Quick. Who are the top seeds in each respective conference in the NFL?
If you said the Denver Broncos and the Los Angeles Rams you either follow the league very closely or threw out a lucky guess.
In fact, Denver has won 11 in a row, while the Rams are the current Super Bowl favorites.
With just three weeks left in the regular season, the 2025-26 National Football League season has been anything but predictable.
This past weekend was another perfect example of that as Kansas City was not only eliminated from playoff contention for the first time in 10 years, they also won’t be AFC West Champions for the first time in nine years. Quarterback Patrick Mahomes also suffered a torn ACL and could be out for up to a year.
Injuries also seem up across the league. Cincinnati quarterback Joe Burrow was out for weeks after undergoing foot surgery. There is Mahomes, and also Green Bay Packers pass-rusher Micah Parsons who also sustained a torn ACL.
The aforementioned Broncos and Rams became the first two teams to clinch playoff berths.
Closer to home the Buffalo Bills battled back from a 21-0 deficit to defeat the New England Patriots 35-31. The Patriots at (11-3) still lead the AFC East, one game ahead of Buffalo.
“Honestly, we’re not in first place right now so I can’t say we’re the standard bearer. Obviously, the last five-ish years, we’ve found sustained success. But never been able to punch our ticket to the Super Bowl. At the end of the goal, that’s every team’s dream. And our goal is not just to win AFC Easts You’ve got to get into the playoffs to give yourself a chance to win a Super Bowl. So that’s what we’re trying to do,” Bills quarterback Josh Allen explained.
The Pittsburgh Steelers (8-6) lead the AFC North following Monday night’s victory over Miami, while the (10-4) Jacksonville Jaguars (winners of five in a row) lead the ultra-competitive AFC South. However, right there behind the Jags are the (9-5) and winners of six in a row Houston Texans.
In the NFC, the defending Super Bowl Champion Philadelphia Eagles have had an up and down season sitting at (9-5) to lead the East Division.
The Seattle Seahawks (11-3) are tied with the Rams in the NFC West, while the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Carolina Panthers are tied at (7-7) to lead the NFC South.
“It feels good (to clinch a playoff spot),” said Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford, who is now the favorite to win league Most Valuable Players.
“To be honest with you, (we) didn’t talk about it for one second this week. Just another opponent, another really good opponent we had to play at our place. And we knew it was going to be a tough one – but great accomplishment.”
Week 16 in the NFL opens Thursday night as the Rams visit Seattle in a heavyweight clash that could not only determine the division champion, but also home-field advantage throughout the NFC playoffs.
Rod Mawhood is a lifelong Niagara native who has had the pleasure of working in all three mediums – Radio, Print and TV – for over 20 years. His first announcing gig was with the then St. Catharines Stompers. Since then he’s worked in radio and TV in Toronto, and currently is the announcer for the Niagara IceDogs and Niagara River Lions.
Rod also covers the Buffalo Bills for FOX Sports and the Buffalo Sabres for NBC Sports.
