The last week of the NFL regular season always brings us a lot of drama, and this year was no different.
The Packers had a chance to earn the NFL’s final playoff berth with a win over the Lions Sunday night, but Detroit was able to pull off a monstrous 20-16 excitement, meaning Aaron Rodgers and the Packers are now in contention this postseason will be sitting at home.
With the Lions’ victory, seventh place in the NFC finally went to the Seahawks, who kept their playoff hopes alive with one of the wildest wins of the day early in the afternoon. With just three minutes left in the fourth quarter, the Seahawks were trailing 16-13 and close to being eliminated from the playoffs, but they managed to force an overtime in which Jason Myers scored a game-winning field goal from 32 yards to give Seattle a 19-16 victory.
In the early stages of the games, the Dolphins were the biggest winner after sneaking into the playoffs by stealing seventh place in the AFC from the Patriots.
To get into the postseason, the Dolphins needed a win over the Jets and a loss to New England, who were playing the Bills. The Dolphins had their hands full with the Jets but came away with an 11-6 win after Jason Sanders hit a 50-yard field goal with just 18 seconds left (Miami also secured the last game) . , which brought it to 11 points). The win over the Jets marked the first time Miami had won a game without scoring a touchdown since 2003.
The Dolphins officially redeemed their ticket to the postseason after the Bills defeated the Patriots 35-23, a win in large part due to two kickoff return touchdowns by Nyheim Hines. Buffalo’s victory means a neutral AFC championship is still in play, and that’s what will happen when the Bills and Chiefs meet in the AFC title game.
One thing that won’t happen is a coin toss to determine where the Bengals and Ravens will play in the wild card round. Although these two teams will play next week, the game will officially take place in Cincinnati thanks to the Bengals’ 27-16 win over Baltimore.
With that in mind, here’s a look at the playoff standings.
AFC Playoff Ranking
ELIMINATED
Steelers (9-8): The Steelers clinched a win in Week 18, but to make the playoffs the Dolphins had to lose to the Jets, and that didn’t happen. The only upside for Mike Tomlin is that his streak of consecutive seasons ending above .500 will increase to 16 straight.
Patriots (8-9): All the Patriots had to do to get into the playoffs was beat Buffalo on Sunday, but they couldn’t do that, meaning they’ll be sitting at home for the postseason.
Titans (7-10): The Titans could have gotten into the playoffs with a win over Jacksonville, but they were officially eliminated on Saturday night after losing to the Jaguars.
NFC Playoff Rankings
ELIMINATED
Lions (9-8): To stay in the playoffs, the Lions needed the Rams to beat the Seahawks, but that didn’t happen, meaning the Lions have no way into the postseason. However, the Lions picked up a small consolation prize by knocking the Packers out of the playoffs with a win Sunday night. The win means the Lions will now finish with a winning record for the first time since 2017.
Packers (8-9): All the Packers had to do to get into the playoffs was beat the Lions on Sunday night, but they didn’t make it. The Lions stunned the Packers 20-16, and now Green Bay will spend the postseason at home.
Matchups in wild card rounds
AFC
- (7) Dolphins at (2) Bills, Sunday, 1 p.m. ET, CBS
- (6) Ravens at (3) Bengals, Sunday 8:15 p.m. ET, NBC
- (5) Chargers at (4) Jaguars, Saturday 8:15 p.m. ET, NBC
Bye: (1) Bosses
NFC
- (7) Seahawks at (2) 49ers, Saturday, 4:30 p.m. ET, Fox
- (6) Giants at (3) Vikings, Sunday, 4:30 p.m. ET, Fox
- (5) Cowboys at (4) Buccaneers, Monday 8:15 p.m. ET, ESPN
bye: (1) Eagle