NFL 2023 championship picture and results for Week 16: Ravens are getting closer to the top spot in the AFC, and Dolphins have secured their spot in the playoffs.
With Christmas weekend behind us, the NFL playoff races are as wild and confusing as ever, making the homestretch of the season one we’ll likely remember. The AFC and NFC each enter Week 17 with 12 teams still mathematically alive.
The playoff standings are so crazy, we’ll be switching to a conference format rather than divisions from this point forward. Below, the tiebreakers for each team will be explained.
Here’s a breakdown of the current standings and what each contender is facing with Week 17 set to kick off Thursday night when the Jets visit the Browns.
The 2023 NFL season is rapidly drawing to a close, but there remains plenty unsettled about the league’s playoff picture.
Entering Week 16, just four teams have clinched playoff spots. Numerous teams can ensure passage to the postseason by the week’s end, but there are a couple of divisions that will remain tight until the very end.
Suffice to say that Week 16 will go a long way toward determining which teams will represent the AFC and NFC on either side of the postseason bracket.
Here’s what to know about the playoff picture as it stands and how the Week 16 results are impacting it.
The Indianapolis Colts have just three games remaining between them and the end of the regular season making the AFC playoff picture even more dire entering Week 16.
Being able to bounce back in an impressive way, the Colts took care of business in a 30-13 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers at home despite dealing with some injuries to key players.
Can the Colts go on the road and win a crucial game against the Atlanta Falcons (6-8). Indy will be facing off against quarterback Taylor Heinicke, who was named the starter following Desmond Ridder’s second benching of the season. They have an all-time record of 15-2 against the Falcons, who haven’t beaten the Colts since 2011.
Fan voting for the 2024 Pro Bowl Games has opened, and what better gift to send to your favorite NFL players this holiday season than to select them for this year’s Pro Bowl.
The Miami Dolphins and their fans woke up Monday morning with a small but oh-so-beautiful “x” next to the team in NFL standings everywhere. It’s pretty perfect, if you think about it.
That, of course, is the symbol of a team having clinched a playoff spot, which is what the Dolphins did with their thrilling 22-20 victory against the Dallas Cowboys at Hard Rock Stadium on Sunday.
But much remains unsettled as far as their exactly playoff outlook and where they’ll finish in the AFC standings with two weeks left plus the three Christmas Day games, including the showdown between the two current top seeds, the Baltimore Ravens and San Francisco 49ers.
If one of those two scenarios doesn’t materalize, then the division title will go to the winner of the Week 18 rematch because the teams then would finish with identical 11-6 records but the Bills would have the head-to-head sweep.
Buffalo currently stands in sixth place in the AFC standings, a game ahead of four other playoff contenders but may need the victory against the Dolphins to make the postseason, even with a victory against New England next Sunday.
The Dolphins’ path to the No. 1 seed in the AFC remains pretty clearly, and it’s almost limited to them winning their final two games against Baltimore and Buffalo.
The Dolphins actually could clinch that No. 1 seed as early as next Sunday if they win at Baltimore, if the Ravens lose at San Francisco on Christmas night, and if the Cleveland Browns lose at home against the New York Jets on Thursday night.
The Dolphins, however, cannot land the No. 1 seed in the AFC if they lose at Baltimore — under that scenario, the best Miami could finish is 12-5 and in a tie for first but would lose out in any tiebreaker scenario. Baltimore already would have 12 wins.