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Sports

Which teams will reach this season's NFL play-offs?

Details
13 November 2025

NFL 2025 season: Week 11

BBC coverage: Live text commentary of Sunday's games on the BBC Sport website and app (from 17:30 GMT). Also live radio commentary on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra and BBC Sounds of Seattle Seahawks v Los Angeles Rams (from 21:00 GMT).

With the NFL season having passed the halfway mark, thoughts have turned to the play-off picture.

Some teams are sure to miss out on the post-season while some seem nailed on, but there are still plenty of places up for grabs.

With eight weeks of the regular season remaining, NFL pundit Phoebe Schecter was joined on The Whole 10 Yards by Jori Epstein - a senior NFL reporter for Yahoo Sports - to decide who are contenders and pretenders.

And you can also have your say on who will still be on the road to Super Bowl 60 come January.

Who qualifies for the NFL play-offs?

The NFL standings are split into two conferences of 16 teams, with each split into four divisions of four.

Seven teams from each conference qualify for the play-offs - the four division winners plus the three teams with the next best league records.

The three teams in each conference that secure wild-card spots will all play away during the first week of the post-season.

That is the first of three knock-out rounds to decide the two conference champions, who will meet in the Super Bowl on 8 February in Santa Clara.

  • Bills' bad day gives Pats path to top spot - best of NFL week 10

Will any of AFC big guns miss out?

The AFC Conference has provided the biggest surprises so far this season as the Indianapolis Colts, New England Patriots and Denver Broncos all top their division with an 8-2 record.

What's more, Josh Allen's Buffalo (6-3), Patrick Mahomes' Kansas City (5-4) and Lamar Jackson's Baltimore (4-5) are all playing catch-up, so could any of those MVP-winning quarterbacks miss out on the post-season?

Schecter, a former assistant coach at the Buffalo Bills, said: "The defence needs some work, but when you have Josh Allen you're going to be contenders."

The Kansas City Chiefs have reached five of the past six Super Bowls, winning three, but are currently third in the AFC West behind Denver and the Los Angeles Chargers.

"Nonetheless, the Chiefs are contenders," said Epstein. "The defence has been strong throughout, even when the offence was figuring it out, and we saw that in the years of Tom Brady at New England.

"They used the beginning of the season to figure out what they're working on, and by the end of it, you should be afraid because they figured it out."

The Chargers are 7-3 and Schecter expects the Chiefs to reel them in as their offensive line has "not been the same" since losing Joe Alt to injury.

The Baltimore Ravens slumped to a 1-5 start, from which only 1% of teams have previously gone on to reach the post-season, but they have won all three games since and quarterback Jackson is back from a minor injury, while AFC North leaders Pittsburgh have lost three of their past four.

"I think that Baltimore are contenders," said Epstein. "The offence is settling, the defence is getting healthier and they're about to play the Browns, the Jets and the Bengals before they see the Steelers.

"Pittsburgh's offence started off doing alright, but you could not trust their defence," added Epstein.

"Now their defence is getting back to the Steeler way, but Aaron Rodgers and his targets are not on the same page. I do not trust them to hold off the division, much less get into the play-offs."

Schecter sees the Jacksonville Jaguars as pretenders in the AFC South but believes the Cincinnati Bengals could nick a wild-card spot in the AFC North. Quarterback Joe Burrow is set to return from injury but their defence has allowed more points than any other team.

"The Bengals could beat out the Steelers when healthy, so let's go for it," Schecter said. "I'm a Joe Burrow believer."

Will 49ers or Bears make the cut in NFC?

In the NFC Conference, there are two standout contenders in their divisions - the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (6-3) and the defending champions, the Philadelphia Eagles (7-2).

But the other two divisions are so competitive that up to three teams could qualify from each, with both the Seattle Seahawks and Los Angeles Rams having a 7-2 record atop the NFC West.

Veteran quarterback Matthew Stafford led the Rams to a memorable Super Bowl victory in 2022 - and they host the Seahawks this Sunday.

"The Rams are such a complete and balanced team and Matthew Stafford is playing at an MVP level," said Epstein.

Schecter added: "The Seahawks still don't have much of a run game, but they are one of the most explosive offenses. Jaxon Smith-Njigba has been phenomenal, he's leading the league's receivers."

The San Francisco 49ers (6-4) have a favourable run over the next few weeks but injuries could ultimately cost them a place in the post-season.

Schecter says the Detroit Lions (6-3) are "absolutely a contender" because "it's on every single level that they're making an impact", but who else will qualify from the NFC North?

The Green Bay Packers (5-3-1) have not quite lived up to their pre-season billing as Super Bowl contenders, but Epstein says "they have one of the best defences in the league. I think they'll figure out their offensive inconsistency enough to get into the play-offs".

The Chicago Bears are currently 6-3 and although quarterback Caleb Williams is enjoying an improved second season under their new head coach, they have a tough finish.

"What their offence has done in that first year under Ben Johnson is exactly what the Bears want to see and should give them real encouragement for next year," Epstein said.

"But I think there's going to be a numbers game and it's going to be a rough answer for the Bears."

Someone must take that seventh play-off spot, though, so will it be the 49ers, the Bears or maybe even the Carolina Panthers behind the Bucs in the NFC South?

Have your say below.

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This Week in Sports Trivia: November 13, 2025

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13 November 2025

There is no denying that the New York Giants are a storied NFL franchise. Only two teams (the Pittsburgh Steelers and Chicago Bears) have won more games, only three (the Steelers, Green Bay Packers and Dallas Cowboys) have made more playoff appearances, and only four (the Steelers, New England Patriots, San Francisco 49ers and Cowboys) have won more Super Bowls than the Giants’ four.

Some of that success is even relatively recent, with the Eli Manning-led squad winning championships in 2007 and 2011.

It’s getting harder to see those glory days with each passing year, however, and it’s only getting worse. Since Tom Coughlin stepped down as head coach after the 2015 season, the Giants have zero division titles and a winning percentage of .338. They’ve also burned through head coaches since Coughlin’s reign, with the latest being Brian Daboll, who was shown the door after a 2-8 start to this season.

It all has some even asking if the Giants’ head coaching position is even a good one anymore, a once laughable question.

We’ll dive into the situation in this week’s quiz, as well as several other topics that caught our eye this week. While you’re at it, check out our daily Connections: Sports Edition, too.

Top stories mentioned in this week’s quiz

Giants fire coach Brian Daboll after 2-8 start to season

Antonio Brown pleads not guilty to attempted murder

Olivier Rioux becomes tallest college hoops player ever

Who was named AL Rookie of the Year unanimously?

Mavericks fire general manager Nico Harrison

What’s wrong with the Golden State Warriors?

The worlds of golf and the WNBA collide

One sport is nervous about the readiness of Olympic facilities

NWSL is expanding into Atlanta with record deal

Can changes bring a spark to Red Wings?

This article originally appeared in The Athletic.

NHL, NFL, NBA, MLB, Men's College Basketball, Soccer, NWSL, Sports Business, Women's Soccer, Culture, Olympics

2025 The Athletic Media Company

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Cooper Kupp: Return to Los Angeles is "another football game"

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13 November 2025

Seahawks wide receiver Cooper Kupp will be back in familiar surroundings this Sunday.

Kupp spent the first eight seasons of his career with the Rams and he'll be back at SoFi Stadium for the first time since he was released in March. Kupp quickly landed a spot with the Seahawks after that move and that meant he was guaranteed to be visiting his former team at least once this season.

With that visit here, Kupp faced questions about his approach. He said that "you can't make this game about yourself" because of any "outstanding circumstances" and that he'll be treating it the way he treats every other game as a result.

"It's another football game," Kupp said, via the team's website. "You get out there, play your game. I love these guys, I love so many of the guys over there, but at the end of the day, you've to go play a football game, so that's going to be what it is. Try to treat this the same as any other game, go out there and lock in and do your job one play after the next. Take that play-by-play mindset, same as usual."

Kupp was the center of attention in the passing game for much of his time with the Rams, but injuries and Puka Nacua's emergence changed his role in his final years. He's playing a complementary role again with Jaxon Smith-Njigba the clear No. 1 in Seattle and he has 26 catches for 367 yards and a touchdown in eight games this season.

Read more …

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