With the NFL season heading into Week 12, all 32 teams are still alive to make the postseason and that number isn’t going to change this weekend due to the fact that there are NO playoff elimination scenarios on the table this week.
This means that teams like the Texans and Panthers will still be mathematically in the playoff race after Thanksgiving, which I don’t think anyone thought was possible this year. They should take that as a moral victory.
So what are their actual chances of making the playoffs? That’s one of the questions we’re going to answer right now in this week’s playoff projection where we look at the postseason chances for all 32 teams. The projections here are based on data from number-cruncher Stephen Oh of SportsLine.com. Oh plugged some numbers into his SportsLine computer this week and simulated the rest of the NFL season, and using those numbers, we’re going to let you know the playoff chances for every team, plus the projected 14-team playoff field.
With that in mind, let’s get to this week’s playoff projections.
AFC Playoff Projection
Here’s a list of the playoff chances for all the other AFC teams (their percentage chances of getting into the playoffs is listed next to them in parentheses): Chargers (44%), Jets (33.8%), Colts (10.2%), Jaguars (4.6%), Browns (3.1%), Steelers (1.4%), Broncos (0.4%), Raiders (1.3%), Texans (0.0%).
NFC Playoff Projection
Here’s a list of the playoff chances for all the other NFC teams (their percentage chances of getting into the playoffs is listed next to them in parentheses): Commanders (17.6%), Falcons (11.5%), Lions (7.4%), Saints (5.9%), Packers (3%), Cardinals (1%), Panthers (0.9%), Rams (0.7%), Bears (0.0%).
Note: The Texans and Bears haven’t been eliminated from playoff contention, but they have a 0% chance of making it because the computer hates them. Actually, the computer doesn’t love or hate, it has no feelings, it just doesn’t think there’s a mathematical chance for Houston or Chicago to make it.
Wild-card round projection
AFC
(7) Bengals at (2) Bills
(6) Patriots at (3) Ravens
(5) Dolphins at (4) Titans
Bye: Chiefs
NFC
(7) Giants at (2) Vikings
(6) Seahawks at (3) 49ers
(5) Giants at (4) Buccaneers
Bye: Eagles
