The second half of the NFL season began this week, as some potential upsets were looking to shake up the standings around the league. The league used the first nine weeks to establish position, as teams know their place heading into the final nine weeks of the year.
Only one unbeaten team remains — the Kansas City Chiefs — while some surprise division leaders remain in play. The Arizona Cardinals (NFC West) and Pittsburgh Steelers (AFC North) fall into that category. The Buffalo Bills may have their division won by December 1.
The conference standings didn’t change much this week, but these standings will obviously change quite a bit over the second half of the season. Below is a breakdown of the conference standings after Week 10:
The Chiefs are the lone undefeated team in the AFC, having a two-game lead over the Bills in the loss column for the No. 1 seed (Kansas City plays Buffalo in Week 11). They lead the AFC West by three games.
The Bills lead the AFC East by five games over the Jets and Patriots. They trail the Chiefs by two games in the loss column for the No. 1 seed in the conference.
The Steelers remain in the AFC North lead after their win over the Commanders. Pittsburgh is a half game behind Buffalo for the No. 2 seed.
The Texans remain at No. 4 in the conference after their second consecutive loss. They still lead the AFC South by two games over the Colts.
The Ravens are the top wild-card team in the AFC, remaining a half game behind the Steelers in the AFC North after their win over the Bengals.
The Chargers are the No. 6 seed, remaining a half game behind the Ravens for the top wild-card spot. They are three games back of the Chiefs for the AFC West lead.
The Broncos still hold the final playoff spot in the AFC, even after their second straight loss. They lead the Colts by a game for the final playoff spot.
The Colts are a game out of the final wild-card spot in the AFC, even after their loss to the Bills. They hold the tiebreaker over the Bengals via the conference-record tiebreaker. Indianapolis is 3-4 in the conference while Cincinnati is 2-4.
The Bengals are currently the No. 9 seed in the AFC, one game behind the Broncos for the final wild-card spot. They lose the conference-record tiebreaker to the Colts for the No. 8 seed.
The Jets are two games out of the final playoff spot in the AFC, even after their loss to the Cardinals. They hold the tiebreaker over the Patriots based on having a better win percentage against common opponents.
The Patriots are the No. 11 seed in the AFC, having a worse record than the Jets against common opponents (which is the tiebreaker).
The Dolphins are the No. 12 seed in the AFC heading into their “Monday Night Football” matchup with the Rams.
The Browns are part of a three-way tiebreaker for the No. 13 seed in the AFC. Cleveland (2-3) has a better conference record than Tennessee (2-4), and Las Vegas (2-5) — which is how the Browns earned the No. 13 seed.
The Titans are the No. 14 seed in the AFC. Tennessee has a better conference record than Las Vegas (2-5), which is how the Titans earned he No. 14 seed.
The Raiders are the No. 15 seed, losing the conference-record tiebreaker to the Browns and Titans.
The Jaguars are the No. 16 seed in the AFC, having the worst record in the conference.
The Lions remain on top of the NFC North with their win over the Texans, leading the division by a game over the Vikings (and own the head-to-head tiebreaker). They are also the No. 1 seed in the NFC, having a game lead over the Eagles.
The Eagles take over the NFC East lead thanks to their win over the Cowboys and the Commanders’ loss to the Steelers. They also take over No. 2 seed in the NFC, a game behind the Lions for the top seed. Philadelphia plays Washington on Thursday.
The Falcons lead the NFC South by two games over the Buccaneers, but also have swept Tampa Bay and own the head-to-head tiebreaker for the season.
The Cardinals lead the NFC West by a half game over the 49ers, but own the head-to-head tiebreaker over the 49ers by defeating them in Week 5. They lose the conference-record tiebreaker to the Falcons.
Minnesota is the No. 5 seed in the NFC, trailing Detroit by a game for the division lead. The Vikings are the top wild-card team in the conference.
The Commanders trail the Eagles by a half game in the NFC East. They play Philadelphia on Thursday.
The Packers hold the final wild-card spot in the NFC by a game over the Buccaneers.
The 49ers trail the Packers by a game for the final playoff spot in the NFC. They are a half game behind the Cardinals for the division lead.
The No. 9 seed in the NFC, the Rams play the Dolphins on “Monday Night Football,” looking to stay a game back of the final wild card spot.
The Bears are two games back of the final playoff spot in the NFC. Chicago (2-2) holds the conference-record tiebreaker over Seattle (0-40 for the No. 10 seed.
The Seahawks were on a bye this week, and sit as the No. 11 seed in the NFC. Seattle loses the conference-record tiebreaker to Chicago.
The Buccaneers sit at No. 12 in the NFC, two games behind the Falcons for first place in the NFC South (and were swept by Atlanta).
The Cowboys have the No. 13 seed in the NFC, three games out of the final playoff spot.
The Saints move up to the No. 14 seed after their win over the Falcons, holding the division-record tiebreaker (2-3) over the Panthers (1-2).
The Panthers sit as the No. 15 seed in the NFC, after winning two in a row. The Saints hold the division-record tiebreaker.
The Giants are last in the NFC, tied for the worst record in football.
