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NFL Week 12 picks: Consider Browns, Vikings and Eagles<\/p>\n
Lorenzo Reyes went 2-1 with his picks last week and he’s ready to carry that energy over to Week 12’s slate.<\/p>\n
The Denver Broncos and Philadelphia Eagles currently hold the top seeds in the AFC and NFC, respectively.Several teams, including the Houston Texans and Detroit Lions, are just outside the current playoff bracket but remain in contention.<\/p>\n
Every week for the duration of the\u00a02025 regular season<\/a>,\u00a0USA TODAY Sports<\/a>\u00a0will provide timely updates to the NFL<\/a>‘s ever-evolving playoff picture \u2212 typically starting after Sunday afternoon’s late games and then moving forward for the remainder of the week (through Monday’s and Thursday’s games or Saturday’s, if applicable. And, when the holidays roll around, we’ll be watching then, too).<\/p>\n What just happened? What does it mean? What are the pertinent factors (and, perhaps, tiebreakers) prominently in play as each conference’s seven-team bracket begins to crystallize? All will be explained and analyzed up to the point when the postseason field is finalized on Sunday, Jan. 4.<\/p>\n Here’s where things stand with\u00a0Week 12<\/a>\u00a0underway:<\/p>\n AFC playoff picture<\/p>\n 1.\u00a0Denver Broncos<\/a>\u00a0(9-2), AFC West leaders:\u00a0Sunday’s win over Kansas City gave them a chokehold<\/a>\u00a0on the AFC West throne the Chiefs have sat upon since 2016. It also moved the Broncos<\/a> past the Patriots for the conference’s top spot \u2212 Denver’s record in AFC games (6-2) currently a half-game better than New England’s. A week off is nice … but it could also drop the Broncos back to the third seed due to their Week 2 loss at Indianapolis.\u00a0Remaining schedule: BYE, at Commanders<\/a>, at Raiders, vs. Packers, vs. Jaguars<\/a>, at Chiefs, vs. Chargers<\/p>\n 2.\u00a0New England Patriots<\/a>\u00a0(9-2), AFC East leaders:\u00a0Win at Cincinnati on Sunday, and the Pats become the first team to 10 wins this season and would reclaim first place in the conference. They’re in prime position to win the division for the first time since Tom Brady led them to first place in 2019 and maybe their first No. 1 playoff seed since 2017.\u00a0Remaining schedule: at Bengals<\/a>, vs. Giants<\/a>, BYE, vs. Bills<\/a>, at Ravens<\/a>, at Jets, vs. Dolphins<\/a><\/p>\n 3.\u00a0Indianapolis Colts<\/a>\u00a0(8-2), AFC South leaders:\u00a0The schedule was Charmin soft before their bye, but you can’t control whom you play. The second-half lineup, starting at Arrowhead, seems much less forgiving.\u00a0So, too, are the Texans<\/a>, who are mounting a fresh divisional charge. Remaining schedule: at Chiefs, vs. Texans, at Jaguars, at Seahawks<\/a>, vs. 49ers, vs. Jaguars, at Texans<\/p>\n 4.\u00a0Pittsburgh Steelers<\/a>\u00a0(6-4), AFC North leaders:\u00a0Only one game up on Baltimore for the division lead, which only means a 41% chance the Steelers reach postseason, per Next Gen Stats.\u00a0Remaining schedule: at Bears<\/a>, vs. Bills, at Ravens, vs. Dolphins, at Lions<\/a>, at Browns<\/a>, vs. Ravens<\/p>\n 5.\u00a0Los Angeles Chargers<\/a>\u00a0(7-4), wild card No. 1:\u00a0The week off arrives right on time for a literally battered team that was figuratively bludgeoned its last time out. Buffalo’s loss Thursday moved Bolts up a spot. Remaining schedule: BYE, vs. Raiders, vs. Eagles, at Chiefs, at Cowboys, vs. Texans, at Broncos<\/p>\n 6.\u00a0Buffalo Bills<\/a>\u00a0(7-4), wild card No. 2: QB Josh Allen took a beating<\/a> \u2212 as did the Bills’ hopes of catching the Patriots in the AFC East race. Now 4-3 in conference games, Buffalo fell behind the Chargers in the wild-card seeding, too. Remaining schedule: at Steelers, vs. Bengals, at Patriots, at Browns, vs. Eagles, vs. Jets<\/p>\n 7.\u00a0Jacksonville Jaguars<\/a>\u00a0(6-4), wild card No. 3:\u00a0Wins over the Chiefs and Chargers could serve them well when it’s time to sort out tiebreakers. Winning at Arizona? Not so much … though the Jags can’t afford many slip-ups, either. Lose on Sunday, and the Texans displace Jacksonville as the No. 7 seed. Remaining schedule: at Cardinals, at Titans, vs. Colts, vs. Jets, at Broncos, vs. Colts, at Titans<\/p>\n 8.\u00a0Houston Texans<\/a>\u00a0(6-5), in the hunt:\u00a0They’ve won four of five, including three in a row without injured QB C.J. Stroud. If they want to win the AFC South for a third straight year, the Texans likely need to sweep the Colts while continuing their surge … but the pieces are falling into place for a late charge to the top.\u00a0Remaining schedule: at Colts, at Chiefs, vs. Cardinals, vs. Raiders, at Chargers, vs. Colts<\/p>\n 9.\u00a0Kansas City Chiefs<\/a>\u00a0(5-5), in the hunt:\u00a0Their nine-year run atop the AFC West appears practically over following\u00a0their loss in Denver<\/a>. Still plenty of time to recover otherwise for a team that’s never missed the AFC championship game since Patrick Mahomes became the QB1 in 2018.\u00a0Remaining schedule: vs. Colts, at Cowboys, vs. Texans, vs. Chargers, at Titans, vs. Broncos, at Raiders<\/p>\n 10.\u00a0Baltimore Ravens<\/a>\u00a0(5-5), in the hunt:\u00a0They’ve won four in a row in their return to relevance. But their best hope to reach the postseason is to win a third consecutive AFC North crown given they’ve already lost to K.C. and Houston. Their upcoming three-game homestand seems … sweepable?\u00a0Remaining schedule: vs. Jets, vs. Bengals, vs. Steelers, at Bengals, vs. Patriots, at Packers, at Steelers<\/p>\n NFC playoff picture<\/p>\n 1.\u00a0Philadelphia Eagles<\/a>\u00a0(8-2), NFC East leaders:\u00a0Win at Dallas on Sunday, and they’re virtually assured of being the division’s first back-to-back champs in 21 years \u2212 the Eagles last doing it in 2004. A Week 3 escape from the Rams, which included a blocked field goal returned for a TD on the final play, currently confers the No. 1 seed to Philly.\u00a0Remaining schedule: at Cowboys, vs. Bears, at Chargers, vs. Raiders, at Commanders, at Bills, vs. Commanders<\/p>\n 2.\u00a0Los Angeles Rams<\/a>\u00a0(8-2), NFC West leaders:\u00a0While they’re a tiebreaker back of Philly, the Rams also have scant breathing room between themselves and the Seahawks, whom they survived Sunday, and the 49ers in the division. LA plays as many NFC South teams as NFC West rivals down the stretch.\u00a0Remaining schedule: vs. Buccaneers<\/a>, at Panthers<\/a>, at Cardinals, vs. Lions, at Seahawks, at Falcons, vs. Cardinals<\/p>\n 3.\u00a0Chicago Bears<\/a>\u00a0(7-3), NFC North leaders:\u00a0They’ve won seven of eight since an 0-2 start to stunningly take over first place in the division. Up next? Numerous opportunities to beat their first opponent currently with a winning record.\u00a0Remaining schedule: vs. Steelers, at Eagles, at Packers, vs. Browns, vs. Packers, at 49ers, vs. Lions<\/p>\n 4.\u00a0Tampa Bay Buccaneers<\/a>\u00a0(6-4), NFC South leaders:\u00a0Their divisional lead is down to a half game over Carolina, but the Bucs’ schedule will get quite manageable on the other side of “Sunday Night Football.”\u00a0Remaining schedule: at Rams, vs. Cardinals, vs. Saints<\/a>, vs. Falcons, at Panthers, at Dolphins, vs. Panthers<\/p>\n 5.\u00a0Seattle Seahawks<\/a>\u00a0(7-3),\u00a0wild card No.\u00a01:\u00a0All three of the ‘Hawks’ losses are against NFC opponents, including two in the division \u2212 defeats that won’t serve them well in the tiebreaker department.\u00a0Remaining schedule: at Titans, vs. Vikings, at Falcons, vs. Colts, vs. Rams, at Panthers, at 49ers<\/p>\n 6.\u00a0Green Bay Packers<\/a>\u00a0(6-3-1),\u00a0wild card No. 2:\u00a0They got awfully banged up in Sunday’s victory over the Giants yet eventually advanced one rung in the NFC seedings.\u00a0Remaining schedule: vs. Vikings, at Lions, vs. Bears, at Broncos, at Bears, vs. Ravens, at Vikings<\/p>\n 7.\u00a0San Francisco 49ers<\/a>\u00a0(7-4), wild card No. 3:\u00a0Detroit’s latest setback moves a third NFC West team into the projected seven-team NFC playoff field. And maybe the Niners can start building some momentum with QB1 Brock Purdy back in the lineup. Monday night’s game against Carolina comes with high stakes.\u00a0Remaining schedule: vs. Panthers, at Browns, BYE, vs. Titans, at Colts, vs. Bears, vs. Seahawks<\/p>\n 8.\u00a0Detroit Lions<\/a>\u00a0(6-4),\u00a0in the hunt:\u00a0The offense crashed back to earth Sunday night in Philly as Detroit crashed out of the playoff picture … for now. Had they won in Philly, the Lions would have been the No. 2 seed \u2212 illustrative of how tightly packed the conference currently is.\u00a0Remaining schedule: vs. Giants, vs. Packers, vs. Cowboys, at Rams, vs. Steelers, at Vikings, at Bears<\/p>\n 9.\u00a0Carolina Panthers<\/a>\u00a0(6-5), in the hunt:\u00a0In addition to breathing downs the Bucs’ backs, they’re only a game back of the Niners for the final wild-card spot in the NFC.\u00a0Winners of six of nine, the Panthers only have one win against a team (Green Bay) currently above .500. Remaining schedule: at 49ers, vs. Rams, BYE, at Saints, vs. Buccaneers, vs. Seahawks, at Buccaneers<\/p>\n 10.\u00a0Dallas Cowboys<\/a>\u00a0(4-5-1), in the hunt:\u00a0Monday’s mauling of the Raiders\u00a0gave this team a needed lift<\/a>, both emotionally and in the standings \u2212 Dallas moving back into the playoff periphery … but it could have a tough time remaining there given the lineup it’s about to face.\u00a0Remaining schedule: vs. Eagles, vs. Chiefs, at Lions, vs. Vikings, vs. Chargers, at Commanders, at Giants<\/p>\n NFL teams eliminated from playoff contention in 2025<\/p>\n \u25b6 None<\/p>\n