NFL Playoff Picture 2023-24: Updated AFC, NFC Standings After Week 9 Early Slate
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The Kansas City Chiefs picked up a massive win in their quest to land the No. 1 seed in the AFC.
Patrick Mahomes and Co. opened Sunday’s Week 9 slate with a win over the Miami Dolphins in Frankfurt, Germany.
The victory kept the Chiefs on top of the AFC standings. Only the Baltimore Ravens are level with the Chiefs after Sunday.
Miami was in danger of dropping out of the AFC East lead, but that did not happen, as the Buffalo Bills fell to the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday night.
Cincinnati’s vital head-to-head victory moved it into one of the three wild-card spots and moved Buffalo out of the top seven in the AFC.
Things were far more quiet on top of the NFC standings. The Detroit Lions and San Francisco 49ers are on bye weeks and the Philadelphia Eagles extended their advantage atop the conference with a win over the Dallas Cowboys.
The significant movement in the NFC involved the No. 4 seed and the wild-card spots.
The Joshua Dobbs-led Minnesota Vikings win over the Atlanta Falcons shifted the dynamic of both the NFC South and wild-card races, as did the losses suffered by Dallas and the Seattle Seahawks.
AFC Standings
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Division Leaders
1. Kansas City (7-2)
2. Baltimore (7-2)
3. Jacksonville (6-2)
4. Miami (6-3)
Wild-Card Race
5. Pittsburgh (5-3)
6. Cleveland (5-3)
7. Cincinnati (5-3)
8. New York Jets (4-3)
9. Buffalo (5-4)
10. Houston (4-4)
11. Indianapolis (4-5)
12. Las Vegas (4-5)
Kansas City picked up an important head-to-head tiebreaker over Miami in Germany.
The Chiefs effectively have a two-game advantage on the Dolphins now because of their better record and head-to-head triumph.
Andy Reid’s team will not be in action for another 15 days, as it visits the Philadelphia Eagles on Monday night in Week 11 after its Week 10 bye.
Baltimore can finish next week ahead of the Chiefs if it continues its winning ways. The Ravens extended their winning streak to four games with a victory over the Seattle Seahawks.
The last three of those victories came against NFC teams. Lamar Jackson is now 18-1 against opponents from the other conference. The Ravens have one NFC foe left on their schedule.
Baltimore will go back into AFC North play in Week 10 against Cincinnati. That game will carry importance in the divisional title and wild-card races.
Cincinnati carries momentum into that matchup after it beat the 49ers and Bills in consecutive weeks. The Bengals need to make up some ground in the AFC North in November after they started 0-2 in divisional play.
For now, the Bengals are a part of a four-team group at five wins that could be joined by the New York Jets on Monday night.
The Jets and Los Angeles Chargers play on Monday night. The Chargers need that victory more than the Jets because they can’t avoid to drop two games below . 500.
A Chargers win would create a logjam at 4-4 and 4-5. The Houston Texans, Indianapolis Colts and Las Vegas Raiders all reached the four-win mark on Sunday. They are out of the wild-card spot for now, but they could make an impact on the postseason positions with one or two more victories.
NFC Standings
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Division Leaders
1. Philadelphia (8-1)
2. Detroit (6-2)
3. San Francisco (5-3)
4. New Orleans (5-4)
Wild-Card Race
5. Seattle (5-3)
6. Dallas (5-3)
7. Minnesota (5-4)
8. Washington (4-5)
9. Atlanta (4-5)
The NFC West lead switched hands in the early window after Seattle’s loss to Baltimore.
The Seahawks are now a half-game behind the 49ers, who are on their bye week, but the good news for Pete Carroll’s team is it sits in the No. 5 seed after Sunday over Dallas thanks to a superior conference record.
New Orleans picked up a one-game edge over Atlanta in the NFC South. The Saints beat the Chicago Bears, while the Falcons blew a lead at home versus the Vikings.
Minnesota’s improbable win, in which Jaren Hall went out injured and Dobbs, who joined the team on Tuesday, led it to the result, moved the Vikings into a wild-card position.
The Vikings are one game in front of the Washington Commanders. They also have one more win and a head-to-head tiebreaker over the Falcons.
Philadelphia extended its edge on top of the NFC with its win over Dallas combined with the Detroit and San Francisco byes. The Eagles enter their Week 10 bye with the best record in the NFL and a 1.5-game edge on their closest competitors in the NFC.
Dallas is now three games adrift of the Eagles and stuck in the wild-card race, where five teams left Sunday with either four or five victories.
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