Who Is In The NFL Playoffs Right Now

If you’re searching for who is in the NFL playoffs, you’re probably trying to get the answer fast without second-guessing what’s outdated. This FlagOh guide keeps it simple with an updated seeds snapshot, plain-English labels, and a quick confidence check so you can follow the bracket without getting pulled into the weeds.

Updated Playoff Teams List With Seeds One Through Seven

Start here. This seeds list gives you the AFC and NFC field in one glance before we explain what it means once games finish late.

Who Is In The NFL Playoffs

Below is a seed-by-seed view split by the AFC and the NFC. It’s built to answer “who’s in,” and also the more common mid-January question: who is still playing versus who is already out.

Conference	Seed	Team	Status right now	Path
AFC	1	Denver Broncos	Still alive	Division winner
AFC	2	New England Patriots	Still alive	Division winner
AFC	3	Jacksonville Jaguars	Eliminated	Division winner
AFC	4	Pittsburgh Steelers	Eliminated	Division winner
AFC	5	Houston Texans	Still alive	Wild card
AFC	6	Buffalo Bills	Still alive	Wild card
AFC	7	Los Angeles Chargers	Eliminated	Wild card
NFC	1	Seattle Seahawks	Still alive	Division winner
NFC	2	Chicago Bears	Still alive	Division winner
NFC	3	Philadelphia Eagles	Eliminated	Division winner
NFC	4	Carolina Panthers	Eliminated	Division winner
NFC	5	Los Angeles Rams	Still alive	Wild card
NFC	6	San Francisco 49ers	Still alive	Wild card
NFC	7	Green Bay Packers	Eliminated	Wild card

What Right Now Means When Games Finish Late

“Right now” only becomes confusing when people update too early. The clean rule is to treat a list as “current” only after the latest game in that slate is final, then stamp the page with the update date. If you’re using this post as a reference, the update line matters more than the headline.

A Quick Guide To Clinched In And Eliminated

During the regular season, “clinched” usually means a team has locked a playoff berth or a division title. Once the postseason starts, the most useful labels for fans are simply still alive and eliminated.

How The NFL Playoffs Work So The List Makes Sense

Before you trust any playoff list, it helps to know the basic shape behind it. This quick section gives you just enough context to understand why the seeds look the way they do and how the first round gets set.

How Many Teams Make The NFL Playoffs 

The current playoff format is a 14-team field, split evenly across conferences. You don’t need deeper rules to read a bracket quickly, but locking in that structure makes the rest easier to follow.

Division Winners vs Wild Cards 

Each conference sends four division winners and three wild cards. That’s why the “Path” column is helpful: it tells you whether a team entered as a division champ or as a wild card, which often explains why seeds look the way they do.

How Seeding Works And Who Plays Who First

The fastest rule to remember is that only the top seed in each conference gets a bye. Everyone else plays on Wild Card weekend. First-round matchups follow the usual 2–7, 3–6, 4–5 pattern inside each conference, while the 1 seed waits.

Verify Who Is In The NFL Playoffs In 30 Seconds

If you just want to be sure the list is accurate, you don’t need to overthink it. In this FlagOh guide, the checks below keep you aligned with the latest bracket before you share it.  Use the quick checks below to confirm you’re looking at the latest bracket, then move on with confidence.

Check The Source, Then The Update Time, Then The Labels

If you ever doubt a list, don’t debate it—verify it. Start with a trusted bracket or standings source, look for a clear last updated line, then read the labels the page uses. This avoids the most common mistake: sharing a list that was correct before the last result came in.

Two Sanity Checks That Catch Most Wrong Lists

You can catch most errors without opening three tabs. The bracket should show seven seeds per conference, and the one seeds should be the only teams that didn’t play on Wild Card weekend. If either of those doesn’t match, you’re almost certainly looking at an older graphic.

When Tiebreakers Matter And When They Do Not

Tiebreakers matter most before the field is finalized, when teams are fighting to get in or improve seeding. In the postseason itself, the question becomes simpler: win or go home. If you’re reading late-season scenarios, the best practice is to trust ones that explain their assumptions and clearly tie them to a specific week or date.

Teams Still Alive In The NFL Playoffs

Every January, this question causes more confusion than it should. When people ask who is still in the NFL playoffs, they usually mean “who’s still alive,” not the original field.

Still In vs Still Left vs In The Hunt

In practice, who is left in the NFL playoffs is the same question with different wording. “In the hunt” is different—it’s a regular-season phrase. Once playoff games start, it stops being useful because the only thing that matters is whether a team is still alive or already out.

The Win And In Scenario Template

Late-season scenarios are easiest to read when they follow one structure: a team gets in with a win, or it gets in with a loss plus specific results elsewhere. I only trust scenarios that are clearly tied to a specific week or date, because one upset can flip the whole picture.

Why Matchups Can Change Even When Teams Stay The Same

You can be right about the remaining teams and still be wrong about the matchups. As rounds finish, the bracket can reshuffle based on the remaining seeds, so old graphics can mislead even if the names look right.

Playoff Questions People Actually Ask

If you’re skimming and just want quick clarity, this section is for you. These are the questions fans keep asking every postseason, with short answers you can read in one pass and move on.

How many teams are in the NFL playoffs?
Fourteen teams total, split across the AFC and the NFC.

What does “clinched” mean in NFL standings?
It means a team has secured a playoff berth (or a division title), depending on the label used.

How are NFL playoff seeds determined?
Seeding is based on records, with tiebreakers used when records match.

What happens if teams have the same record?
Tiebreaker rules decide order and playoff qualification when needed.

Who gets the bye week in the NFL playoffs?
Only the #1 seed in each conference.

Where can I check the official playoff picture fastest?
Use a trusted bracket/standings page and confirm it shows a clear last updated line.

When do playoff teams and matchups become final?
The field locks after the regular season, and each round’s matchups lock after that round’s games are complete.

If you came here for who is in the NFL playoffs, you now have a clean view you can trust. Check back next round, and if you want a simple game-day setup, explore FlagOh for clean flags that fit your space.