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Week 13\u2019s best waiver wire pickups you should grab now<\/p>\n
USA TODAY Sports’ Jacob Camenker breaks down the best waiver wire adds for Week 13.<\/p>\n
Every week for the duration of the\u00a02025 regular season<\/a>,\u00a0USA TODAY Sports<\/a>\u00a0will provide timely updates to the\u00a0NFL<\/a>‘s ever-evolving playoff picture \u2212 typically starting Sunday afternoon 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 13<\/a>\u00a0underway:<\/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.\u00a0Remaining 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 during Week 12 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.\u00a0Remaining 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 their past 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 intra-divisional matchups should be crucial.\u00a0Remaining schedule: vs. Texans<\/a>, at Jaguars, at Seahawks<\/a>, vs. 49ers, vs. Jaguars, at Texans<\/p>\n 4.\u00a0Pittsburgh Steelers<\/a>\u00a0(6-5), AFC North leaders:\u00a0Baltimore’s Thanksgiving loss restores them to first place. A win over Buffalo on Sunday would help a lot more. Remaining schedule: 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:\u00a0They needed last week off … and Buffalo’s loss granted the battered Bolts improved positioning.\u00a0Remaining 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. Despite beating the Bolts in Week 11, 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.\u00a0Remaining 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:\u00a0QB Josh Allen took a beating<\/a>\u00a0\u2212 as did the Bills’ hopes of catching the Patriots in the AFC East race in last week’s loss to Houston. Now 4-3 in conference games, Buffalo sits behind the Chargers and Jags in the wild-card seeding.\u00a0Remaining schedule: at Steelers, vs. Bengals, at Patriots, at Browns, vs. Eagles, vs. Jets<\/p>\n 8.\u00a0Houston Texans<\/a>\u00a0(6-5), in the hunt:\u00a0They’ve won four of five, including three in a row<\/a>\u00a0without 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(6-6), in the hunt:\u00a0Not only will they almost certainly not win the AFC West for the first time since 2015, they could well miss the postseason for the first time since 2014 \u2212 Andy Reid’s second year in K.C. And don’t forget they’ve lost to the Broncos, Chargers, Bills and Jags, who are all ahead of them. Remaining schedule: vs. Texans, vs. Chargers, at Titans, vs. Broncos, at Raiders<\/p>\n 10.\u00a0Baltimore Ravens<\/a>\u00a0(6-6), in the hunt:\u00a0A sloppy performance against the Bengals cost them first place in the AFC North and a slot in the projected playoff field. Unlike several other squads, the Ravens are also on the wrong side of a head-to-head tiebreaker with Kansas City.\u00a0Remaining schedule: vs. Steelers, at Bengals, vs. Patriots, at Packers, at Steelers<\/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\u00a0aftermath of the Eagles’ demise in Week 12<\/a>. Still, LA has scant breathing room between itself and the Seahawks plus 49ers in the division.\u00a0Remaining schedule: at Panthers<\/a>, at Cardinals, vs. Lions, at Seahawks, at Falcons, vs. Cardinals<\/p>\n 2.\u00a0Chicago Bears<\/a>\u00a0(9-3), NFC North leaders:\u00a0With back-to-back victories over winning adversaries, they’re not only alone in second place in the conference but now a threat for home-field advantage and a first-round bye.\u00a0Remaining schedule: at Packers, vs. Browns, vs. Packers, at 49ers, vs. Lions<\/p>\n 3.\u00a0Philadelphia Eagles<\/a>\u00a0(8-4), NFC East leaders:\u00a0Two losses in a row not only mean a lot more scrutiny but \u2212 beware \u2212 a team that could fall into the Cowboys’ clutches in the division if it’s not careful.\u00a0Remaining schedule: at Chargers, vs. Raiders, at Commanders, at Bills, vs. Commanders<\/p>\n 4.\u00a0Tampa Bay Buccaneers<\/a>\u00a0(6-5), NFC South leaders:\u00a0Their divisional lead over Carolina was (barely) restored Monday night, but it might not be worth much if injured QB Baker Mayfield is severely limited on the field.\u00a0Remaining 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, at Falcons, vs. Colts, vs. Rams, at Panthers, at 49ers<\/p>\n 6.\u00a0Green Bay Packers<\/a>\u00a0(8-3-1),\u00a0wild card No. 2:\u00a0They merely maintained their standing (for now) with their Thanksgiving win at Detroit, but a loss would have dropped them from the field entirely. A thin margin for the Pack to be sure … yet they remain just a half-game of the NFC North lead, too. Remaining schedule: vs. Bears<\/a>, 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(7-5),\u00a0in the hunt:\u00a0Getting swept by the Packers further entrenches Detroit, which could have moved into a wild-card slot with a Turkey Day win, on the outside of the field. Remaining schedule: vs. Cowboys, at Rams, vs. Steelers, at Vikings, at Bears<\/p>\n 9.\u00a0Dallas Cowboys<\/a>\u00a0(6-5-1), in the hunt:\u00a0Three wins in a row further fuels playoff aspirations in Big D. Next week’s game in Detroit looms as massive \u2212 and potentially must-win \u2212 for the Cowboys and Lions.\u00a0Remaining schedule: at Lions, vs. Vikings, vs. Chargers, at Commanders, at Giants<\/p>\n 10.\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.\u00a0Remaining schedule: vs. Rams, BYE, at Saints, vs. Buccaneers<\/a>, vs. Seahawks, at Buccaneers<\/p>\n NFL teams eliminated from playoff contention in 2025<\/p>\n \u25b6\u00a0New York Giants<\/a><\/p>\n