NFL Playoff Picture - Week 14: Postseason seeds, projected draft order

NFL Playoff Picture is a weekly look at the teams jockeying to secure their shot to make it to Super Bowl LVII.

AFC

The Buffalo Bills, Kansas City Chiefs, and Baltimore Ravens all won Sunday to keep their spots as the AFC's top three seeds. Baltimore earned the more impressive victory, edging the Pittsburgh Steelers on the road despite playing without an injured Lamar Jackson. The Ravens also saw Tyler Huntley, who started at quarterback in place of Jackson, enter concussion protocol midway through the contest. However, the club still found a way to beat its division rivals thanks to a big game from J.K. Dobbins.

With a 36-22 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars, the Tennessee Titans have now suffered three straight defeats for the first time since head coach Mike Vrabel's first year with the team in 2018. Tennessee, the AFC's No. 1 seed last year, still holds a comfortable lead for the AFC South's top spot but has shown flaws on both sides of the ball over the last month.

The Bills got their revenge Sunday against the New York Jets, who dropped out of the postseason picture this week after the Los Angeles Chargers beat the Miami Dolphins on Sunday night. The New England Patriots can still jump ahead of the Chargers in the standings if they beat the Arizona Cardinals on Monday.

In the hunt

Multiple teams entered Week 14 just two games below .500 and hoping to slide into the playoff picture in the season's final stretch. But this week wasn't kind to those clubs. That includes the Las Vegas Raiders, who suffered a stunning loss to the Los Angeles Rams on Thursday in Baker Mayfield's debut with L.A.

NFC

x = clinched playoff berth
y = clinched division title
z = clinched first-round bye

Another day, another dominant win for the Philadelphia Eagles, who blew out the New York Giants to become the first team to clinch a playoff berth this season. Philly also kept a two-game lead over the Dallas Cowboys in the NFC East. Dallas avoided a scare from the one-win Houston Texans on Sunday to keep the division title within striking distance. The Eagles and Cowboys will face off for the second time in 2022 in Week 16.

The NFC East will also feature another crucial head-to-head matchup in Week 15, as the Washington Commanders host the Giants in their second meeting in three weeks. The clubs settled for a 20-20 tie two weeks ago. Washington is now coming off a bye, while New York hasn't won its last four games and has earned only one victory in its previous six appearances.

The San Francisco 49ers trounced the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and have reasons to celebrate. Rookie quarterback Brock Purdy accounted for three touchdowns in his first career start Sunday, and Deebo Samuel reportedly avoided a major injury. The Niners also extended their lead over the Seattle Seahawks in the NFC West after Seattle suffered a surprising home loss to the Carolina Panthers.

In the hunt

Can the Detroit Lions make a run? Not only have Seattle and New York struggled lately, but Detroit is 5-1 in its last six appearances. The Lions would likely need to win their remaining four games to have a realistic shot at making the playoffs, but we shouldn't count them out given how they've played over the past few weeks.

But the same can't be said about the Seahawks. They've lost three of their last four contests and have tough games coming up against the 49ers, Chiefs, and Jets.

Few predicted the Carolina Panthers and Atlanta Falcons would be in the hunt for a postseason berth after 14 weeks, but here they are. While a wild-card spot seems like a long shot for both, only one game separates the division-leading Bucs from the Panthers, who beat Tampa early this campaign. The Buccaneers still have a 73% chance of winning the NFC South, according to FiveThirtyEight.

Projected NFL draft order