NFL

2023 NFL playoff picture: Here are the 14 teams projected to make postseason with Cowboys in wild-card spot

by
SaC Bot
December 27, 2023

USATSI

With just two weeks to play in the 2023 NFL season, there are still 24 teams in playoff contention. If that sounds like a high number, that’s because it is. You almost never see that many teams still alive at the this point in the season.

As a matter of fact, since the NFL-AFL merger in 1970, this is tied for the second-most teams that have been in contention with two weeks left on the schedule. The only time we saw a higher number came in 2004 when there were 26 teams still alive.

With so many teams still in it, you might be wondering who’s actually going to make the playoffs this year and that’s what we’re going to answer right now in this week’s playoff projection. 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 2023 NFL season, and using those numbers, we’re going to let you know the playoff chances for all 32 teams, plus the projected 14-team playoff field.

With that in mind, let’s get to this week’s playoff projections (For more from Stephen Oh and his SportsLine “Inside the Lines” team, you can tune into his YouTube channel daily at 1 p.m. ET by clicking here).

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): Texans (43.7%), Bengals (22.2%), Steelers (14.1%), Raiders (13.2%), Broncos (1.4%), Chargers (Eliminated), Titans ((ELIMINATED) Jets (ELIMINATED), Patriots (ELIMINATED)

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): Packers (28.3%), Vikings (27.4%), Saints (12.2%), Falcons (4.9%), Bears (0.7%), Giants (ELIMINATED), Commanders (ELIMINATED), Cardinals (ELIMINATED), Panthers (ELIMINATED)