Week 9 is final after Buffalo beat Minnesota 23–6 on Monday night, and the biggest change came in the NFC. Chicago moved from the No. 5 seed to No. 2 and took over the NFC North, while the Vikings fell from second to sixth. In the AFC, Jacksonville passed idle Pittsburgh for the No. 3 seed, and the Steelers and Bengals are now tied at 6–2 at the top of the AFC North, five days before they meet on Sunday night. With 136 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, Jacksonville and Pittsburgh as division leaders, with Kansas City, Cincinnati and New England as wild cards. In the NFC it would be San Francisco, Chicago, the New York Giants and Carolina as division leaders, with Detroit, Minnesota and Green Bay as wild cards, so all four NFC North teams are in the field for a third straight week. The 14 teams in the field are the same as in our picture entering Week 9; only the order changed.
Buffalo after the 23–6 Monday night win in Minnesota that moved the Bills to 7–1.
AFC: Bills stay on top, Jaguars pass the Steelers
Buffalo (7–1) held the ball for more than 42 minutes in Minnesota, intercepted Carson Wentz twice and kept the No. 1 seed, as our Bills-Vikings recap details. The Bills are still the only AFC team with one loss. Denver (7–2) stayed second after Nik Bonitto’s late strip-sack sealed a 26–21 win in Carolina, the Broncos’ 16th straight one-score win, covered in our Broncos-Panthers recap. Denver has a bye this week.
Jacksonville (6–2) won 33–10 in Baltimore on Thursday night, as our Jaguars-Ravens recap has it, and moved up to No. 3 while Pittsburgh was on a bye. The two division leaders have the same record, and the Jaguars rank higher on conference record, 5–2 to 3–2. Cincinnati (6–2) beat Atlanta 34–17 in Madrid for its fourth straight win and drew level with the Steelers in the AFC North. Pittsburgh holds the division lead on division record, 2–1 to 1–1, and the two teams meet in Cincinnati on Sunday night.
Kansas City (6–2) beat the Jets 35–12 and is the top wild card because its 6–1 conference record is better than Cincinnati’s 4–2. The Chiefs are half a game behind Denver in the AFC West. New England (5–4) lost 45–27 at home to Green Bay but kept the last wild-card spot, ahead of Cleveland (5–4) on conference record, 5–1 to 3–3. The Browns lost 23–22 in overtime in New Orleans when a two-point try failed, as our Browns-Saints recap explains. Baltimore (4–5) has lost four straight, and Houston (3–5) is 11th after a 44–22 win over the winless Chargers.
AFC standings by seed after Week 9
| Seed | Team | Record | Conf | Div | Status | Seed in last picture | Week 10 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Buffalo Bills | 7–1 | 4–1 | 0–1 | Division leader | 1 | at Jets |
| 2 | Denver Broncos | 7–2 | 3–1 | 2–1 | Division leader | 2 | Bye |
| 3 | Jacksonville Jaguars | 6–2 | 5–2 | 1–1 | Division leader | 4 | at Titans |
| 4 | Pittsburgh Steelers | 6–2 | 3–2 | 2–1 | Division leader | 3 | at Bengals (Sun night) |
| 5 | Kansas City Chiefs | 6–2 | 6–1 | 3–1 | Wild card | 5 | at Falcons |
| 6 | Cincinnati Bengals | 6–2 | 4–2 | 1–1 | Wild card | 6 | vs. Steelers (Sun night) |
| 7 | New England Patriots | 5–4 | 5–1 | 3–0 | Wild card | 7 | vs. Lions (Munich) |
| 8 | Cleveland Browns | 5–4 | 3–3 | 2–1 | Outside | 8 | vs. Texans |
| 9 | Las Vegas Raiders | 4–5 | 3–3 | 1–1 | Outside | 9 | vs. Seahawks |
| 10 | Baltimore Ravens | 4–5 | 2–4 | 0–2 | Outside | 10 | vs. Chargers (Mon) |
| 11 | Houston Texans | 3–5 | 3–3 | 2–1 | Outside | 11 | at Browns |
| 12 | New York Jets | 2–7 | 2–4 | 0–2 | Outside | 12 | vs. Bills |
| 13 | Indianapolis Colts | 2–7 | 1–5 | 1–2 | Outside | 13 | vs. Dolphins |
| 14 | Miami Dolphins | 1–7 | 1–4 | 1–1 | Outside | 14 | at Colts |
| 15 | Tennessee Titans | 1–7 | 1–5 | 1–1 | Outside | 15 | vs. Jaguars |
| 16 | Los Angeles Chargers | 0–8 | 0–5 | 0–3 | Outside | 16 | at Ravens (Mon) |
NFC: Bears take the North, Vikings drop to sixth
San Francisco (7–1) kept the No. 1 seed with a 38–17 win over Las Vegas, built on five second-half takeaways, as our Raiders-49ers recap covers. Chicago (7–2) won its fourth straight, 27–24 over Tampa Bay on Cairo Santos’ walk-off field goal despite five turnovers, our Buccaneers-Bears recap, and now leads the NFC North by half a game. That lifts the Bears to No. 2 even though they are 0–2 in the division.
Detroit (6–2) won 19–9 in Miami for its fourth straight and is the No. 5 seed. Minnesota (6–2) has the same record but sits sixth because the Lions beat the Vikings 19–15 in Week 8. Green Bay (6–3) is seventh after Jordan Love accounted for four touchdowns in the 45–27 win at New England, as our Packers-Patriots recap details. Minnesota visits Lambeau Field on Sunday.
Green Bay after the 45–27 win at Gillette Stadium. Photos by the Packers.
The Giants (5–2–1) beat the Eagles 19–11 in Philadelphia and stay third. Seattle (5–4) is eighth, one game behind Green Bay, after a 17–3 win over Arizona with backup Drew Lock at quarterback, our Cardinals-Seahawks recap. The Seahawks rank ahead of the Rams (5–4), who won 20–13 in Washington, on division record, 2–1 to 0–2. Dallas (4–5) moved from 13th to 10th with a 27–23 win in Indianapolis.
Carolina (3–5) lost to Denver and still leads the NFC South, but New Orleans (3–5) jumped from 15th to 11th with the overtime win over Cleveland and is now level with the Panthers. Carolina is ahead on division record, 1–1 to 0–1, and the two teams play in New Orleans on Sunday. Tampa Bay and Atlanta are both 3–6, and Philadelphia (2–7) has lost seven straight.
New Orleans after the 23–22 overtime win over Cleveland. Photos by the Saints.
NFC standings by seed after Week 9
| Seed | Team | Record | Conf | Div | Status | Seed in last picture | Week 10 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Francisco 49ers | 7–1 | 4–1 | 3–0 | Division leader | 1 | at Cowboys |
| 2 | Chicago Bears | 7–2 | 5–2 | 0–2 | Division leader | 5 | Bye |
| 3 | New York Giants | 5–2–1 | 3–2–1 | 2–0–1 | Division leader | 3 | vs. Commanders (Thu) |
| 4 | Carolina Panthers | 3–5 | 3–3 | 1–1 | Division leader | 4 | at Saints |
| 5 | Detroit Lions | 6–2 | 4–1 | 2–0 | Wild card | 6 | vs. Patriots (Munich) |
| 6 | Minnesota Vikings | 6–2 | 4–1 | 2–1 | Wild card | 2 | at Packers |
| 7 | Green Bay Packers | 6–3 | 4–3 | 1–2 | Wild card | 7 | vs. Vikings |
| 8 | Seattle Seahawks | 5–4 | 2–3 | 2–1 | Outside | 8 | at Raiders |
| 9 | Los Angeles Rams | 5–4 | 3–2 | 0–2 | Outside | 9 | at Cardinals |
| 10 | Dallas Cowboys | 4–5 | 2–4 | 2–1 | Outside | 13 | vs. 49ers |
| 11 | New Orleans Saints | 3–5 | 1–3 | 0–1 | Outside | 15 | vs. Panthers |
| 12 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 3–6 | 3–3 | 2–0 | Outside | 10 | Bye |
| 13 | Atlanta Falcons | 3–6 | 3–3 | 1–2 | Outside | 11 | vs. Chiefs |
| 14 | Arizona Cardinals | 3–6 | 2–5 | 1–3 | Outside | 12 | vs. Rams |
| 15 | Washington Commanders | 2–5–1 | 2–4–1 | 1–2–1 | Outside | 14 | at Giants (Thu) |
| 16 | Philadelphia Eagles | 2–7 | 1–6 | 1–3 | Outside | 16 | Bye |
Division races
| Division | Leader | Record | Closest chaser | Record | Games back |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AFC East | Buffalo Bills | 7–1 | New England Patriots | 5–4 | 2.5 |
| AFC North | Pittsburgh Steelers | 6–2 | Cincinnati Bengals | 6–2 | 0 (tiebreaker) |
| AFC South | Jacksonville Jaguars | 6–2 | Houston Texans | 3–5 | 3 |
| AFC West | Denver Broncos | 7–2 | Kansas City Chiefs | 6–2 | 0.5 |
| NFC East | New York Giants | 5–2–1 | Dallas Cowboys | 4–5 | 2 |
| NFC North | Chicago Bears | 7–2 | Detroit Lions | 6–2 | 0.5 |
| NFC South | Carolina Panthers | 3–5 | New Orleans Saints | 3–5 | 0 (tiebreaker) |
| NFC West | San Francisco 49ers | 7–1 | Seattle Seahawks | 5–4 | 2.5 |
Week 10 games that can move the picture, with Cairo times
Chicago, Denver, Philadelphia and Tampa Bay are on bye. Two division leads are on the line on Sunday: Carolina plays in New Orleans with both teams at 3–5, and Pittsburgh visits Cincinnati on Sunday night with both at 6–2. Minnesota and Green Bay, two of the three NFC wild cards, meet at Lambeau Field. New England and Detroit play at the FC Bayern Munich Arena at 16:30 Cairo time, covered in our Munich game-week guide. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Commanders (NFC 15) at Giants (NFC 3) | Thu, Nov. 12, 8:15 p.m. | Fri 03:15 | Thursday night; NFC East lead |
| Patriots (AFC 7) vs. Lions (NFC 5) | Sun, Nov. 15, 9:30 a.m. | Sun 16:30 | Munich, FC Bayern Munich Arena |
| Chiefs (AFC 5) at Falcons (NFC 13) | Sun, 1:00 p.m. | Sun 20:00 | Kansas City is half a game behind Denver |
| Texans (AFC 11) at Browns (AFC 8) | Sun, 1:00 p.m. | Sun 20:00 | First team out in the AFC |
| Vikings (NFC 6) at Packers (NFC 7) | Sun, 1:00 p.m. | Sun 20:00 | Two NFC wild cards |
| Jaguars (AFC 3) at Titans (AFC 15) | Sun, 1:00 p.m. | Sun 20:00 | |
| Dolphins (AFC 14) at Colts (AFC 13) | Sun, 1:00 p.m. | Sun 20:00 | |
| Panthers (NFC 4) at Saints (NFC 11) | Sun, 1:00 p.m. | Sun 20:00 | NFC South lead, both 3–5 |
| Bills (AFC 1) at Jets (AFC 12) | Sun, 1:00 p.m. | Sun 20:00 | |
| Seahawks (NFC 8) at Raiders (AFC 9) | Sun, 4:05 p.m. | Sun 23:05 | Seattle is the first team out in the NFC |
| Rams (NFC 9) at Cardinals (NFC 14) | Sun, 4:05 p.m. | Sun 23:05 | |
| 49ers (NFC 1) at Cowboys (NFC 10) | Sun, 4:25 p.m. | Sun 23:25 | |
| Steelers (AFC 4) at Bengals (AFC 6) | Sun, 8:20 p.m. | Mon 03:20 | Sunday night; AFC North lead, both 6–2 |
| Chargers (AFC 16) at Ravens (AFC 10) | Mon, Nov. 16, 8:15 p.m. | Tue 03:15 | Monday Night Football |
The week opens with the Commanders at the Giants on Thursday night, previewed in our Thursday night preview. Another AFC date is coming: Denver and Pittsburgh, now the No. 2 and No. 4 seeds, meet in Pittsburgh on Black Friday, November 27, at 3 p.m. ET, which is 10 p.m. in Cairo. The road ends at SoFi Stadium on Feb. 14, where Jay-Z will headline the Super Bowl LXI halftime show.
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