The Chiefs and Bills are in. They could have company by Sunday night.
Three teams — all in the NFC — could clinch playoff berths in Week 14: the Lions, Vikings, and Eagles.
Each has 10 or more wins, with the Lions at 11-1. Here’s how they each can punch their ticket to the playoff party.
For the Lions, there are 10 different paths. The simplest is beat the Packers, or tie them. The other nine categories hinge initially on the Falcons losing to or tying the Vikings or the Buccaneers losing to or tying the Raiders.
For the Vikings, four scenarios clinch a berth: (1) win vs. Falcons and a Seahawks-Cardinals tie; (2) win vs. Falcons and Cardinals loss and Rams loss or tie; (3) tie the Falcons and Buccaneers, Cardinals, and Rams lose; (4) tie the Falcons and Buccaneers lose and Cardinals tie and Rams lose and Eagles win or tie.
For the Eagles, there are 10 possible combinations, six based on Philly winning against the Panthers and the Falcons or Bucs losing (plus other things) and four based on the Eagles tying Carolina and the Falcons or Bucs losing (plus other things).
All three eventually will get in, barring a collapse. The real question is whether they’ll be higher or lower on the final playoff tree.
