We are now 6 weeks away from the postseason. How time flies, especially with how dreadful some of the primetime games were in the past few weeks, but we are here…rolling down the mountain of a smooth and rocky experience of this 2025 season. Happy Thanksgiving everyone! This is where football really gets interesting (and God help me primetime football gets good again!).

The New York Giants was the first team eliminated from the playoffs, but others will eventually follow. Meanwhile, some teams have 9-plus wins with a few weeks to go. We will find out who makes the playoffs and also find out the legitimate Super Bowl contenders.

AFC SOUTH

There may be only 6 games left, but this might be one of those dramatic finishes to the division. Between the Texans, Colts, and Jaguars, Houston may have the best shot. Yes, we still need answers from the offense’s consistency, but it feels like they could be playing well at the right time. The Colts lost 2 in their last 3 games with a lowkey gauntlet schedule remaining. Jacksonville’s defense might be good, but their murky offense could be their undoing if it keeps trending down. Houston’s offense ain’t that consistent, but their defense is championship level. Houston has a win against Jacksonville while sweeping Tennessee. What makes this whole finish interesting is that Indy faces the Jags and Texans twice in back-to-back games starting this weekend and the last two weeks of the season. There is potential cannibalizing between Indy and Jacksonville, making Houston optimistic!

AFC NORTH

The experts, the sports analysts, and Vegas knew something about Baltimore. They all believed they are better than their 1-5 record and the books believed they can still win the division despite being 1-5. Five Baltimore games later, they’re sitting right next to Pittsburgh for the top division spot. However, with Joe Burrow’s return, this might put a damper on Baltimore a bit knowing they face him in his incumbent return on Thanksgiving and making the division title a tad difficult. What’s even more surprising is that the Bengals are 2-1 in their division for a 3-8 team. This is where Pittsburgh must be Bengals fans in hopes that Cincy dampens Baltimore. As for the Browns, they’re riding with Shedeur Sanders until said otherwise. That is all I have for Cleveland lol

AFC EAST

Outside of escaping the claws of Cincinnati, the Patriots are heating up. They won 9 straight games and are pretty much playoff bound. Mike Vrabel’s illustrious return and Drake Maye’s immediate rise to potential stardom made the Patriots a re-New-ed England team that was once a shell of themselves after Tom Brady’s departure. Yes, they get most of the attention here because the Bills are in a questionable place where priorities are elsewhere than the Super Bowl. It’s up to Josh Allen and company to get themselves refocused and also avoid Hard Knocks for future seasons. Teams in the past have had bad seasons thanks to Hard Knocks. Miami might make a late run to a better finish after going into a bye with 3 wins in the last 4 weeks. The Jets might work their way up a high draft pick situation after their trade deadline fire sale.

AFC WEST

For right now, the Broncos are in control of the division. Not clear control. Just…control with 8 straight wins thus far. With just a few more wins and a Chargers and Chiefs loss, Denver could win the division for the 1st time since 2015 before the Chiefs’ domination. Speaking of Chiefs’ domination, Kansas City is trying to find it again. They weren’t perfect last week, but they showed why the Chiefs are still the Chiefs. They still have the Chargers and Broncos to get back on track, but they also need some help with in-division cannibalism. Kansas City does have other problems in the state of Texas (Dallas and Houston) in back-to-back weeks. As for the Chargers, they’re 3-0 in their division, but 3-4 outside of it. That’s technically not good. If they lose just one division game, they could be in for a major collapse. The West could get interesting by the first week of January.

NFC SOUTH

The NFC South is the NFC South again and it has as much parity as it does with parody per usual. When the Falcons had a chance to step up and take control, they instead lost five straight games and 7 in their last 10 games before last week’s win against the Saints (which is meh). When the Bucs had a chance to thoroughly dominate the division and maybe the NFL, injuries once again piled up in key areas. Now, they lost 3 straight games, including 4 in their last 5 games. And then there’s Carolina. They improved in some weeks and had the opportunity to take control of the NFC South, but it’s more difficult than it looks with a young, battered roster. The Saints season’s very much over, but not them playing spoiler. Just like the last few seasons, there’s no clear front runner and it likely comes down to the last week of the season per usual. Could this division come down to the Panthers and Buccaneers? Can the Panthers prevent Tampa from winning the division 5 straight times (most in the NFC South)? They face each other twice in the last 3 weeks.

NFC NORTH

This will be a photo finish in the NFC North. Right now, the Bears are cooking with gas with a seemingly jelled roster. Caleb Williams’ athletic ability may have finally adapted to the NFL level, but now we must see if they can close on a tough schedule presented to them. The Packers are riding with an ebb-and-flow offense carried by a strong defense to even stay alive for the division title. Detroit will be a hard out no matter what. They’re fighting, they’re clawing, they’re calling fourth down plays at a hyper-aggressive rate when needed to. Hopefully they get the rest of their defense back and their battered offensive line can survive the rest of the season. The Vikings are in a weird place with their quarterback situation. And what happened to that Brian Flores defense? They have looked like a shell of themselves. Not saying all of it is on them, but they haven’t been exactly themselves recently.

NFC EAST

Dallas defeated the Eagles this past weekend, making the division race a little less astronomical than how it started. But Philly could still win the division even if they edge it. Their defense is too damn good to let that escape, but their offense needs answers, especially in the trenches. Their offensive line is worn, and 3 seasons of the tush push may have finally affected this unit. Not only that, but the Madden curse may also be working on Saquon Barkley. He has gone over 100 yards once and it could be the 3rd time in his career that he’s ran for 100 yards once in a season if this continues. Dallas might find a way to a 7th seed at least, but it’s a stretch. When they have the Chiefs, Lions, and Chargers in front of them, it’s a tall task to accomplish. If their defense can put together another consistent performance like their last 2 games, there is a chance. Washington could be a loss away from saying goodbye to a playoff return. The Giants have potential but had too much bad luck to overcome with key injuries. Finishing out the season strong is the best that those 2 can do.

NFC WEST

The Cardinals are out of reach whether they choose to get Kyler Murray back on the field. As for the Seahawks, Niners, and Rams, the NFC West race will be tight the rest of the way, and everyone has their own background and path there. The 49ers dealt with a string of bad luck for 2-plus seasons with injuries. Surprisingly enough, the key backups like Mac Jones and Kendrick Bourne along with The dominant workhorse in Christian McCaffrey helped the team stay in a close race by the time the starters returned. Sam Darnold, Jaxon-Smith Njigba, the running backs, and a resurgent defense made the Seahawks standout for another potential 10-win season and a playoff spot this time. They did lose to both the Niners and Rams once, but they go Round 2 with them. The division leading Rams look about as dominant as they come. Matt Stafford may have turned back time or has a clone…, but he’s playing at an MVP level with so many good players, an improved offensive line, and a staunch defense. The West division race will likely come down to the last two weeks if all 3 stay close enough.

Here’s How the Playoffs Would Look If the Season Ended After Week 12.