The following charts seek to answer the following question: If these two (or more) teams finish with the same record, who wins the tiebreaker?
Notes and assumptions:
- No possibility of future tie games (except where indicated).
- Tiebreaker winners are as they would be if the teams were tied at the end of the season, NOT as if the season ended right now.
- Tiebreakers that don’t affect playoff berths or seeding are ignored. If BUF and KC both finish 11-5, KC wins the AFC West but BUF does not win the AFC East.
- Division ties are broken first. If PIT, TEN, and IND all finish 8-8, break the AFC South tie between TEN and IND first, then break the tie between the TEN-IND winner and PIT.
- If three or more teams are tied, apply that tiebreaker, not the two-team tiebreaker.
- Strength of victory is the combined winning percentage (essentially, the number of wins) of the teams a team has beaten. It has nothing to do with point totals.
BAL has clinched the AFC North and home-field advantage. NE has clinched the AFC East. HOU has clinched the AFC South. KC has clinched the AFC West. BUF has clinched the #5 seed. CIN, DEN, IND, JAX, LAC, MIA, and NYJ have been eliminated.
The complete tiebreaker rules are here.
Jump to East | North | South | West | Interdivisional ties 2-way • 3-way
AFC East
The Patriots have clinched the AFC East. No meaningful ties are possible.
AFC North
The Ravens have clinched the AFC North. No meaningful ties are possible.
AFC South
| If these teams tie | at | tie goes to | based on |
|---|---|---|---|
| TEN-IND | 8-8 | IND | division record |
AFC West
The Chiefs have clinched the AFC West. No meaningful ties are possible.
AFC interdivisional ties
2-way
| If these teams tie | at | tie goes to | based on |
|---|---|---|---|
| NE-BAL | 13-3 | BAL | head-to-head |
| NE-KC | 12-4 | KC | head-to-head |
| BAL-KC | 12-4 | KC | head-to-head |
| PIT-TEN | TEN | strength of victory | |
| PIT-IND | 8-8 | PIT | head-to-head |
| HOU-KC | HOU | head-to-head |
3-way ties
| If these teams tie | at | with these things happening | tie goes to | based on |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PIT-TEN-OAK | 8-8 | TEN | strength of victory | |
| PIT-IND-OAK | 8-8 |
|
PIT |
|
| PIT-IND-OAK | 8-8 |
|
OAK |
|
