Thanksgiving, Black Friday impacting NFL playoff standings

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The Detroit Lions and Kansas City Chiefs lead the NFC and AFC, respectively, and both are playing over the course of Thanksgiving and Black Friday. There are also ways the Lions, Chiefs, and Buffalo Bills can clinch a playoff spot this week , and the outcomes will play major roles there, too.

The Lions beat the Chicago Bears early, then the Dallas Cowboys knocked off the New York Giants without playoff implications, before the Green Bay Packers slammed the Miami Dolphins.

On Friday, the Kansas City Chiefs play the Las Vegas Raiders and can become the first team to clinch a playoff spot this year.

Here are the standings as of right now:

AFC standings during Week 13

1. Kansas City Chiefs (10-1)2. Buffalo Bills (9-2)3. Pittsburgh Steelers (8-3)4. Houston Texans (7-5)5. Baltimore Ravens (8-4)6. Los Angeles Chargers (7-4)7. Denver Broncos (7-5)8. Indianapolis Colts (5-7, win over MIA)9. Miami Dolphins (5-7, loss to IND)10. Cincinnati Bengals (4-7)11. Cleveland Browns (3-8, 3-3 AFC)12. New York Jets (3-8, 3-5 AFC, win over TEN)13. Tennessee Titans (3-8, 3-4 AFC, loss to NYJ)14. New England Patriots (3-9)*15. Jacksonville Jaguars (2-9, 2-4 AFC)16. Las Vegas Raiders (2-9, 2-7 AFC)*

NFC standings during Week 14

1. Detroit Lions (11-1)2. Philadelphia Eagles (9-2)3. Seattle Seahawks (6-5, win over ARI, win over ATL)4. Atlanta Falcons (6-5. loss to SEA)5. Minnesota Vikings (9-2)6. Green Bay Packers (9-3)7. Washington Commanders (7-5) 8. Arizona Cardinals (6-5, loss to SEA)9. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (5-6, 5-3 NFC)10. Los Angeles Rams (5-6, win over SF, 3-5 NFC)11. San Francisco 49ers (5-6, loss to LAR)12. Dallas Cowboys (5-7)13. New Orleans Saints (4-7)14. Chicago Bears (4-8)*15. Carolina Panthers (3-8)16. New York Giants (2-10)* eliminated

Teams with an asterisk have been eliminated from their divisional races.

How the Kansas City Chiefs can clinch a playoff spot in Week 13

With 10 wins, the worst record KC could end up with is 10-7. The eighth-place Miami Dolphins now have seven losses, so they can finish 10-7 at best. The Chiefs need to get to 11 wins and have the Dolphins at seven losses in … Read More