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who are in the nfl playoffs

Right now the NFL playoff field is not fully locked, but several teams have clinched spots and others are in strong position based on late‑December standings for the 2025 season.

Teams that have clinched so far

As of late Week 16–17, these teams are already in the 2025–26 NFL playoffs, either by clinching their division or at least a wild‑card berth.

AFC

  • Denver Broncos.
  • New England Patriots.
  • Jacksonville Jaguars.
  • Los Angeles Chargers.
  • Buffalo Bills.

Some “playoff picture” trackers also list Houston Texans as currently in a playoff spot or on the verge of clinching, depending on remaining games and tiebreakers.

NFC

  • Los Angeles Rams.
  • Seattle Seahawks.
  • Philadelphia Eagles (have clinched the NFC East title).
  • Chicago Bears.
  • San Francisco 49ers.
  • Green Bay Packers.

These teams are effectively “who are in the NFL playoffs” right now, with remaining spots determined by final‑week results and tiebreakers.

Simple AFC/NFC snapshot (HTML table)

html

<table>
  <thead>
    <tr>
      <th>Conference</th>
      <th>Team</th>
      <th>Playoff status (late Dec 2025)</th>
    </tr>
  </thead>
  <tbody>
    <tr>
      <td>AFC</td>
      <td>Denver Broncos</td>
      <td>Clinched playoff berth, top AFC seed contender [web:1][web:3]</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>AFC</td>
      <td>New England Patriots</td>
      <td>Clinched playoff berth [web:1][web:3]</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>AFC</td>
      <td>Jacksonville Jaguars</td>
      <td>Clinched playoff berth, division favorite [web:1][web:3]</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>AFC</td>
      <td>Los Angeles Chargers</td>
      <td>Clinched playoff berth (wild card or seeding race) [web:1][web:3]</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>AFC</td>
      <td>Buffalo Bills</td>
      <td>Clinched playoff berth, strong wild card/seed [web:1][web:3]</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>NFC</td>
      <td>Los Angeles Rams</td>
      <td>Clinched playoff berth [web:1][web:3]</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>NFC</td>
      <td>Seattle Seahawks</td>
      <td>Clinched playoff berth, competing for top NFC seed [web:1][web:3]</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>NFC</td>
      <td>Philadelphia Eagles</td>
      <td>NFC East champions, clinched playoff spot [web:1][web:3]</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>NFC</td>
      <td>Chicago Bears</td>
      <td>Clinched playoff berth [web:1][web:3]</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>NFC</td>
      <td>San Francisco 49ers</td>
      <td>Clinched playoff berth [web:1][web:3]</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>NFC</td>
      <td>Green Bay Packers</td>
      <td>Clinched playoff berth (wild card contender) [web:1][web:3]</td>
    </tr>
  </tbody>
</table>

“Picture” vs finalized bracket

  • The official bracket is only final after Week 18, once seeds and tiebreakers are locked in.
  • Right now, playoff “picture” pages and forum threads talk in terms of “clinched, in the hunt, eliminated” rather than a finished bracket.

Forum and trending talk

NFL forums and YouTube shows are heavily focused on:

  • Which AFC team between the Broncos, Patriots, Jaguars, Chargers, and Bills feels most dangerous in January.
  • Whether the NFC gauntlet of Rams, Seahawks, 49ers, Eagles, Bears, and Packers is deeper than the AFC this year.
  • Bubble teams and “who’s in/who’s out” scenarios changing with every primetime result.

Bottom note: Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.