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. (Ties might be added to the charts as the end of the season gets closer.)
- 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. (Example: the only way BAL and HOU wind up with the same record at the end of the season is if HOU beats BAL Week 17.)
- Tiebreakers that don’t affect playoff berths or seeding are not shown. (Example: if HOU and DEN both finish the season with the same record, HOU wins the AFC South while DEN does not win the AFC West.)
- If the tie for the last wild card team is at 9 wins, LAC or DEN must be included in the tiebreaker.
- Division ties are broken first. If BAL, LAC, and DEN all finish 10-7, break the AFC West tie between LAC and DEN first, then break the tie between the LAC-DEN winner and BAL.
- If three or more teams are tied, apply that tiebreaker, not the two-team tiebreaker.
- BUF has clinched the AFC East, HOU has clinched the AFC South, and KC has clinched the AFC West.
- PIT and BAL have clinched a playoff berth.
- NE, NYJ, CLE, TEN, JAX, and LV have been eliminated.
The complete tiebreaker rules are here.
Jump to North | South | West | Interdivisional ties 2-way • 3-way • 4-way
AFC North
| If these teams tie | at | with these things happening | tie goes to | based on |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PIT-BAL | 12-5 | BAL beats CLE, HOU | PIT | common opponents |
| PIT-BAL | 11-6 |
|
PIT | conference record |
| PIT-BAL | 11-6 |
|
PIT | division record |
| PIT-BAL | 11-6 |
|
BAL | division record |
| PIT-BAL | 11-6 |
|
PIT | common opponents |
| PIT-BAL | 10-7 | BAL loses to CLE, HOU | PIT | conference record |
AFC South
| If these teams tie | at | tie goes to | based on |
|---|---|---|---|
| HOU-IND | 9-8 | HOU | head-to-head |
AFC West
| If these teams tie | at | tie goes to | based on |
|---|---|---|---|
| LAC-DEN | LAC | head-to-head |
Interdivisional ties
2-way ties
| If these teams tie | at | tie goes to | based on |
|---|---|---|---|
| HOU-IND | 9-8 | HOU | head-to-head |
| LAC-DEN | LAC | head-to-head | |
| BUF-PIT | 12-5 | PIT | conference record |
| BUF-BAL | 12-5 | BAL | head-to-head |
| BUF-KC | 14-3 | BUF | head-to-head |
| MIA-LAC | 9-8 | MIA | conference record |
| MIA-DEN | 9-8 | MIA | conference record |
| PIT-HOU | HOU | conference record | |
| PIT-LAC | PIT | head-to-head | |
| PIT-DEN | PIT | head-to-head | |
| BAL-HOU | 11-6 | HOU | head-to-head |
| BAL-LAC | BAL | head-to-head | |
| BAL-DEN | BAL | head-to-head | |
| CIN-LAC | 9-8 | LAC | head-to-head |
| CIN-DEN | 9-8 | CIN | head-to-head |
| IND-LAC | 9-8 | IND | conference record |
| IND-DEN | 9-8 | IND | head-to-head |
3-way ties
| If these teams tie | at | tie goes to | based on |
|---|---|---|---|
| MIA-CIN-LAC | 9-8 | MIA | conference record |
| MIA-CIN-DEN | 9-8 | MIA | conference record |
| MIA-IND-LAC | 9-8 | IND |
|
| MIA-IND-DEN | 9-8 | IND |
|
| CIN-IND-LAC | 9-8 | IND | conference record |
| CIN-IND-DEN | 9-8 | IND | conference record |
4-way ties
| If these teams tie | at | tie goes to | based on |
|---|---|---|---|
| MIA-CIN-IND-LAC | 9-8 | IND |
|
| MIA-CIN-IND-DEN | 9-8 | IND |
|
