playoff field for the 2025 NFL season is set, the wild and crazy 272nd and final game of the regular season between the Ravens and Steelers determining the field’s final entry − Pittsburgh, newly crowned champs of the AFC North, as it turns out.
One other division was determined Sunday − a day after the NFC South-winning Panthers lost in Tampa … before the Falcons backed them onto the throne. Seeding in both conferences was also finalized Sunday, including the Broncos wrapping up the top spot in the AFC.
Here’s where things stand with the regular season now complete:
AFC playoff picture
yz − 1. Denver Broncos (14-3), AFC West champions: Sunday’s win over the Chargers, who rested a lot of key players, gave the Broncos home-field advantage and a first-round bye in a season which brought Denver’s first division title in a decade − which was also the last time they won the Super Bowl. The common-games tiebreaker gives the Broncos the No. 1 seed instead of New England. Remaining schedule: Bye, TBD
y − 2. New England Patriots (14-3), AFC East champions: They have their first division title since 2019 even if they couldn’t quite get up to the conference’s top spot, as Tom Brady and Co. so frequently did. Their Week 1 loss to the Raiders cost them in the tiebreaker department. Remaining schedule: vs. Chargers, Jan. 11 (8 p.m. ET)
y − 3. Jacksonville Jaguars (13-4), AFC South champions: They won their ninth straight game with ease, capturing the division crown for the first time since 2022. Remaining schedule: vs. Bills, Jan. 11 (1 p.m. ET)
y − 4. Pittsburgh Steelers (10-7), AFC North champions: In a wild finale, their kicker’s late-game letdown wasn’t nearly as bad as Baltimore’s. Aaron Rodgers and Co. forge ahead. Remaining schedule: vs. Texans, Jan. 12 (8 p.m. ET)
x − 5. Houston Texans (12-5), wild card No. 1: They’ve won 10 of 11, including nine in a row after Sunday’s narrow defeat of Indianapolis. But the Texans weren’t able to overtake similarly surging Jacksonville for the top spot in the AFC South. However Houston, which beat both the Chargers and Bills this season, locks into the fifth seed and a guaranteed wild-card matchup on the road against Pittsburgh. Remaining schedule: at Steelers, Jan. 12 (8 p.m. ET)
x − 6. Buffalo Bills (12-5), wild card No. 2: Their subs whacked the Jets and moved the Bills up to the sixth seed and a trip to Duval County. Remaining schedule: at Jaguars, Jan. 11 (1 p.m. ET)
x − 7. Los Angeles Chargers (11-6), wild card No. 3: They’ll be on the road as long as they’re postseason relevant. Remaining schedule: at Patriots, Jan. 11 (8 p.m. ET)
NFC playoff picture
yz − 1. Seattle Seahawks (14-3), NFC West champions: Huge win at Silicon Valley on Saturday night assured them of staying home in the Pacific Northwest − with a week off − unless they get back to Santa Clara for Super Bowl 60. Remaining schedule: Bye, TBD
y − 2. Chicago Bears (11-6), NFC North champions: They hung on to the second seed and the two home playoff games it could bring despite losing to Detroit. Next? A 2025 season trilogy matchup with Green Bay. Remaining schedule: vs. Packers, Jan. 10 (8 p.m. ET)
y − 3. Philadelphia Eagles (11-6), NFC East champions: They’re the first team to win this division in successive years since they last did it 21 years ago. Successive Super Bowl wins feels like a much longer shot. Remaining schedule: vs. 49ers, Jan. 11 (4:30 p.m. ET)
y − 4. Carolina Panthers (8-9), NFC South champions: Turns out Saturday’s loss at Tampa didn’t finish the Panthers. Atlanta saved them Sunday by beating New Orleans and creating a three-way tie atop the division. The Panthers’ 3-1 record against the Falcons and Bucs proved to be the determining tiebreaker. Remaining schedule: vs. Rams, Jan. 10 (4:30 p.m. ET)
x − 5. Los Angeles Rams (12-5), wild card No. 1: They became the first team this season to clinch a playoff spot but lost the pathway to home-field advantage and a first-round bye after consecutive losses. But they got back on track against Arizona on Sunday, claiming the fifth seed − and a matchup with the NFC South champion Panthers − to wrap the regular season. Remaining schedule: at Panthers, Jan. 10 (4:30 p.m. ET)
x − 6. San Francisco 49ers (12-5), wild card No. 2: They could have stayed home for the next month as long as they kept winning. Alas, they lost Saturday and plummeted to the sixth seed Sunday − which means a trip to the City of Brotherly Love. Remaining schedule: at Eagles, Jan. 11 (4:30 p.m. ET)
x − 7. Green Bay Packers (9-6-1), wild card No. 3: Locked into the seventh seed a week ago, they won’t play another game at Lambeau Field this season. Remaining schedule: at Bears, Jan. 10 (8 p.m. ET)
NFL playoff schedule: Wild-card games
Jan. 10
Los Angeles Rams at Carolina Panthers, 4:30 p.m. ET, FOX
Green Bay Packers at Chicago Bears, 8 p.m. ET, Prime Video
Jan. 11
Buffalo Bills at Jacksonville Jaguars, 1 p.m. ET, CBS
San Francisco 49ers at Philadelphia Eagles, 4:30 p.m. ET, FOX
Los Angeles Chargers at New England Patriots, 8 p.m. ET, NBC
Jan. 12
NFL playoff schedule: Divisional-round games
Jan. 17
TBD vs. TBD
TBD vs. TBD
Jan. 18
TBD vs. TBD
TBD vs. TBD
NFL playoff schedule: Conference championship games
Jan. 25
AFC championship game, TBD
NFC championship game, TBD
NFL playoff schedule: Super Bowl 60
Feb. 8
AFC champion vs. NFC champion, NBC
NFL teams eliminated from playoff contention in 2025
x – clinched playoff berth
y – clinched division
z – clinched home-field advantage, first-round bye