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NFL Week 12 overreactions: Chiefs stay alive, Cowboys shock Eagles<\/p>\n
USA TODAY Sports’ Prince Grimes ‘overreacts’ to some of the best games from Sunday’s Week 12 slate.<\/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>\u00a0complete:<\/p>\n AFC playoff picture<\/p>\n 1.\u00a0New England Patriots<\/a>\u00a0(10-2), AFC East leaders:\u00a0Sunday’s narrow defeat of the Bengals<\/a> gave the Pats the league’s best record, moving them past Denver and into the conference’s top spot. Good chance they hold onto it when they hit their off week. Remaining schedule: vs. Giants<\/a>, BYE, vs. Bills<\/a>, at Ravens<\/a>, at Jets, vs. Dolphins<\/a><\/p>\n 2.\u00a0Denver Broncos<\/a>\u00a0(9-2), AFC West leaders:\u00a0Being idle Sunday cost them first place in the conference, but you can bet the break was welcome \u2212 especially for a team that will need to be close to fully charged for a brutal four-game stretch at the end of its regular season. Remaining schedule: at Commanders<\/a>, at Raiders, vs. Packers<\/a>, vs. Jaguars<\/a>, at Chiefs, vs. Chargers<\/p>\n 3.\u00a0Indianapolis Colts<\/a>\u00a0(8-3), AFC South leaders:\u00a0They’ve dropped two of three to fall off the conference pace … and are now only one game ahead of Jacksonville and two better than Houston in the division. The next two weeks could be crucial. Remaining schedule: vs. Texans<\/a>, at Jaguars, at Seahawks<\/a>, vs. 49ers, vs. Jaguars, at Texans<\/p>\n 4.\u00a0Baltimore Ravens<\/a>\u00a0(6-5), AFC North leaders:\u00a0They sleepwalked past the Jets on Sunday … but past Pittsburgh and into first place by virtue of a better record in divisional games \u2212 and the Ravens will play in three more over the next three weeks.\u00a0Remaining schedule: vs. Bengals, vs. Steelers, at Bengals, vs. Patriots, at Packers, at Steelers<\/p>\n 5.\u00a0Los Angeles Chargers<\/a>\u00a0(7-4), wild card No. 1:\u00a0They needed the week off … and Buffalo’s loss allowed the battered Bolts to gain ground. Remaining schedule: vs. Raiders, vs. Eagles, at Chiefs, at Cowboys, vs. Texans, at Broncos<\/a><\/p>\n 6.\u00a0Jacksonville Jaguars<\/a>\u00a0(7-4), wild card No. 2:\u00a0Wins over the Chiefs and Chargers could serve them well when it’s time to sort out tiebreakers. Winning at Arizona? Not so much. But despite beating the Bolts, the Jags check in behind them because LA’s 6-2 record in AFC games gives it precedence in the current three-way wild-card tiebreaker. Remaining schedule: at Titans, vs. Colts, vs. Jets, at Broncos, vs. Colts, at Titans<\/p>\n 7.\u00a0Buffalo Bills<\/a>\u00a0(7-4), wild card No. 3: 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 and Jags in the wild-card seeding, too. Remaining schedule: at Steelers, vs. Bengals, at Patriots, at Browns<\/a>, vs. Eagles, vs. Jets<\/p>\n 8.\u00a0Pittsburgh Steelers<\/a>\u00a0(6-5), in the hunt:\u00a0Sunday’s loss at Chicago<\/a> dropped them from first place in the AFC North all the way out of the field. Remaining schedule: vs. Bills, at Ravens, vs. Dolphins, at Lions<\/a>, at Browns, vs. Ravens<\/p>\n 9.\u00a0Houston Texans<\/a>\u00a0(6-5), in the hunt:\u00a0They’ve won four of five, including three in a row<\/a> 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 10.\u00a0Kansas City Chiefs<\/a>\u00a0(6-5), in the hunt:\u00a0Their nine-year run atop the AFC West appears practically over. Still plenty of time to recover otherwise \u2212 and maybe that began Sunday vs. Indy<\/a> \u2212 for a team that’s never missed the AFC championship game since Patrick Mahomes became the QB1 in 2018.\u00a0Remaining schedule: at Cowboys, vs. Texans, vs. Chargers, at Titans, vs. Broncos, at Raiders<\/p>\n NFC playoff picture<\/p>\n 1.\u00a0Los Angeles Rams<\/a>\u00a0(9-2), NFC West leaders:\u00a0While Philly owns the head-to-head tiebreaker, it doesn’t matter now that the Rams have the better record in the aftermath of the Eagles’ demise Sunday<\/a>. Still, LA has scant breathing room between itself and the Seahawks plus 49ers in the division. Remaining schedule: at Panthers<\/a>, at Cardinals, vs. Lions, at Seahawks, at Falcons, vs. Cardinals<\/p>\n 2.\u00a0Philadelphia Eagles<\/a>\u00a0(8-3), NFC East leaders:\u00a0Sunday’s collapse likely won’t cost them the division. But it did drop them behind the Rams and served as another worrisome potential harbinger for the defending champs.\u00a0Remaining schedule: vs. Bears<\/a>, at Chargers, vs. Raiders, at Commanders, at Bills, vs. Commanders<\/p>\n 3.\u00a0Chicago Bears<\/a>\u00a0(8-3), NFC North leaders:\u00a0They’ve won eight of nine since an 0-2 start to stunningly take over first place in the division. An inferior record (5-2) in NFC games keeps Chicago behind the Eagles. Remaining schedule: at Eagles, at Packers, vs. Browns, vs. Packers, at 49ers, vs. Lions<\/p>\n 4.\u00a0Tampa Bay Buccaneers<\/a>\u00a0(6-5), NFC South leaders:\u00a0Their divisional lead over Carolina was restored Monday night, but it might not be worth much if injured QB Baker Mayfield is severely limited. Remaining schedule: vs. Cardinals, vs. Saints<\/a>, vs. Falcons, at Panthers, at Dolphins, vs. Panthers<\/p>\n 5.\u00a0Seattle Seahawks<\/a>\u00a0(8-3),\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: vs. Vikings<\/a>, at Falcons, vs. Colts, vs. Rams, at Panthers, at 49ers<\/p>\n 6.\u00a0Green Bay Packers<\/a>\u00a0(7-3-1),\u00a0wild card No. 2:\u00a0Sunday’s win over Minnesota was their most convincing in weeks. But there’s little time to celebrate with a Thanksgiving date at Detroit next. Remaining schedule: at Lions, vs. Bears, at Broncos, at Bears, vs. Ravens, at Vikings<\/p>\n 7.\u00a0San Francisco 49ers<\/a>\u00a0(8-4), wild card No. 3:\u00a0Not a pretty win Monday night, but the Niners will take it as they solidify their hold on the conference’s final playoff spot.\u00a0Remaining schedule: at Browns, BYE, vs. Titans, at Colts, vs. Bears, vs. Seahawks<\/p>\n 8.\u00a0Detroit Lions<\/a>\u00a0(7-4),\u00a0in the hunt:\u00a0Thanksgiving will be a huge game and won the Lions’ can ill afford to lose after getting whacked by the Pack in Week 1. Remaining schedule: vs. Packers, vs. Cowboys, at Rams, vs. Steelers, at Vikings, at Bears<\/p>\n 9.\u00a0Carolina Panthers<\/a>\u00a0(6-6), in the hunt:\u00a0The Panthers (still) only have one win against a team (Green Bay) currently above .500 after losing in Silicon Valley on Monday night. But Carolina has beaten the .500 Cowboys, who they’re otherwise virtually tied with. Remaining schedule: vs. Rams, BYE, at Saints, vs. Buccaneers<\/a>, vs. Seahawks, at Buccaneers<\/p>\n 10.\u00a0Dallas Cowboys<\/a>\u00a0(5-5-1), in the hunt:\u00a0Two wins in a row continues to fuel fresh postseason hope in Big D.\u00a0Remaining schedule: 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 New York Giants<\/a><\/p>\n