2025-26 NFL Playoff Picture: Week 12 Snapshot

Here’s the 2025-26 NFL Playoff Picture, week 12 snapshot for you. (If the season ended today – after all Week 11 games, November 18, 2025) Week 11 delivered absolute chaos. The Denver Broncos knocked off the Chiefs to take the AFC’s No. 1 seed and put Kansas City’s nine-year division streak in serious jeopardy. The Chicago Bears snatched the NFC North lead with another comeback win, the Rams took control of the NFC West, and former playoff locks like the Chiefs, Lions, and Texans all find themselves on the outside looking in with six weeks to play.

Here is the updated “if the playoffs started today” bracket with all tiebreakers applied.

2025-26 NFL Playoff Picture

Here’s the 2025-26 NFL Playoff picture for you. All of the games from week 11 are in the books. Week 12 is getting ready to start up. We already have a number of teams looking forward to the 2026-27 NFL regular season, but there is still a ton of football left to play. 

AFC Playoff Seeds (Post-Week 11)

In the hunt

8. Houston Texans (6-5)

9. Kansas City Chiefs (5-5) – first time outside playoffs this late since 2014

10. Baltimore Ravens (5-5)

11. Miami Dolphins (4-7)

12. Cincinnati Bengals (3-7)

Mathematically eliminated: Titans (1-9), Browns, Jets, Raiders all 2-8 or worse)

NFC Playoff Seeds (Post-Week 11)

In the hunt

8. Detroit Lions (6-4) – fell completely out after loss to PHI

9. Carolina Panthers (6-5)

10. Dallas Cowboys (5-5-1 or 5-6 depending on MNF final)

11. Washington Commanders (5-6)

12. Minnesota Vikings (5-5)

Mathematically eliminated: Giants, Saints, Cardinals, Falcons (all ≤3-7)

Quick Week 11 Takeaways That Flipped the Picture

• Broncos 22, Chiefs 19 → Denver ends KC’s division streak hopes (for now) and grabs the conference lead.
• Rams 21, Seahawks 19 → LA sweeps the season series and jumps to the 2-seed.
• Bears comeback over Vikings → Chicago is now 7-3 and owns the North for the first time all year.
• Eagles defense stifles Lions → Philly stays atop the NFC; Detroit drops from 3-seed to out of the field.
• Jaguars blow out Chargers → Jacksonville leaps into the 7-seed and puts the Chiefs on the bubble.
• 49ers beat Cardinals + Lions loss → San Francisco sneaks in at No. 7.

Six weeks left and almost nothing is locked up. The AFC West, NFC North, and both wild-card races are absolute bloodbaths. Enjoy Thanksgiving week — it’s about to get even wilder. You can checkout all of the team and weekly schedules here. 

Blank 2025-26 NFL Playoff Bracket

Here’s the blank, printable 2025-26 NFL Playoff Bracket that you can checkout to fill in where you think teams will end up from the current playoff picture. Have fun!

If the Playoffs Started Today – 2026 Wild Card Weekend Schedule

I always like to start looking at what the NFL Playoff schedule will look like this time of the season. You can checkout the projections below as well as the 2025-26 NFL Playoff Schedule to mark your calendars and our Playoff Bracket to start filling in those seeds. Who’s your pick for Super Bowl champ? One of our favorite sports communities out there to check out is Philly Special Bets. No secret on his favorite team too 

AFC

NFC

(As always, the NFL would flex the exact days/times later, but the matchups and home-field advantages are locked in with today’s seeds.) You can checkout how the playoff picture looked last week here.