The NFL is halfway through the month of October and the 2023 trade deadline is two weeks away. Nobody has been mathematically eliminated from playoff contention, but Week 6 has seen teams all but end their divisional chances and other teams turning Week 7 into a must-win week.
The week opened on Thursday with the Chiefs beating the Broncos 19-8 in a pretty ugly game. Divisional matchups are rarely pretty, but Chiefs-Broncos was less about a competitive game and more about how bad the Broncos are playing. They didn’t let the Chiefs jump too far ahead, but their offense was a mess for most of the game. They’re 1-5 and look for them to continue unloading veterans after trading Randy Gregory and releasing Frank Clark.
The early slate of games saw the Ravens beat the Titans in London and then the Bengals beat the Seahawks at home. The AFC North is tightening up and the Bengals appear to be back on track. The big result of the 1 p.m. slate saw the Browns stun the 49ers, winning an ugly one 19-17 after the 49ers missed a game-winning field goal in the closing seconds.
The 4 p.m. window of games saw the other undefeated team get knocked off. The Eagles lost to the Jets 20-14 after a last-minute Jets touchdown. The Lions made another statement, going into Tampa and beating the Bucs 20-6. The Rams beat the Cardinals to climb back to .500 and are firmly in the wild card picture.
Here’s a look at what the playoff picture looks like as the NFL heads into the prime time schedule to close out Week 6.
AFC playoff picture
1. Kansas City Chiefs, 5-1
2. Miami Dolphins, 5-1
3. Baltimore Ravens, 4-2
4. Jacksonville Jaguars, 3-2
5. Buffalo Bills, 4-2
6. Pittsburgh Steelers, 3-2
7. Cleveland Browns, 3-2
8. Indianapolis Colts, 3-3
9. Houston Texans, 3-3
10. New York Jets, 3-3
11. Las Vegas Raiders, 3-3
12. Cincinnati Bengals, 3-3
13. Los Angeles Chargers, 2-3
14. Tennessee Titans, 2-4
15. New England Patriots, 1-5
16. Denver Broncos, 1-5
NFC playoff picture
1. San Francisco 49ers, 5-1
2. Philadelphia Eagles, 5-1
3. Detroit Lions, 5-1
4. Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 3-2
5. Dallas Cowboys, 4-2
6. Seattle Seahawks, 3-2
7. Los Angeles Rams, 3-3
8. Washington Commanders, 3-3
9. Atlanta Falcons, 3-3
10. New Orleans Saints, 3-3
11. Green Bay Packers, 2-3
12. Minnesota Vikings, 2-4
13. Chicago Bears, 1-5
14. New York Giants, 1-5
15. Arizona Cardinals, 1-5
16. Carolina Panthers, 0-6