Week 15 of the 2025/26 National Football League (NFL) regular season was a smorgasbord of everything the league has to offer, and then some, as the play-off picture takes shape. There were a few blow outs, a few shutouts, a couple of comebacks, one amazing come-from-behind win, and old man (Philip) Rivers almost pulled off a miracle win, less than a week out of retirement. And when the dust settled, four more teams were eliminated from play-off contention, to join the previous nine, including the Kansas City Chiefs, a postseason staple for the last nine seasons, who appeared in the last three Super Bowls, winning two.

Along with the shortcoming of the Chiefs, the most glaring events of last weekend included the Buffalo Bills who, after trailing the New England Patriots 0-21, erased the deficit to win 35-31, thereby breaking New England’s 10-game win streak and strengthening their own play-off outlook. The Los Angeles Rams became the first team to clinch a play-off spot, barely evading the attack of the Detroit Lions last Sunday, to win 41-34, and the Denver Broncos became the first squad to achieve 12 wins, thereby clinching a spot in the postseason with their eleventh-straight victory, after beating the Green Bay Packers 34-26.

That said, with only three weeks left in the NFL regular season, and only two of the 16 teams already decided, almost every game this weekend has play-off implications, including division titles. Each of the eight divisions, four in each conference, has four teams and the winner of each division automatically snags a play-off spot, along with the three non-division winners with the best records in each conference, earning wild-card bids into the postseason. Additionally, the top team in each conference receives a bye to the second round of the play-offs, which means 14 play-off spots are still available for the 17 teams still in contention, and it may come down to the final week for some.

The battles are therefore on for postseason positioning, and opportunities are there for a few teams to book their spots this weekend. Arguably, the most pivotal game of Week 16 was played last night between the surprising Seattle Seahawks and the consistent Rams, in a National Football Conference (NFC) heavyweight bout, but the Broncos (12-2), already sure of extending their season, can claim the top spot in the American Football Conference (AFC) and their first AFC West crown since 2015, if they can get past the Jacksonville Jaguars (10-4) on Sunday afternoon. However, they would also need to have the Los Angeles Chargers lose (or tie) in the matchup against the Dallas Cowboys, plus the Patriots losing to the Baltimore Ravens and the Cleveland Browns somehow defeating Buffalo.

The Patriots (11-3) are leading the AFC East but failed to clinch the division, and lost valuable ground in their bid for the AFC’s No 1 seed, after last weekend’s collapse against the Bills. However, they are still in the driver’s seat to win the division, as after playing the Ravens (7-7) this Sunday, the remaining schedule includes the lowly New York Jets and Miami Dolphins. That said, even with a loss to the Ravens this weekend, an Indianapolis Colts loss to the San Francisco 49ers or a Houston Texans loss to the Las Vegas Raiders still sees New England winning the division.

All the other teams in the AFC, who are still positioned to make the play-offs, will have similar permutations to make the postseason, but the Bills (10-4) must be smiling with the NFL gods after hearing that the Chiefs and Bengals, perennial thorns in their play-off journey, have been eliminated from contention. They can lock into the play-off field with a win over the Browns (3-11) on Sunday, then face the Philadelphia Eagles and New York Jets to close out the regular season.

Speaking of the defending champion Eagles (9-5), it appeared for the previous few weeks they were making every effort to hand the NFC East division to the Cowboys, losing three straight games, but Dallas apparently didn’t have the ambition to grab the opportunity. Now, Philadelphia simply needs to beat the Jayden Daniels-less Washington Commanders (4-10) tomorrow, to win the division and host a play-off game for the second-consecutive season. However, even if Washington wins, Philadelphia still wins the division if the Cowboys lose to the Chargers on Sunday.

That’s a wrap on the potential division-winning scenarios this weekend, but there is a montage of play-off-clinching matchups on tap for Week 16, and each is as mouthwatering as the next:

•The Jacksonville Jaguars (10-4) play the Broncos (12-2) and clinch a play-off berth with: A win + Indianapolis Colts’ loss or tie OR A win + Houston Texans’ loss or tie OR A tie + Colts’ loss OR A tie + Colts’ tie + Texans’ loss.

•The Los Angeles Chargers (10-4) play the Cowboys (6-7-1) and clinch a play-off berth with: A win + Colts’ loss or tie OR A win + Texans’ loss or tie OR A tie + Colts’ loss OR A tie + Colts’ tie + Texans’ loss.

•The Chicago Bears (10-4) play the Green Bay Packers (9-4-1) and clinch a play-off berth with: A win + Lions’ loss or tie OR A tie + Lions’ loss.

•The Packers (9-4-1) play the Bears (10-4) and clinch a play-off berth with: A win + Lions’ loss or tie OR A tie + Lions’ loss.

•The San Francisco 49ers (10-4) play the Colts (8-6) and clinch a play-off berth with: A win OR Lions’ loss OR A tie + Lions’ tie.

All the tensions and emotions of play-off football are already in the air, and from Saturday to Monday a great many things will be decided. There have already been a few unexpected fallouts and there could be a few more by the time Week 16 is through. For many, the NFL is where they want it to be, while for others they wish it was otherwise. There is a level of uncertainty which adds to the excitement, and this weekend is shaping up to be no different. Are you ready for some football?

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