With a couple weeks left in the regular season, the NFL playoffs are beginning to take shape.
Week 15 of the 2018 NFL regular season is officially over after the New Orleans Saints and Carolina Panthers battled it out on Monday Night Football. No matter what the result of that game would have been, it would not have done anything to change the current seeding in the NFC. Still, the postseason is starting to shape up with two weeks remaining, so here is what the playoffs would look like if they started today.
Only five of the 12 playoff spots have been secured in the NFL, and that leaves plenty of opportunity for numerous teams. Three spots are locked up in the NFC while there are only two confirmed teams in the postseason from the AFC.
There is a lot that could change over the final two weeks of the regular season, but there is a lot of work that will need to be done.
In the NFC, seven teams have been mathematically eliminated from playoff contention which includes the Green Bay Packers and Atlanta Falcons. Six teams from the AFC have been mathematically eliminated from the postseason, and shockingly enough, one of them is not the Cleveland Browns.
Looking at the records and current seeds, if the NFL playoffs started today, the Kansas City Chiefs and New Orleans Saints would be the No. 1 seeds. Let’s check out how the rest of the brackets and field look after Week 15.
AFC
As reported by CBS Sports, the Kansas City Chiefs currently have the No. 1 seed in the AFC, but they don’t have it locked up just yet. Even with a record of 11-3, they haven’t yet won the AFC West as the Los Angeles Chargers are right on their heels and can still take it.
If the 2018 NFL playoffs started after Week 15, here would be the seeds for the AFC:
1.) Kansas City Chiefs at 11-3
2.) Houston Texans at 10-4
3.) New England Patriots at 9-5
4.) Pittsburgh Steelers at 8-5-1
5.) Los Angeles Chargers at 11-3
6.) Baltimore Ravens at 8-6
Still alive:
7.) Indianapolis Colts at 8-6
8.) Tennessee Titans at 8-6
9.) Miami Dolphins at 7-7
10.) Cleveland Browns at 6-7-1
First-round byes: Kansas City Chiefs and Houston Texans
First-round match-ups:
- Baltimore Ravens at New England Patriots
- Los Angeles Chargers at Pittsburgh Steelers
NFC
The Saints couldn’t clinch anything on Monday night, but a victory put them one win away from sealing home-field advantage throughout the playoffs. By defeating the Panthers and the Rams losing to the Eagles on Sunday, the Saints are that much closer to the number one seed in the NFC.
If the 2018 NFL playoffs started after Week 15, here would be the seeds for the NFC:
1.) New Orleans Saints at 12-2
2.) Los Angeles Rams at 11-3
3.) Chicago Bears at 10-4
4.) Dallas Cowboys at 8-6
5.) Seattle Seahawks at 8-6
6.) Minnesota Vikings at 7-6-1
Still alive:
7.) Philadelphia Eagles at 7-7
8.) Washington Redskins at 7-7
9.) Carolina Panthers at 6-8
First-round byes: New Orleans Saints and Los Angeles Rams
First-round match-ups:
- Minnesota Vikings at Chicago Bears
- Seattle Seahawks at Dallas Cowboys
This is only how the 2018 NFL playoffs would look if they started today after the action of Week 15 of the regular season. Some teams have their playoff spots clinches while many others are still fighting to get into the postseason.
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