NFL playoff picture entering Week 6: 5–0 NFC leaders and a 4–1 AFC cluster

Week 6 opens with the field already sorted after a full Week 5, including Buffalo’s 37–34 overtime win at the Los Angeles Rams that lifted the Bills to 4–1. League standings through five weeks leave two undefeated NFC clubs, a three-way 4–1 cluster behind Kansas City in the AFC, and an NFC North that would send three wild cards if the postseason started today.

AFC: Chiefs alone at 4–0, then a 4–1 logjam

If the season ended today, the AFC seeds would line up as Kansas City (4–0) at No. 1, then Baltimore, Jacksonville and Buffalo — all 4–1 — as the other division leaders. Conference record separates that trio: the Ravens are 2–0 inside the AFC, the Jaguars 3–1 and the Bills 2–1.

The wild-card band is a 3–2 pile. New England (3–1 conference), Denver (2–1) and Las Vegas (2–2) hold the three spots on the current ordering, with Cleveland, Pittsburgh and Cincinnati also 3–2 and sitting just outside. Miami, the Chargers and Tennessee remain 0–5; Houston is 1–4 after its first win.

NFC: Minnesota and San Francisco at 5–0

Minnesota and San Francisco are both 5–0 as division leaders. Conference record currently favors the Vikings (4–0) over the 49ers (3–0) for the No. 1 seed if nothing else breaks the tie. The New York Giants (3–1–1) lead the East; Carolina (2–2) leads the South.

Green Bay, Detroit and Chicago are all 3–2 and would take the three NFC wild cards today, with Detroit’s 2–1 conference mark ahead of Green Bay and Chicago at 2–2. Seattle is also 3–2 but 1–2 in conference and sits first in the hunt group, ahead of the Rams (2–3 after Monday), Atlanta, Philadelphia and Dallas.

What Week 6 can move immediately

Thursday night sends Seattle to Denver — a direct wild-card pressure game between a 3–2 NFC hunter and a 3–2 AFC wild card. Sunday’s London closer puts Houston at Jacksonville at Wembley. Buffalo visits Las Vegas in a matchup of current AFC playoff clubs. Kansas City hosts the winless Chargers after its early bye.

This snapshot uses completed Week 5 results only. It is not a projection model, a clinching tracker or a betting card. Seeds will reshuffle as soon as Thursday’s kickoff lands, and the full regular-season map still has twelve weeks left before Wild Card Weekend in mid-January.