Some pieces of the 2022 NFL regular season have gone as planned. The Buffalo Bills, Tennessee Titans and Kansas City Chiefs are all in position to reclaim their thrones as division champions in the AFC. Major offseason trades have helped the Philadelphia Eagles and Miami Dolphins rise to contender status.
Other pieces have not. Neither the Green Bay Packers, Tampa Bay Buccaneers or defending champion Los Angeles Rams have winning records at the season’s halfway mark. The Seattle Seahawks and New York Giants, each assumed to be in the midst of rebuilds, currently occupy playoff spots.
After nine weeks, half the projected postseason field is made up of teams that went home after Week 18 in 2021. So if the season ended today, what would this winter’s playoffs look like?
AFC Division Champions
1. AFC East: Buffalo Bills (6-2). Holds tiebreaker over the Chiefs due to head-to-head win in Week 6.
2. AFC West: Kansas City Chiefs (6-2)
3. AFC North: Baltimore Ravens (6-3)
4. AFC South: Tennessee Titans (5-3)
AFC Wild Cards
5. New York Jets (6-3): Holds tiebreaker over the Dolphins due to head-to-head win in Week 5.
6. Miami Dolphins (6-3)
7. Los Angeles Chargers (5-3)
In the hunt: New England Patriots (5-4), Cincinnati Bengals (5-4)
NFC Division Champions
1. NFC East: Philadelphia Eagles (8-0)
2. NFC North: Minnesota Vikings (7-1)
3. NFC West: Seattle Seahawks (6-3)
4. NFC South: Tampa Bay Buccaneers (4-5)
NFC Wild Cards
5. Dallas Cowboys (6-2): Holds tiebreaker over the Giants due to head-to-head win in Week 3.
6. New York Giants (6-2)
7. San Francisco 49ers (4-4)
In the hunt: Atlanta Falcons (4-5), Washington Commanders (4-5), Los Angeles Rams (3-5)
