Here's how the NFL playoff picture looks with Week 16 underway:
NFC
y – 1. Green Bay Packers (12-3), NFC North champions: They own league's best record and remain on track to secure No. 1 seed for second straight year following Christmas win over Cleveland. Remaining schedule: vs. Vikings, at Lions
x – 2. Dallas Cowboys (10-4), NFC East leaders: They locked up a playoff spot Thursday courtesy of San Francisco's loss. The division title now a formality, Dallas – 4-0 against NFC East competition – still has time to reel in No. 1 seed, too. Cowboys' 8-1 conference record places them ahead of Rams and Bucs. Remaining schedule: vs. Washington, vs. Cardinals, at Eagles
3. Los Angeles Rams (10-4), NFC West leaders: Arizona's Christmas night loss to Colts vaults LA atop division, however Rams must win in Minnesota on Sunday to remain there. Securing a victory over Vikes clinches a playoff spot for Los Angeles. Remaining schedule: at Vikings, at Ravens, vs. 49ers
4. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (10-4), NFC South leaders: Sunday night stumble vs. Saints kept them from winning first division title since 2007, though a win Sunday in Charlotte will remedy that. Week 15 loss also hinders Bucs' pursuit of home field and bye. Arizona's loss hurts defending champs, who drop to fourth in conference due to Week 3 loss at Rams. Remaining schedule: at Panthers, at Jets, vs. Panthers
5. Arizona Cardinals (10-5), wild card No. 1: Another second-half collapse under Kliff Kingsbury seems to be underway, Cards having now lost three in a row and five of eight. They've failed to clinch playoff spot last three weeks, though could still earn one this weekend with help elsewhere. Remaining schedule: at Cowboys, vs. Seahawks
6. San Francisco 49ers (8-7), wild card No. 2: Missed quite a few opportunities during Thursday's loss in Nashville. Still, they have some margin for error courtesy of a 6-5 conference record that includes wins over the Vikings and Eagles. But if those teams and Saints win in Week 16, Niners will be bumped from field. Remaining schedule: vs. Texans, at Rams
7. Minnesota Vikings (7-7), wild card No. 3: Monday's win at Chicago allowed Vikes to displace Saints by virtue of superior record in NFC games (5-4). Philadelphia's victory Tuesday kept Vikings in projected field. Remaining schedule: vs. Rams, at Packers, vs. Bears
8. Philadelphia Eagles (7-7), out of playoff field: Two more wins should get Philly into field. It's doable, though record in common games currently keeping them behind Minnesota. Remaining schedule: vs. Giants, at Washington, vs. Cowboys
9. New Orleans Saints (7-7), out of playoff field: Upset in Tampa improved outlook but not enough to hang onto final wild-card spot after Monday. Worth noting Saints have beaten Washington but lost to Philadelphia. Also worth noting COVID-19 in QB room could undermine them. Remaining schedule: vs. Dolphins, vs. Panthers, at Falcons
10. Washington Football Team (6-8), out of playoff field: COVID-strapped team played valiantly Tuesday but suffered major setback in Philadelphia. WFT almost certainly needs to win out. Remaining schedule: at Cowboys, vs. Eagles, at Giants
11. Atlanta Falcons (6-8), out of playoff field: Only one game back of final wild card, Sunday's loss nonetheless just about cooks their goose. Remaining schedule: vs. Lions, at Bills, vs. Saints
AFC
1. Kansas City Chiefs (10-4), AFC West leaders: How it started? Three wins in their first seven games. How it's going? Winners of seven in a row, the best ongoing streak in the league. Beat Pittsburgh, and Kansas City is going to playoffs – and as division champs if Chargers also lose. K.C. controls path to home-field advantage for the third time in four seasons but must keep lurking Titans at bay. Remaining schedule: vs. Steelers, at Bengals, at Broncos
2. Tennessee Titans (10-5), AFC South leaders: Thursday's win over Niners moved them step closer to repeating as division champs. Titans will reclaim No. 1 seed if Chiefs trip courtesy of Week 7 blowout of Kansas City. Remaining schedule: vs. Dolphins, at Texans
3. New England Patriots (9-5), AFC East leaders: Week 15 loss robbed them of controlling the conference's outcome. Now they're in jeopardy of losing divisional lead – though they could also clinch it by beating Buffalo on Sunday if Miami also loses. Remaining schedule: vs. Bills, vs. Jaguars, at Dolphins
4. Cincinnati Bengals (8-6), AFC North leaders: They jumped into the division lead by virtue of Week 15 win at Denver and a loss by Baltimore, whom Cincy beat in Week 7. Massive rematch coming up. Remaining schedule: vs. Ravens, vs. Chiefs, at Browns
5. Indianapolis Colts (9-6), wild card No. 1: Winners of nine of their past 12, they must finish with a better record than the Titans, who swept Indianapolis, to snatch AFC South. But Christmas night win in Arizona makes Colts a pretty good bet to advance. Remaining schedule: vs. Raiders, at Jaguars
6. Los Angeles Chargers (8-6), wild card No. 2: They could have displaced Kansas City atop AFC West last week. Now Bolts are losing ground in wild-card race. Remaining schedule: at Texans, vs. Broncos, at Raiders
7. Buffalo Bills (8-6), wild card No. 3: If they win out – a reasonable possibility given their schedule – retaining AFC East crown is still in play. That obviously starts in Week 16 at Foxborough, where a win puts Bills back in first place. Remaining schedule: at Patriots, vs. Falcons, vs. Jets
8. Baltimore Ravens (8-6), out of playoff field: Just a few weeks ago, they sat atop the conference standings. They're currently staying home for playoffs because Buffalo has a better record in common games. Rough finishing stretch, too. Remaining schedule: at Bengals, vs. Rams, vs. Steelers
9. Pittsburgh Steelers (7-6-1), out of playoff field: They're only a half-game out of division lead, but lineup of opponents remains daunting. Remaining schedule: at Chiefs, vs. Browns, at Ravens
10. Las Vegas Raiders (7-7), out of playoff field: Sweep of Miami and Cleveland, whom they beat Monday afternoon, jumps Silver and Black from 13th place in conference to 10th. Still a lot of work to do, but hope remains alive. Remaining schedule: vs. Broncos, at Colts, vs. Chargers
11. Miami Dolphins (7-7), out of playoff field: Improbable climb continues, their sixth consecutive win restoring them to .500. Fins' 5-5 record against AFC teams helps. Remaining schedule: at Saints, at Titans, vs. Patriots
12. Denver Broncos (7-7), out of playoff field: Tiebreakers, time and quality of opponents very much working against them after crippling loss to Cincinnati. Remaining schedule: at Raiders, at Chargers, vs. Chiefs
13. Cleveland Browns (7-8), out of playoff field: Only saving grace following Saturday's loss in Green Bay is that their final two games are against AFC North rivals. Remaining schedule: at Steelers, vs. Bengals
x – clinched berth
y – clinched division
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Follow USA TODAY Sports' Nate Davis on Twitter @ByNateDavis.
