NFL Playoff Picture 2021: NFC, AFC Bracket, Wild-Card Standings In Week 15

With only “Monday Night Football” left on the Week 14 schedule, no team has clinched a playoff spot in the 2021 NFL season. Of the league’s 32 teams, 24 enter Week 15 either in the playoff picture or no more than a game out of the postseason.

The NFL’s best teams reside in the NFC. The Arizona Cardinals (10-2) enter Monday night with the best record in football. The Green Bay Packers (10-3) and Tampa Bay Buccaneers (10-3) are on their heels, vying for a first-round playoff bye. Green Bay and Tampa Bay have a magic number of one to clinch their respective division titles.

The Dallas Cowboys (9-4) are headed toward an NFC East championship with a three-game lead atop the division. The Los Angeles Rams (8-4) are the No. 5 seed in the conference’s first wild-card spot. The San Francisco 49ers (7-6) are second in the wild-card standings, putting three NFC West teams in the Week 15 playoff bracket.

The race for the final NFC wild-card spot couldn’t be any tighter. The Washington Football Team (6-7) owns the tiebreaker for the No. 7 seed. The Minnesota Vikings (6-7), Philadelphia Eagles (6-7), Atlanta Falcons (6-7) and New Orleans Saints (6-7) are seeded Nos. 8 to 11 with identical records.

Five teams have the same record in the race for the last two AFC playoff spots.

The Indianapolis Colts (7-6) and Buffalo Bills (7-6) are the No. 6 and No. 7 seeds, respectively, with four games left on the schedule. The Cleveland Browns (7-6), Cincinnati Bengals (7-6) and Denver Broncos (7-6) are next in the wild-card standings, fighting to get into the playoff bracket.

The Pittsburgh Steelers (6-6-1) are a half-game out as the No. 11 seed. The Las Vegas Raiders (6-7) and Miami Dolphins are one game behind the final wild-card spot, though several teams sit in front of them.

The New England Patriots (9-4), Tennessee Titans (9-4) and Kansas City Chiefs (9-4) are tied with the AFC’s best record. New England and Tennessee both have two-game division leads.

New England is in the driver’s seat for the No. 1 seed with the best conference record and a head-to-head win over Tennessee. The Titans beat the Chiefs in Week 7.

Kansas City has put together a six-game winning streak since losing to Tennessee. The Chiefs have a one-game lead over the No. 5 seed Los Angeles Chargers (8-5) in the AFC West. Kansas City visits Los Angeles on Thursday night to kick off the Week 15 schedule.

Cleveland defeated the Baltimore Ravens (8-5) in Week 14, creating more uncertainty in the NFL’s most competitive division. The Ravens are one-game ahead of the Browns and Bengals for first place in the AFC North.

The New York Jets, Houston Texans, Jacksonville Jaguars and Detroit Lions are the only teams that have been officially eliminated from playoff contention.