NFL standings, Week 16: Chiefs clinch the AFC’s sole bye

Here’s a full look at this week’s NFL standings after the Chiefs clinched the AFC’s only bye.

Sixteen weeks into the NFL season, the Kansas City Chiefs have officially clinched the AFC’s sole bye week by defeating the Atlanta Falcons. This win moved the Chiefs to a 14-1 record, securing their place in front of the 12-3 Buffalo Bills and Pittsburgh Steelers.

Securing this spot was not a cake walk for the Chiefs, who have now won their last seven games by a margin of less than a touchdown. This time, it took a bit of luck for the Chiefs to pull off their narrow victory over the Falcons.

After a scoreless first quarter, the Chiefs drove into the Falcons’ redzone, but a trick play cost them points. On fourth-and-one, the Chiefs went for it with a trick play involving running back Darrel Williams, wide receiver Sammy Watkins, and quarterback Patrick Mahomes. The play resulted in Watkins throwing an interception while trying to complete a deep pass to Mahomes.

While this play ended up losing the Falcons yards as the interception came on fourth down, it didn’t matter. The Falcons drove down the field to score the game’s first points and take a 7-0 lead. The Chiefs tied it up later in the quarter and then neither team scored until the fourth quarter.

Mahomes, who finished his poor day going 24/44 for 278 yards, 2 touchdowns, and 1 interception, led the Chiefs to score 10 points in the fourth quarter, including a late comeback drive. With the Chiefs leading 17-14 and with little time left on the clock, the Falcons drove down the field and were in position to kick a game-tying field goal. However, Falcons kicker Younghoe Koo gave the Chiefs a late Christmas present as he missed a 39-yard field goal, ending the game 17-14 instead of sending it into overtime.

With the bye week wrapped up, the Chiefs now have a chance to rest their starters next week and try to get healthy for the playoffs.

The current playoff picture for the AFC looks like this:

1. Kansas City Chiefs 14-1-0
2. Buffalo Bills 12-3-0
3. Pittsburgh Steelers 12-3-0
4. Tennessee Titans 10-5-0
5. Miami Dolphins 10-5-0
6. Baltimore Ravens 10-5-0
7. Cleveland Browns 10-5-0

While the first three seeds can rest easy going into the final week of the regular season, the four remaining seeds are up for grabs. There are five teams tied with a 10-5 record, with the Indianapolis Colts currently missing the playoffs due to tiebreakers. Week 17 becomes make or break for these five teams, as one of these teams will come up just short of the playoffs.

The Las Vegas Raiders were officially eliminated this week as thy lost to the Dolphins. This makes two consecutive years that the Raiders started out 6-4 only to lose to the Chiefs and crumble over their next four games to a 7-4 record to miss the playoffs.

The playoff picture for the NFC looks like this:

1. Green Bay Packers 12-3-0
2. New Orleans Saints 11-4-0
3. Seattle Seahawks 11-4-0
4. Washington Football Team 6-9-0
5. Tampa Bay Buccaneers 10-5-0
6. Los Angeles Rams 9-6-0
7. Chicago Bears 8-7-0

With the Arizona Cardinals losing this week, they lost control of their destiny to the Chicago Bears who now just have to win their final game against the Green Bay Packers to reach the playoffs. The Washington Football Team, Dallas Cowboys, and New York Giants are also all battling it out this week to see who makes the playoffs out of the NFC East.

Here’s a look at the full NFL standings:

x – denotes teams that have clinched a playoff berth

z – denotes teams that have clinched their division

AFC East

1. Buffalo Bills 12-3-0 (z)
2. Miami Dolphins 10-5-0
3. New England Patriots 6-9-0
4. New York Jets 2-13-0

AFC West

1. Kansas City Chiefs 14-1-0 (z)
2. Las Vegas Raiders 7-8-0
3. Los Angles Chargers 6-9-0
4. Denver Broncos 5-10-0

AFC North

1. Pittsburgh Steelers 12-3-0 (z)
2. Baltimore Ravens 10-5-0
3. Cleveland Browns 10-5-0
4. Cincinnati Bengals 4-10-1

AFC South

1. Tennessee Titans 10-5-0
2. Indianapolis Colts 10-5-0
3. Houston Texans 4-11-0
4. Jacksonville Jaguars 1-14-0

NFC East

1. Washington Football Team 6-9-0
2. Dallas Cowboys 6-9-0
3. New York Giants 5-10-0
4. Philadelphia eagles 4-10-1

NFC West

1. Seattle Seahawks 11-4-0 (z)
2. Los Angeles Rams 9-6-0
3. Arizona Cardinals 8-7-0
4. San Francisco 49ers 6-9-0

NFC North

1. Green Bay Packers 12-3-0 (z)
2. Chicago Bears 8-7-0
3. Minnesota Vikings 6-9-0
4. Detroit Lions 5-10-0

NFC South

1. New Orleans Saints 11-4-0 (z)
2. Tampa Bay Buccaneers 10-5-0 (x)
3. Carolina Panthers 5-10-0
4. Atlanta Falcons 4-11-0