With three weeks of regular season left, only three NFL teams have secured a playoff spot.
The Baltimore Ravens have one hand on first seed in the AFC and home advantage throughout the playoffs, while the Kansas City Chiefs have secured a fourth consecutive AFC West title last week and the New Orleans Saints remain in the hunt for one of the top two spots in the NFC despite losing at home to San Francisco last week.
The New England Patriots, Buffalo Bills, Green Bay Packers and Seattle Seahawks can all join the list of playoff-bound teams on Sunday. Here's the state of play ahead of Week 15.
AFC
Having clinched a playoff spot last week, the Baltimore Ravens secured a second consecutive AFC North title by thrashing the New York Jets 42-21 on Thursday Night Football.
The Ravens' 10th straight win improved them to 12-2 and they will secure a first-round bye if the New England Patriots fail to win in Cincinnati or the Kansas City Chiefs don't beat the Denver Broncos.
Should both the Patriots and the Chiefs lose, the Ravens will clinch home field advantage throughout the playoffs.
Kansas City is 9-4 and has already booked a playoff berth after securing a fourth consecutive AFC West title in Week 14, while the 10-3 Patriots are on a two-game losing streak but will clinch a postseason spot as long as they avoid defeat in Cincinnati.
The Buffalo Bills, meanwhile, will return to the playoffs for the first time since 2017 with a win in Pittsburgh on Sunday Night Football. The Bills are 9-4 and hold the first of two wildcard spots, with the Steelers currently in control of the second wildcard berth.
Pittsburgh is 8-5 and holds the tiebreaker over the 8-5 Tennessee Titans by virtue of having a better conference record and would leapfrog the Bills with a win on Sunday.
NFC
The New Orleans Saints may have lost the game of the season to the San Francisco 49ers last season, but remain the only NFC team to have booked a playoff spot.
San Francisco's 48-46 win in New Orleans vaulted the franchise back into top spot in the NFC with an 11-2 record and the 49ers can secure a postseason berth with a win at home against the 4-9 Atlanta Falcons on Sunday.
FINAL: What. A. Game.
— NFL (@NFL) December 8, 2019
The @49ers win in New Orleans. #SFvsNO pic.twitter.com/OuPjztQpkS
The 49ers can also ensure they will be playing football in January if they lose, as long as Green Bay and Minnesota lose at home against Chicago and the Los Angeles Chargers.
The Packers were the big winner of Week 14, as they improved to 10-3 and climbed up to second after the 49ers beat the Saints and the Seahawks lost to the Rams in Los Angeles.
Green Bay has been far from impressive in recent weeks but can book a postseason berth with a home win against the 7-6 Bears if the Rams don't win in Dallas against the Cowboys.
Seattle, meanwhile, slipped to 10-3 and all the way down to the fifth spot in the NFC after losing in Los Angeles against the Rams. The Seahawks, however, can book a postseason berth if they win on the road in Carolina and the Rams lose.
Should Los Angeles win, Seattle would still qualify for the playoffs if the Vikings lose to the Chargers in Los Angeles.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Dan Cancian is currently a reporter for Newsweek based in London, England. Prior to joining Newsweek in January 2018, he was a news and business reporter at International Business Times UK. Dan has also written for The Guardian and The Observer.
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