Nfl Week 15 Playoff Picture Clinching Scenarios Standings

Leo Migdal

-Dec 12, 2025, 10:22 AM

nfl week 15 playoff picture clinching scenarios standings

Vince Wilfork joins Pat McAfee and assesses the performances of his former teams, the Patriots and Texans, this season. (1:26) The playoff picture is becoming clearer with four weeks left in the 2025 NFL regular season. Nine teams have already been eliminated from the playoffs, but no teams have clinched a postseason berth. That could change this weekend. The Broncos can clinch a berth through two scenarios, while the Patriots could make it and win the AFC East if things go their way.

In the NFC, the Rams simply have to win to secure a postseason spot. Let's take a look at the clinching scenarios for each of these three teams. More NFL playoff race coverage: Projecting the final seeding FPI ratings for every team Projected 2026 draft order EDITOR'S NOTE: The following are the playoff-clinching scenarios for Week 15 of the 2025 NFL season. Denver Broncos (11-2) vs. Green Bay Packers (9-3-1); Sunday, 4:25 p.m.

ET, CBS New England Patriots (11-2) vs. Buffalo Bills (9-4); Sunday, 1 p.m. ET, CBS New England clinches AFC East division title with: New England clinches a playoff berth with:

e Team has been eliminated from playoff contention. k Team has been knocked out of division title contention. NFC Teams knocked out of 1 seed contention: NYG, WAS, NO, ARI, ATL, MIN, DAL AFC Teams knocked out of 1 seed contention: TEN, LV, CLE, NYJ, CIN, MIA, KC, BAL The italicized portions in these scenarios are results that are solely for Strength of Victory purposes. Scenarios 5-6, 8-9, 11, 15-16, & 37-41 are for JAX clinching Strength of Victory over KC. Scenarios 7, 12-14, & 20-24 are for JAX clinching a tie in Strength of Victory with KC while BAL cannot reach that same Strength of Victory.

Scenarios 10 & 17-19 are for JAX clinching a tie in Strength of Victory with KC while MIA cannot reach that same Strength of Victory. Scenarios 26-33 are for a guarantee that at least one of JAX or BAL will end up with a better Strength of Victory (Though neither individually has it clinched). Scenario 42 is for a guarantee that at least one of JAX or BUF will end up with a better Strength of Victory (Though neither individually has it clinched). We often say we’re in the business of possibilities, not probabilities. Because of that, in our simulations, we consider each team equally likely to win. However, we do make the odds of a tie only 1% in order to increase variance and cover more of the possibility space in limited simulations.

The table below is from 1 millions simulations using 49.5% home win, 49.5% away win, and 1% tie odds. This is not a prediction. It is an estimate of the percentage of possible scenarios that results in this seed (under our 1% tie criteria). If an entry is blank, the team cannot get that seed. It’s also worth noting that due to rounding, the numbers for a team may not add up to exactly 100%. With nine teams already eliminated from playoff contention, Week 15 marks the first time during the 2025 NFL season that teams can punch their ticket to the postseason.

There are a total of three.css-1582m2i{margin:0;font:inherit;font-weight:700;} spots that can be clinched based on the results this coming weekend, with the New England Patriots having a shot to win the AFC East for the first... The biggest storyline entering Week 15 is that the Kansas City Chiefs, who have played in the AFC Championship Game every year since 2019, could be .css-wrcrjw{margin:0;font-size:1.6rem;-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;font-family:Proxima Nova,Proxima Nova Fallback Helvetica,Proxima Nova Fallback Arial;font-weight:700;font-style:normal;letter-spacing:0rem;line-height:1.92rem;color:var(--br--palette-foreground__link__secondary__default-mainChannel);font-size:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;white-space:normal;}.css-3nqh9c{-webkit-text-decoration:underline;text-decoration:underline;text-decoration-color:rgba(var(--br--palette-primary-mainChannel)... Here are the updated standings, as well as the clinching and elimination scenarios at stake going into this weekend. .css-1je2n4v{margin:0;font:inherit;-webkit-text-decoration:underline;text-decoration:underline;}AFC Standings With four weeks left in the 2025 NFL regular season, nine teams have already been eliminated from playoff contention. That's more than one quarter of the league already with one eye ahead on the future of fixing what went wrong.

But of the remaining 23 teams still alive, none have clinched a playoff berth. The convoluted playoff picture includes five division races within one game. The AFC North has three teams -- the 9-4 Jaguars, 8-5 Texans and 8-5 Colts -- not only jockeying for the division crown but potentially wild-card positioning, too. The NFC North features a similar scenario: The 9-3-1 Packers, the 9-4 Bears and the 8-5 Lions are all in the thick of things with four weeks to go. The playoff picture could gain at least some clarity in Week 15 with three teams in position to clinch a playoff berth. The Broncos can clinch a playoff berth with ...

The Patriots can clinch the AFC East with ... The NFL Week 15 schedule is here. Just four weeks remain in the regular season. And no team has clinched a berth in the NFL playoffs. But that can change this week. Three teams can clinch berths in the NFL postseason in NFL Week 15 games.

Take a look at the NFL playoff clinching scenarios this week, scenarios that could see the Denver Broncos, New England Patriots and Los Angeles Rams become the first teams to secure their spots in... There are eight NFL divisions, four in the NFC and four in the AFC, with each division winner earning a playoff berth in each conference, along with the three non-division winners with the best... The NFL playoff picture might actually see its first pieces fall into place in Week 15. Through early December, the league found more clarity from the bottom tier of teams – with nine already eliminated from postseason contention – than at the top. That could change starting Dec. 14, however, as three teams – the New England Patriots, Denver Broncos and Los Angeles Rams – could become the first to seal playoff berths.

While the latter two can't yet wrap up their respective divisions, the Patriots could end the Buffalo Bills' five-year reign atop the AFC East if they're able to defeat Josh Allen and Co. at home. Here's what's on the table for all three teams and how they could get there: The Denver Broncos (11-2) can clinch a second consecutive playoff berth with a win over the Green Bay Packers on Sunday. Chris Unger / Getty Images The Athletic has live coverage of Falcons vs.

Buccaneers in NFL ‘Thursday Night Football.’ It’s that time of the NFL season when fans start crunching the numbers and looking at every possible scenario that gets their team into the playoffs. The NFL released its Week 15 playoff-clinching scenarios Tuesday. Neither the AFC nor the NFC has any teams locked into the postseason yet, but that could change for the Denver Broncos, New England Patriots and Los Angeles Rams this week. Denver clinches a playoff berth with: 1. Denver win OR 2.

Denver tie + Los Angeles Chargers loss OR 3. Denver tie + Jacksonville Jaguars loss OR 4. Denver tie + Houston Texans loss or tie OR 5. Denver tie + Indianapolis Colts loss or tie OR 6. Houston loss or tie + Indianapolis loss or tie, as long as both games don’t end in a tie. 3 teams can clinch NFL playoff spots in Week 15.

Let’s work through the various scenarios We have reached a magical time in the 2025 NFL season. When the league begins releasing playoff scenarios ahead of each slate of games. Three teams — the Denver Broncos, the New England Patriots, and the Los Angeles Rams — can clinch playoff spots in Week 15. Let’s take a look at how each team can lock down a spot this weekend. While the Denver Broncos cannot clinch the AFC West this weekend, thanks to the Los Angeles Chargers winning on Monday Night Football to keep pace in the division, the Broncos can lock up a...

There are six ways Denver can clinch a postseason berth: Vince Wilfork joins Pat McAfee and assesses the performances of his former teams, the Patriots and Texans, this season. (1:26) The playoff picture is becoming clearer with four weeks left in the 2025 NFL regular season. Nine teams have already been eliminated from the playoffs, but no teams have clinched a postseason berth. That could change this weekend.

The Broncos can clinch a berth through two scenarios, while the Patriots could make it and win the AFC East if things go their way. In the NFC, the Rams simply have to win to secure a postseason spot. Let's take a look at the clinching scenarios for each of these three teams. More NFL playoff race coverage: Projecting the final seeding FPI ratings for every team Projected 2026 draft order

People Also Search

Vince Wilfork Joins Pat McAfee And Assesses The Performances Of

In The NFC, The Rams Simply Have To Win To

ET, CBS New England Patriots (11-2) Vs. Buffalo Bills (9-4);