NFL playoff picture: What Week 9 results mean for AFC, NFC standings

All 32 teams played in Week 8, and the playoff picture was obviously impacted by the results.

The Kansas City Chiefs entered Week 9 as the league’s lone undefeated team and they don’t see the field until Monday night. The rest of the league was on display Sunday.

In the AFC, the Houston Texans lost on Thursday night and the Pittsburgh Steelers were on a bye, so the only division leader in action was the Buffalo Bills. The Bills moved into second in the conference with their win and can move to a half-game back of the Chiefs if Kansas City loses on Monday.

For the NFC, the big game is the Green Bay Packers vs Detroit Lions in the late afternoon window. If the Packers win, they leap the Lions in the NFC North and it could give the upstart Washington Commanders a chance at first in the conference.

The jumbled Wild Card pictures in both conferences just continue to get more crowded. Full standings are listed below along with key takeaways as the Week 9 results unfold. We’ll update as each score comes in.

Note: In the standings below, only the pertinent tiebreakers are listed.

AFC standings during Week 8

1. Kansas City Chiefs (7-0)
2. Buffalo Bills (7-2)
3. Pittsburgh Steelers (6-2)
4. Houston Texans (6-3, 5-0 AFC)
5. Baltimore Ravens (6-3, 2-2 AFC)
6. Los Angeles Chargers (5-3)
7. Denver Broncos (5-4)
8. Indianapolis Colts (4-4)
9. Cincinnati Bengals (4-5)
10. New York Jets (3-6)
11. Miami Dolphins (2-6)
12. Jacksonville Jaguars (2-6, 2-4 AFC, win over NEP)
13. New England Patriots (2-6, win over NYJ, 2-4 AFC, loss to JAX)
14. Cleveland Browns (2-7, H2H over LV)
15. Las Vegas Raiders (2-7)
16. Tennessee Titans (1-6)

NFC standings during Week 8

1. Detroit Lions (6-1)
2. Washington Commanders (7-2)
3. Atlanta Falcons (6-3)
4. Arizona Cardinals (4-4, 2-0 NFCW)
5. Green Bay Packers (6-2)
6. Minnesota Vikings (5-2, .513 strength of victory)
7. Philadelphia Eagles (5-2, .385 strength of victory)
8. Chicago Bears (4-3)
9. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (4-4, 4-2 NFC)
10. San Francisco 49ers (4-4, 1-3 NFCW, 2-3 NFC)
11. Seattle Seahawks (4-4, 0-1 NFCW)
12. Los Angeles Rams (3-4, 2-4 NFC)
13. Dallas Cowboys (3-5, 1-3 NFC)
14. Carolina Panthers (2-7, 1-2 NFCS, 1-4 NFC)
15. New Orleans Saints (2-7, 1-3 NFCS, 2-4 NFC)
16. New York Giants (2-7, 1-5 NFC)

Week 9 playoff picture takeaways

Buffalo Bills making a statement at the top of the conference, AFC East

As we said, the Bills moved up to the two seed following their win over the Miami Dolphins, but they also llok a massive lead in the AFC East race. They are up four games in the division with a win over the second-place New York Jets. With two iwns over the 2-6 Dolphins, it’s hard to see them not securing a home playoff game.

Texans keep the AFC South race open

The Houston Texans could have put their division race to a big lead on Thursday night, but a loss to the New York Jets kept the Indianapolis Colts just two games back in the win column. The Colts play Sunday night against the Minnesota Vikings.

All 4 NFC North teams are over .500

No NFL division has ever sent all four teams to the playoffs, though that wasn’t possible until just a few years ago when the playoffs expanded to seven teams per conference. The NFC North has four teams over .500. The Vikings went from first place in the NFC to sixth in less than two weeks.

Dak Prescott injury

The Cowboys lost to the Falcons to drop even further out of the NFC East race. The bigger news was Dak Prescott’s hamstring injury. He left Sunday’s game in the fourth quarter and his status for Week 10 is uncertain. The Cowboys host the Eagles in Week 10 in a near must-win game for Dallas.

Washington off to historic start

The Commanders beat the Giants in the Meadowlands to improve to 7-2. Washington leads the NFC East and is off to their best start in 33 years. That year, Washington won their first 11 games en route to a 14-2 finish and a Super Bowl win over the Bills.

Baltimore stock up, Denver stock down

When the Ravens are playing their best football, they’re near unstoppable. They proved that against a seemingly decent Broncos squad. Denver entered the game with a 5-3 record and firmly in the wild card race. They gave the Ravens trouble in the first half, but Baltimore pulled away in the third quarter and cruised to an easy win.

NFL Division Standings

AFC East standings

1. Buffalo Bills, 7-2
2. New York Jets, 3-6
3. Miami Dolphins, 2-6
4. New England Patriots, 2-6

AFC North standings

1. Pittsburgh Steelers, 6-2
2. Baltimore Ravens, 6-3
3. Cincinnati Bengals, 4-5
4. Cleveland Browns, 2-6

AFC South standings

1. Houston Texans, 6-3
2. Indianapolis Colts, 4-4
3. Jacksonville Jaguars, 2-6
4. Tennessee Titans, 1-6

AFC West standings

1. Kansas City Chiefs, 7-0
2. Denver Broncos, 5-4
3. Los Angeles Chargers, 4-3
4. Las Vegas Raiders, 2-7

NFC East standings

1. Washington Commanders, 7-2
2. Philadelphia Eagles, 5-2
3. Dallas Cowboys, 3-5
4. New York Giants, 2-7

NFC North standings

1. Detroit Lions, 6-1
2. Green Bay Packers, 6-2
3. Minnesota Vikings, 5-2
4. Chicago Bears, 4-3

NFC South standings

1. Atlanta Falcons, 6-3
2. Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 4-4
3. New Orleans Saints, 2-6
4. Carolina Panthers, 1-7

NFC West standings

1. Arizona Cardinals, 4-4 (+1 head to head with SEA/SF)
2. San Francisco 49ers, 4-4 (+-0 with ARI/SEA)
3. Seattle Seahawks, 4-4 (-1 head to head with ARI/SF)
4. Los Angeles Rams, 3-4