NFL Playoff Picture 2024-25: Standings, Bracket Scenarios After Ravens Beat Bengals | News, results, highlights, stats and rumours

1. Kansas City Chiefs (8-0)

3. Pittsburgh Steelers (6-2)

5. Baltimore Ravens (7-3)

6. Los Angeles Chargers (5-3)

8. Indianapolis Colts (4-5)

9. Cincinnati Bengals (4-6)

11. Tennessee Titans (2-6)

13. Cleveland Browns (2-7)

14. Jacksonville Jaguars (2-7)

15. Las Vegas Raiders (2-7)

16. New England Patriots (2-7)

Italics: Currently in wild card playoff position.

1. Kansas City Chiefs (bye through Wild Card round).

7. Denver Broncos at 2. Buffalo Bills

6. Los Angeles Chargers at 3. Pittsburgh Steelers

5. Baltimore Ravens at 4. Houston Texans

Can any team catch the Chiefs?

It hasn’t always been pretty, but the 8-0 Chiefs, with an average margin of victory of 7.0 points, lead the AFC. The offense has sputtered at times, but the defense has been stellar, holding opponents to the fourth-lowest points-per-game mark in the league.

The remaining schedule is a mixed bag. On the bright side, there are three games against two-win teams on the horizon (at Carolina Panthers, vs. Las Vegas Raiders, at Cleveland Browns).

On the flip side, every other game is against a team with a winning record. The toughest is a road game with the 7-2 Buffalo Bills on Sunday, November 17th.

The Chiefs then also have two games against current division leaders in four days as Kansas City hosts the Houston Texans on Saturday, Dec. 21, before visiting the Pittsburgh Steelers on Christmas Day.

It’s not easy for any team, even the undefeated back-to-back Super Bowl champions.

The Bills seem to have the best chance to dethrone the Chiefs from the top of the AFC. The problem is, Buffalo has a brutal four-game stretch ahead: Home against Kansas City, then (after a bye) at home against the defending NFC champion San Francisco 49ers, cross country at the Los Angeles Rams and at the 7-1 Detroit Lions .

If the Bills can somehow coax a 3-1 record in that stretch and beat the Chiefs, then they could catch Kansas City. It helps that Buffalo has two games against the New England Patriots over the last three weeks for a (presumably) easier finish.