Heading into Week 15, only one team (49ers) had clinched a playoff berth, but that number shot up over the past few days with three more teams now joining San Francisco in the playoffs.
In the NFC, the Eagles and Cowboys have both punched their ticket for the season. That’s right, both teams were somehow able to clinch a playoff berth in Week 15 even though they both lost. As for the AFC, only one team has clinched a spot so far and that’s the Ravens.
With four spots now clinched, that means there are 10 spots still up in the air. So who’s going to land those coveted positions?
That’s what we’re going to answer right now in this week’s playoff projection. The projections here are based on data from number-cruncher Stephen Oh of SportsLine.com. Oh plugged some numbers into his SportsLine computer this week and simulated the rest of the 2023 NFL season, and using those numbers, we’re going to let you know the playoff chances for all 32 teams, plus the projected 14-team playoff field.
With that in mind, let’s get to this week’s playoff projections (For more from Stephen Oh and his SportsLine “Inside the Lines” team, you can tune into his YouTube channel daily at 1 p.m. ET by clicking here).
AFC playoff projection
Here’s a list of the playoff chances for all the other AFC teams (their percentage chances of getting into the playoffs is listed next to them in parentheses): Colts (58.7%), Bengals (43.5%), Broncos (17.6%), Steelers (4.8%), Raiders (1.5%), Chargers (0%), Titans ((ELIMINATED) Jets (ELIMINATED), Patriots (ELIMINATED).
NFC playoff projection
Here’s a list of the playoff chances for all the other NFC teams (their percentage chances of getting into the playoffs is listed next to them in parentheses): Vikings (59.5%), Saints (45.8%), Packers (17.3%), Falcons (4.2%), Bears (0.4%), Giants (0.2%), Commanders (ELIMINATED), Cardinals (ELIMINATED), Panthers (ELIMINATED).
Wild-card round projection
AFC
(7) Texans at (2) Dolphins
(6) Bills at (3) Chiefs
(5) Browns at (4) Jaguars
Bye: Ravens
NFC
(7) Rams at (2) Eagles
(6) Seahawks at (3) Lions
(5) Cowboys at (4) Buccaneers
Bye: 49ers
