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Who is in the NFL playoffs? Clinched spots, division winners, bracket matchups for Week 18

jacob camenker, usa today
·8 min read

The 2024 NFL regular season is now in the history books and the league's playoff picture is now set in stone. A whopping 12 of 14 playoff berths were clinched ahead of Week 18, leaving just two spots up for grabs in the final week of the season.

There were still plenty of seedings to be decided before the playoff picture could be finalized on Sunday. Notably, the No. 1 seed in the NFC was up for grabs, and three division titles across the conferences were claimed in the final week.

What does the NFL playoff picture look like? Here's a look at the playoff bracket with the NFL's Week 18 games now completed.

NFL playoff picture: Who is in so far?

All 14 of the NFL playoff spots have been clinched with the regular season officially in the books. They are as follows, grouped by conference:

AFC

NFC

NFL division winners 2024

Five of the NFL's eight divisions had been clinched entering Week 18. The AFC North was clinched after the Ravens' win on Saturday while the Buccaneers wrapped up the NFC South early on Sunday.

Here's a look at the division winners now that Week 18 is finished.

AFC

  • AFC East: Buffalo Bills (13-4)

  • AFC North: Baltimore Ravens (12-5)

  • AFC South: Houston Texans (10-7)

  • AFC West: Kansas City Chiefs (15-1)

NFC

  • NFC East: Philadelphia Eagles (14-3)

  • NFC North: Detroit Lions (15-2)

  • NFC South: Tampa Bay Buccaneers (10-7)

  • NFC West: Los Angeles Rams (10-6)

Who are the No. 1 seeds in the NFL playoff picture

The No. 1 seeds in the NFL playoffs will be as follows:

  • Kansas City Chiefs

  • Detroit Lions

The Chiefs clinched home-field advantage throughout the AFC playoffs by virtue of their Christmas Day win over the Pittsburgh Steelers.

The Lions claimed the NFC's No. 1 seed thanks to their win on "Sunday Night Football" against the Vikings and will have home-field advantage in addition to a first-round bye.

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NFL playoff bracket update: Wild card matchups

AFC

No. 1 Kansas City Chiefs (15-1, AFC West winners): BYE

The Chiefs clinched the AFC's No. 1 seed with their 29-10 victory over the Steelers on Christmas. This marks the third time they will have the top seed and home-field advantage during Patrick Mahomes' career and will face the lowest-remaining seed in their divisional-round matchup.

No. 2 Buffalo Bills (13-4, AFC East winners) vs. No. 7 Denver Broncos (9-7, wild card No. 3)

The Bills couldn't mount a challenge to the Chiefs as the No. 1 seed, but Buffalo did wrap up the conference's No. 2 seed with its 40-14 blowout win over the New York Jets. That will allow them to face whichever team draws into the No. 7 seed in the AFC.

The Broncos made it into the playoffs as the AFC's No. 7 seed after routing the Chiefs backups 38-0. They needed just to win or tie to stave off competition from the Miami Dolphins and Cincinnati Bengals for the final postseason berth, and they handled the challenge easily.

Denver is an intriguing matchup for Buffalo. The Broncos allow just 19.4 points per game (fifth in the NFL), while the Bills score 31.8 points per game (second in the NFL). That strength-on-strength matchup could provide the Bills with an early postseason test, though asking Bo Nix to win his first playoff start on the road in Buffalo would be asking a lot.

No. 3 Baltimore Ravens (12-5, AFC North winners) vs. No. 6 seed Pittsburgh Steelers (10-7, wild card No. 1)

The Ravens clinched the AFC North yet by beating the Cleveland Browns on Saturday. That locked them into the conference's No. 3 seed and sets them up for a rematch with either the Steelers or Jim Harbaugh's Chargers.

By virtue of the Steelers' loss to the Bengals and the Chargers' win over the Raiders, the Ravens drew into a classic rivalry matchup in the wild card round. The AFC North foes split the season series in 2024, but Pittsburgh is on a four-game losing streak which should give Baltimore an advantage in this matchup.

No. 4 Houston Texans (10-7, AFC South winner) vs. No. 5 seed Los Angeles Chargers (11-6, wild card No. 2)

Houston has been locked into the No. 4 seed since winning the AFC South in Week 15. They will take on the Chargers after Los Angeles managed to overtake the Steelers in the AFC standings during the final week of the season.

The Chargers will look to get Justin Herbert his first career playoff win while C.J. Stroud will look to win a playoff game for a second consecutive season to open his career.

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NFC

No. 1 seed Detroit Lions (15-2, NFC North leaders): BYE

The Lions clinched the NFC's top spot in Week 18, giving them a deserved break, their first since a Week 5 bye. Detroit will get the week off to recover from their mounting injuries before beginning their quest for the franchise's first Super Bowl.

No. 2 Philadelphia Eagles (14-3, NFC East winners) vs. No. 7 Green Bay Packers (11-6, wild card No. 3)

Philadelphia won its Week 17 game against the Cowboys to clinch the NFC East, but the Eagles were locked into the No. 2 seed after the Vikings beat the Packers in the later afternoon slate. As a result, the Eagles decided to sit their starters against the New York Giants rather than let running back Saquon Barkley seek out the NFL's all-time rushing record.

The Eagles will now play the Packers, who lost to the Chicago Bears in Week 18, in the first round of the playoffs. Philadelphia beat Green Bay 34-29 in Week 1, a game that was played overseas in Brazil. The Eagles will have home-field advantage this time around while the Packers will be hoping Jordan Love can get hot and lead the Packers to another win as the NFC's No. 7 seed.

No. 3 Tampa Bay Buccaneers (10-7, NFC South winners) vs. No. 6 Washington Commanders (12-5, wild card No. 2)

The Buccaneers entered Week 18 in control of the seesawing NFC South. They managed to hang onto it despite a scare from the New Orleans Saints. Then, the Buccaneers got an additional favor from the Rams, who lost to the Seahawks to gift Tampa Bay the No. 3 seed in the NFC, and a date with teh Commanders.

Washington has emerged as one of the best offenses in the NFL, averaging the fifth-most points per game (28.9) in 2024, and Jayden Daniels will provide a unique, dual-threat option against Tampa Bay's defense. The Buccaneers have a high-powered offense as well, so this should be a fun matchup.

No. 4 Los Angeles Rams (10-7, NFC West winners) vs. No. 5 Minnesota Vikings (14-3, wild card No. 1)

The Rams lost in Week 18, which officially made them the No. 4 seed in the NFC. That will give Los Angeles the unlucky draw of playing the NFL's first-ever 14-win wild-card team, so it will be interesting to see if Sean McVay's decision to sit his starters was worth it.

Their opponents will be a familiar opponent this season, with the Vikings already traveling to L.A. for "Thursday Night Football" back in Week 8. The Rams got the best of the Vikings in that one, winning 30-20.

NFL playoff picture

AFC

  1. Kansas City Chiefs (15-2, AFC West winners, No. 1 seed)*

  2. Buffalo Bills (13-4, AFC East winners, No. 2 seed)*

  3. Baltimore Ravens (12-5, AFC North winners, No. 3 seed)*

  4. Houston Texans (10-7, AFC South winners, No. 4 seed)*

  5. Los Angeles Chargers (11-6, wild card No. 1, No. 5 seed)*

  6. Pittsburgh Steelers (10-7, wild card No. 2, No. 6 seed)*

  7. Denver Broncos (10-7, wild card No. 3, No. 7 seed)*

NFC

  1. Detroit Lions (15-2, NFC North winners, No. 1 seed)*

  2. Philadelphia Eagles (14-3, NFC East winners, No. 2 seed)*

  3. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (10-7, NFC South winners, No. 3 seed)*

  4. Los Angeles Rams (10-7, NFC West winners, No. 4 seed)*

  5. Minnesota Vikings (14-3, wild card No. 1)*

  6. Washington Commanders (12-5, wild card No. 2, No. 6 seed)*

  7. Green Bay Packers (11-6, wild card No. 3, No. 7 seed)*

An asterisk (*) denotes teams that have clinched a playoff spot. Teams that have clinched division titles are noted accordingly.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Who is in the NFL playoffs? Week 18 bracket update, matchups