Who Will Make the NFL Playoffs? Week 14

There’s just 4 weeks left in this year’s NFL regular season, and it feels like no one knows what’s going to happen. Regardless, it’s fun to take a look at the schedule and take a guess as to who’s going to make it to the dance. Both conferences have plenty of options, for different reasons. The NFC is a bloodbath with killers at every corner. Meanwhile, every other team in the AFC is just limping towards the finish line. Before Sunday, let’s try to predict who’s going to make it to the playoffs, and who will be watching from the outside.

AFC 1 Seed: New England Patriots

The naysayers will point to the soft schedule, and it’s fair considering the fact they haven’t faced off against the strongest of opponents. However, unlike other teams, the Patriots have won nearly every one of those “easy” games in dominant fashion. Drake “Drake Maye” Maye continues to be excellent, and a mistake on his part is rare. His squad is standing atop the conference at 11-2, and is showing no signs of stopping. Their last four games are against the Bills, the Ravens, the Jets and the Dolphins. It’s by no means out of the equation that Mike Vrabel’s men will go undefeated the rest of the way, and that the AFC will see the evil empire reign atop the conference once more.

AFC 2 Seed: Denver Broncos

Denver is trying its hardest to give their fans a heart attack. Nevertheless, they’re still winning, which is what’s important. Their defense is sensational, and it’s almost single-handedly leading them to their victories. This isn’t to say that Bo Nix and Sean Payton’s attack can’t carry its own weight, but they’re not the highlight of this team. There is a world out there where they lose to the Packers, Jags and Chiefs, but whatever does happen it feels likely that they’ll have enough wins to lock up the 2 seed.

AFC 3 Seed: Houston Texans

It seemed like the Houston Texans’ 2025 season was going to be one to forget. After a putrid 3-5 start, with CJ Stroud set to miss time, many around the league considered Houston dead in the water. However, that defense can make some magic happen. They’re among the top in every defensive statistic, and have been the best in terms of yards allowed. Now, the path is set for them to win the division. Jacksonville still needs to deal with the Colts and the Broncos, while Indianapolis has a gauntlet of their own to go through. Meanwhile, Houston’s biggest upcoming threats are the Chiefs and the Colts. The Chiefs haven’t looked themselves all year, and will be without stud rookie Josh Simmons for at least four games. Furthermore, they already beat the Colts once, and with the state of disarray Indy is in, the Texans can rise atop the AFC South once again.

AFC 4 Seed: Pittsburgh Steelers

Mike Tomlin needs his government mandated winning season. Whether it will actually matter in the long run is yet to be seen. Yinzer nation is going through a tough time right now. The defense looks consistently lost, the offense can’t go deep and feelings in Pittsburgh are a real mixed bag. If you take a look at their next matchups though, you can talk yourself into believing this team has a chance. Other than the Lions, playing against the Dolphins, the Browns and the Ravens twice does favor the Steelers to some extent. Granted, if they were in almost any other division, their playoff hopes would probably already be over. However, it’s that kind of year for the AFC north, and the Steelers got a shot.

AFC 5 Seed: Buffalo Bills

Stripping any team’s star signal caller away from them will cause a massive drop-off in quality. However, it continually feels like the Bills will struggle most if Allen were to be taken away from them. To be fair, it’s not like Allen’s been lights out this year. He’s had some typical great performances, but there’s a lot more bad than we’re used to. As such, Buffalo will have to bear the pain of not winning the division for the first time since 2019. Nevertheless, James Cook and Josh Allen are likely going to do enough to lock up a wild card spot.

AFC 6 Seed: Jacksonville Jaguars

For a team that’s so hot and cold on a week to week basis, it’s almost a miracle that Duval might head to the playoffs. Unfortunately, that collapse against Houston in week 10 might come back to bite them. They do have to deal with Denver and Indianapolis twice, but it’s not the worst of situations to be in. With Jacksonville though, you can never be sure. If they keep up the momentum they currently carry on a three game win streak, they’ll be among the contenders in the AFC.

AFC 7 Seed: Cincinnati Bengals

Cincinnati of all teams having the chance to make the playoffs tells you what kind of season it’s been. Similar to Houston, the Bengals dug themselves into an early hole at the start of the year. Their only way of getting out of that hole, Joe Burrow, was set to miss three months. Now, after a big time win against Baltimore, hope has sprung anew in Cincinnati. If Joe Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase are healthy, their upcoming opponents are all beatable. The only problem is that right now, they don’t have any margin for error. One loss will likely spell doom for their playoff hopes. Will they rise to the occasion, or crumble under pressure?

NFC 1 Seed: Los Angeles Rams

The Carolina game shouldn’t really deter people from viewing the Rams as contenders. Despite Stafford having three key turnovers, only one of those were really his fault. He was on his way to winning the game, if not for an unfortunate fumble. The Seahawks and the Lions will definitely pose as the most challenging matchups. However, they will also play the Falcons and the Cardinals twice, both teams that are currently in a freefall. The first seed is theirs to lose, and it’s key to not let the Panthers loss have a long lasting effect.

NFC 2 Seed: Philadelphia Eagles

Vibes are low in the city of brotherly love. Fans are constantly calling for Kevin Patullo’s firing, and making it known that they’re dissatisfied with the product on the field. Regardless, with Dallas’ loss against Detroit, Philly is set to break the NFC East’s 20 year streak without a repeat winner. How far they’ll go once they make the playoffs is a different question entirely, but it’s almost guaranteed they will. The remaining schedule favors them quite well, and the talent is still there. Hopefully this won’t be a repeat of 2023.

NFC 3 Seed: Green Bay Packers

Toyotaton has begun, and it’s gonna be a while before it ends. So, buckle up for some more Jordan Love masterclass performances. All jokes aside, the Packers are currently playing their best ball of the season. They dominated the Vikings 23-6 before taking down the Lions on a short week. The Packers have shown that when everything clicks they’re a very dangerous team. Now, they’re neck and neck with their despised rivals, the Bears, for the division. While the Bears have been a very effective unit under Ben Johnson, the Packers are at a different point in their franchise timeline than Chicago. That’s not to say the Bears can’t win the division, but the Packers are currently gunning for a Super Bowl appearance, and have the talent to reach those goals.

NFC 4 Seed: Carolina Panthers

A bold prediction, but one that can very well come to fruition. You can pretty much copy paste the passage on the Jaguars and know that it applies to Carolina as well. They’ve been painfully inconsistent this season. Dave Canales and his squad have proven multiple times they have what it takes to take down the big dogs of the NFC, yet flounder against the worst of the league. It’s a very confusing team, which is why something like winning the division wouldn’t be too out of the ordinary.

NFC 5 Seed: Seattle Seahawks

The Hawks are one of the league’s premium teams. They’ve got a fear mongering defense and a high powered offense, and there’s talent all around at key positions. You hope that Sam Darnold won’t implode again like he did against the Rams, but he’s mostly been on point throughout this year. The biggest issue that Seattle has is that they’re in the same division as the Rams. Both are the cream of the crop of the league, and the division title can go to anyone, but for this prediction the Seahawks will have to settle with the wild card spot.

NFC 6 Seed: Chicago Bears

Fans of Chicago are experiencing one of their best seasons in recent memory. However, with a chance at getting the first seed, it’s almost disappointing to imagine that Chicago may end up being a wild card team. Of course, with how much of a bloodbath the NFC is this year, making it to the playoffs in the first year of the Ben Johnson era is a huge success. Chicago’s got some tough matchups on the way, which is why a wild card berth feels most likely. Then again, who knows what Ben Johnson might have under his sleeve that could change the course of any given game.

NFC 7 Seed: San Francisco 49ers

Kyle Shanahan and Robert Saleh are coaching their tails off. The amount of injuries at key positions for San Francisco has been abundant, and yet they sit comfortably at 9-4. Brock Purdy is coming back to form, the offense is clicking and the defense is pulling above its weight. Overall, in a competitive NFC, the Niners are fairing very well. Their bad injury luck will probably catch up to them, but if they do sneak into the playoffs, it’ll be one heck of a feat.