The Kansas City Chiefs can become the first team in the NFL to clinch a 2024 playoff spot while the Buffalo Bills can be the first team to clinch their division this weekend. Both of them will need a win and some help, but these scenarios are not far-fetched.
How the Kansas City Chiefs can clinch a playoff spot in Week 13
The Kansas City Chiefs are 10-1 and in first place in the AFC standings. If they were to somehow falter and be passed by the Los Angeles Chargers or Denver Broncos in the AFC West, they’d end up in the Wild Card mix.
With 10 wins, the worst record KC could end up with is 10-7. The eighth-place Miami Dolphins have six losses, so they can finish 11-6 at best. The Chiefs need to get to 11 wins and have the Dolphins at seven losses in order to clinch a better overall record, so here are the outcomes Kansas City needs to clinch a playoff spot:
- Chiefs win AND Dolphins loss
Since the Dolphins play on Thanksgiving night and the Chiefs play on Black Friday, Kansas City could have their playoff spot sewn up by the end of November!
How the Buffalo Bills can clinch the AFC East in Week 13
The Bills aren’t going to settle for just a playoff spot. They can clinch the AFC East in Week 13. Buffalo has nine wins to the Miami Dolphins’ five, but the Bills have the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Dolphins thanks to two wins. If both teams finish 9-7, Buffalo wins the tiebreaker.
That means there are two outcomes that need to happen for the Bills to clinch the AFC East this weekend:
- Dolphins loss AND Bills win
If Miami loses, the best they can finish is 10-7. The Bills win any tiebreaker at 10-7, so Buffalo getting to 10 wins by winning on Sunday gets them over the finish line to a home playoff game and their fifth straight AFC East title.
There are no playoff clinching scenarios in the NFC in Week 13
With the Detroit Lions at 10-1, some would expect clinching scenarios to be in their wheelhouse, but that’s not the case. The second-place Minnesota Vikings are only one game behind the Lions in the NFC North, so they can’t win the division for a while.
In the Wild Card race, the Cardinals are 6-5 and three teams sit at 5-6. A disaster for the Lions could see them fall to 10-7 and losing tiebreakers, so they can’t clinch a Wild Card spot until Week 14.
We’ll have to wait to see how Week 13 shakes out before we plot the path for the Lions to a clinched playoff spot.
NFL Playoff Picture and story lines heading into Week 13
All of the storylines you need heading out of Week 12 and into Week 13 are certainly plentiful.
The New England Patriots, Las Vegas Raiders, and New York Giants have been eliminated from their divisional races. No team has been mathematically eliminated from the playoffs yet.
Here are the standings:
AFC standings after Week 12
1. Kansas City Chiefs (10-1)
2. Buffalo Bills (9-2)
3. Pittsburgh Steelers (8-3)
4. Houston Texans (7-5)
5. Baltimore Ravens (8-4)
6. Los Angeles Chargers (7-4)
7. Denver Broncos (7-5)
8. Miami Dolphins (5-6)
9. Indianapolis Colts (5-7)
10. Cincinnati Bengals (4-7)
11. Cleveland Browns (3-8, 3-3 AFC)
12. New York Jets (3-8, 3-5 AFC, win over TEN)
13. Tennessee Titans (3-8, 3-4 AFC, loss to NYJ)
14. New England Patriots (3-9)*
15. Jacksonville Jaguars (2-9, 2-4 AFC)
16. Las Vegas Raiders (2-9, 2-7 AFC)*
NFC standings heading into Week 13
1. Detroit Lions (10-1)
2. Philadelphia Eagles (9-2)
3. Seattle Seahawks (6-5, win over ARI, win over ATL)
4. Atlanta Falcons (6-5. loss to SEA)
5. Minnesota Vikings (9-2)
6. Green Bay Packers (8-3)
7. Washington Commanders (7-5)
8. Arizona Cardinals (6-5, loss to SEA)
9. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (5-6, 5-3 NFC)
10. Los Angeles Rams (5-6, win over SF, 3-5 NFC)
11. San Francisco 49ers (5-6, loss to LAR)
12. New Orleans Saints (4-7, 3-4 NFC)
13. Chicago Bears (4-7, 2-4 NFC)
14. Dallas Cowboys (4-7, 2-5 NFC)
15. Carolina Panthers (3-8)
16. New York Giants (2-9)*
