Week 8 is final after the Bears beat the Seahawks 34–17 on Monday night, and it reshuffled both conferences. Minnesota lost its unbeaten record and the No. 1 seed in Detroit, Kansas City lost for the second week in a row and fell to the No. 5 seed, and Cleveland dropped out of the AFC field after a 27–6 loss in Pittsburgh. With 121 of the season’s 272 games played, no team has clinched or been eliminated.
If the season ended today, the AFC seeds would be Buffalo, Denver, Pittsburgh and Jacksonville as division leaders, with Kansas City, Cincinnati and New England as wild cards. In the NFC it would be San Francisco, Minnesota, the New York Giants and Carolina as division leaders, with Chicago, Detroit and Green Bay as wild cards, so all four NFC North teams are in the field for a second straight week. Our picture entering Week 8 had Kansas City and Minnesota on top.
Denver after its 28–24 win over Kansas City, the Broncos’ fourth straight.
AFC: Broncos and Steelers climb, Chiefs and Browns slide
Buffalo (6–1) is the No. 1 seed after a 36–10 win over Baltimore, in which Lamar Jackson left on the first pass attempt with a thumb injury that will keep him out for a long stretch. The Bills are the only AFC team with one loss. Denver (6–2) jumped from fifth to second by beating Kansas City 28–24, as our Chiefs-Broncos recap explains, and sits ahead of Pittsburgh (6–2) only on conference record, 3–1 against the Steelers’ 3–2.
Pittsburgh took sole possession of the AFC North with a 27–6 win over Cleveland, as our Browns-Steelers recap details, and now has a bye. The Browns (5–3) fell from third to eighth and are the first team out, behind New England on conference record, 5–1 to 3–3. The Patriots beat Miami 24–19 and hold the No. 7 seed.
Pittsburgh after the win over Cleveland that put it alone atop the AFC North.
Kansas City (5–2) is the top wild card because its 5–1 conference record is better than Cincinnati’s 4–2, though the Bengals beat Tennessee 43–36 in overtime to win their third straight. Jacksonville (5–2) is the No. 4 seed as a division leader after its 42–7 win over Indianapolis, our Colts-Jaguars recap, even though it has the same record as the two wild cards below it in the table. Las Vegas (4–4) is ninth after a 38–33 win over the Jets, and Baltimore (4–4) is tenth after three straight losses.
AFC standings by seed after Week 8
| Seed | Team | Record | Conf | Div | Status | Seed in last picture | Week 9 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Buffalo Bills | 6–1 | 4–1 | 0–1 | Division leader | 2 | at Vikings (Mon) |
| 2 | Denver Broncos | 6–2 | 3–1 | 2–1 | Division leader | 5 | at Panthers |
| 3 | Pittsburgh Steelers | 6–2 | 3–2 | 2–1 | Division leader | 6 | Bye |
| 4 | Jacksonville Jaguars | 5–2 | 4–2 | 1–1 | Division leader | 4 | at Ravens (Thu) |
| 5 | Kansas City Chiefs | 5–2 | 5–1 | 3–1 | Wild card | 1 | vs. Jets |
| 6 | Cincinnati Bengals | 5–2 | 4–2 | 1–1 | Wild card | 7 | vs. Falcons (Madrid) |
| 7 | New England Patriots | 5–3 | 5–1 | 3–0 | Wild card | 8 | vs. Packers |
| 8 | Cleveland Browns | 5–3 | 3–3 | 2–1 | Outside | 3 | at Saints |
| 9 | Las Vegas Raiders | 4–4 | 3–3 | 1–1 | Outside | 10 | at 49ers |
| 10 | Baltimore Ravens | 4–4 | 2–3 | 0–2 | Outside | 9 | vs. Jaguars (Thu) |
| 11 | Houston Texans | 2–5 | 2–3 | 2–1 | Outside | 13 | at Chargers |
| 12 | New York Jets | 2–6 | 2–3 | 0–2 | Outside | 11 | at Chiefs |
| 13 | Indianapolis Colts | 2–6 | 1–5 | 1–2 | Outside | 12 | vs. Cowboys |
| 14 | Miami Dolphins | 1–6 | 1–4 | 1–1 | Outside | 14 | vs. Lions |
| 15 | Tennessee Titans | 1–7 | 1–5 | 1–1 | Outside | 15 | Bye |
| 16 | Los Angeles Chargers | 0–7 | 0–4 | 0–3 | Outside | 16 | vs. Texans |
NFC: 49ers take No. 1 on a tiebreaker, Bears move to 6–2
San Francisco was on a bye and still moved back to the top seed. Minnesota’s 19–15 loss at Detroit, as our Vikings-Lions recap covers, left both teams 6–1 with identical 4–1 conference records, and the 49ers rank first on strength of victory. Jahmyr Gibbs ran for 153 yards for the Lions (5–2), who are 4–0 at home and still hold the No. 6 seed.
Chicago (6–2) won its third straight and is now half a game behind Minnesota in the NFC North. Jeffery Simmons had a sack in his Bears debut and D’Andre Swift scored three times, as our Bears-Seahawks recap has it. Seattle (4–4) is eighth, one game out of the field, and holds the tiebreaker over the Rams (4–4) on division record, 1–1 to 0–2. The Seahawks are only 1–3 in the conference.
Chicago after the 34–17 win in Seattle.
Carolina (3–4) still leads the NFC South as the No. 4 seed even though it lost to Green Bay on Thursday. The rest of the division is 3–5 or worse, but Tampa Bay (3–5), which beat Atlanta 16–0 as our Falcons-Buccaneers recap details, moved from 12th to 10th and trails by half a game. Arizona’s 33–30 comeback win over Dallas, our Cardinals-Cowboys recap, left the Cardinals 12th and the Cowboys 13th, both 3–5.
NFC standings by seed after Week 8
| Seed | Team | Record | Conf | Div | Status | Seed in last picture | Week 9 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Francisco 49ers | 6–1 | 4–1 | 3–0 | Division leader | 2 | vs. Raiders |
| 2 | Minnesota Vikings | 6–1 | 4–1 | 2–1 | Division leader | 1 | vs. Bills (Mon) |
| 3 | New York Giants | 4–2–1 | 2–2–1 | 1–0–1 | Division leader | 3 | at Eagles |
| 4 | Carolina Panthers | 3–4 | 3–3 | 1–1 | Division leader | 4 | vs. Broncos |
| 5 | Chicago Bears | 6–2 | 4–2 | 0–2 | Wild card | 5 | vs. Buccaneers (Sun night) |
| 6 | Detroit Lions | 5–2 | 4–1 | 2–0 | Wild card | 6 | at Dolphins |
| 7 | Green Bay Packers | 5–3 | 4–3 | 1–2 | Wild card | 7 | at Patriots |
| 8 | Seattle Seahawks | 4–4 | 1–3 | 1–1 | Outside | 8 | vs. Cardinals |
| 9 | Los Angeles Rams | 4–4 | 2–2 | 0–2 | Outside | 10 | at Commanders |
| 10 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 3–5 | 3–2 | 2–0 | Outside | 12 | at Bears (Sun night) |
| 11 | Atlanta Falcons | 3–5 | 3–3 | 1–2 | Outside | 9 | vs. Bengals (Madrid) |
| 12 | Arizona Cardinals | 3–5 | 2–4 | 1–2 | Outside | 14 | at Seahawks |
| 13 | Dallas Cowboys | 3–5 | 2–4 | 2–1 | Outside | 11 | at Colts |
| 14 | Washington Commanders | 2–4–1 | 2–3–1 | 1–2–1 | Outside | 16 | vs. Rams |
| 15 | New Orleans Saints | 2–5 | 1–3 | 0–1 | Outside | 13 | vs. Browns |
| 16 | Philadelphia Eagles | 2–6 | 1–5 | 1–2 | Outside | 15 | vs. Giants |
Division races
| Division | Leader | Record | Closest chaser | Record | Games back |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AFC East | Buffalo Bills | 6–1 | New England Patriots | 5–3 | 1.5 |
| AFC North | Pittsburgh Steelers | 6–2 | Cincinnati Bengals | 5–2 | 0.5 |
| AFC South | Jacksonville Jaguars | 5–2 | Houston Texans | 2–5 | 3 |
| AFC West | Denver Broncos | 6–2 | Kansas City Chiefs | 5–2 | 0.5 |
| NFC East | New York Giants | 4–2–1 | Dallas Cowboys | 3–5 | 2 |
| NFC North | Minnesota Vikings | 6–1 | Chicago Bears | 6–2 | 0.5 |
| NFC South | Carolina Panthers | 3–4 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 3–5 | 0.5 |
| NFC West | San Francisco 49ers | 6–1 | Seattle Seahawks | 4–4 | 2.5 |
Week 9 games that can move the picture, with Cairo times
Pittsburgh and Tennessee are on bye. Two games matter most: Denver visits Carolina in a game that can strengthen the Broncos’ hold on the No. 2 seed and shake the Panthers’ division lead, and Green Bay and New England meet with the last wild-card spot in each conference at stake. Bills-Vikings on Monday night pairs the AFC’s No. 1 seed with the NFC’s No. 2. The Bengals play the Falcons at the Bernabéu in Madrid, covered in our Madrid game-week story, and the full weekend is in our Week 9 schedule in Cairo time. Seeds in the table are the current seeds; Egypt and the United States are both on winter time, so Cairo is seven hours ahead of Eastern.
| Game | Kickoff (ET) | Cairo time | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jaguars (AFC 4) at Ravens (AFC 10) | Thu, Nov. 5, 8:15 p.m. | Fri 03:15 | Baltimore without Lamar Jackson |
| Bengals (AFC 6) vs. Falcons (NFC 11) | Sun, Nov. 8, 9:30 a.m. | Sun 16:30 | Madrid, Bernabéu |
| Broncos (AFC 2) at Panthers (NFC 4) | Sun, 1:00 p.m. | Sun 20:00 | Carolina leads the NFC South |
| Browns (AFC 8) at Saints (NFC 15) | Sun, 1:00 p.m. | Sun 20:00 | First team out in the AFC |
| Giants (NFC 3) at Eagles (NFC 16) | Sun, 1:00 p.m. | Sun 20:00 | NFC East lead |
| Jets (AFC 12) at Chiefs (AFC 5) | Sun, 1:00 p.m. | Sun 20:00 | |
| Lions (NFC 6) at Dolphins (AFC 14) | Sun, 1:00 p.m. | Sun 20:00 | |
| Packers (NFC 7) at Patriots (AFC 7) | Sun, 4:25 p.m. | Sun 23:25 | Both hold the last wild card |
| Cardinals (NFC 12) at Seahawks (NFC 8) | Sun, 4:25 p.m. | Sun 23:25 | Seattle is one game out |
| Raiders (AFC 9) at 49ers (NFC 1) | Sun, 4:25 p.m. | Sun 23:25 | |
| Buccaneers (NFC 10) at Bears (NFC 5) | Sun, 8:20 p.m. | Mon 03:20 | Sunday night |
| Bills (AFC 1) at Vikings (NFC 2) | Mon, Nov. 9, 8:15 p.m. | Tue 03:15 | Monday Night Football, 6–1 vs. 6–1 |
The AFC picture has a second date to circle. Denver and Pittsburgh, currently the No. 2 and No. 3 seeds, meet in Pittsburgh on Black Friday, November 27, at 3 p.m. ET, which is 10 p.m. in Cairo, as covered in our Thanksgiving halftime roundup. The road ends at SoFi Stadium on Feb. 14, where Jay-Z will headline the Super Bowl LXI halftime show.
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