Patrick Mahomes’ Chiefs are also a candidate, with the superstar QB eyeing a Week 1 return from an ACL injury, while the Cowboys are one of the most popular teams in the sport despite being decades away from their last moment of glory.

The Jaguars clinched the AFC South by besting the Titans in Week 18. They remain in the hunt for the No. 1 seed, although they'll need the Broncos and Patriots to lose their matchups to have a shot at the top spot. The Steelers clinched the AFC North and the final playoff spot by beating the Ravens in Week 18.

The 2025-26 NFL regular season will officially wrap up on Sunday, January 4, with the final two playoff spots on the line. The NFC South will be determined by a game that wouldn't even include the division winner because of a tiebreaker,

Heading into Sunday of the NFL's Week 17, the playoff picture was coming into fuller, if still fuzzy, view. There was only one playoff spot available in each conference, by virtue of the AFC North and NFC South divisional titles still being up for grabs.

Here is an updated look at the standings, bracket and matchups for the 2026 NFL playoffs for both the AFC and NFC.

Which NFL teams have the best chances of winning their games on the NFL playoff schedule for the wild-card round? ESPN Analytics has revealed its Matchup Predictor numbers for the six NFL postseason games this week,