• AFC
• CLINCHED:
• Buffalo Bills (12-3) – AFC East
• Houston Texans (9-6) – AFC South
• Kansas City Chiefs (14-1) – AFC West
• Baltimore Ravens (10-5) – playoff berth
• Pittsburgh Steelers (10-5) – playoff berth
• Kansas City Chiefs (14-1) at Pittsburgh Steelers (10-5); Wednesday, 1 p.m. ET, Netflix
• Kansas City clinches the AFC’s No. 1 seed, lone first-round bye and home-field advantage with:

1. KC win or tie
2. BUF loss or tie

• Denver Broncos (9-6) at Cincinnati Bengals (7-8); Saturday, 4:30 p.m. ET, NFL Network
• Denver clinches a playoff berth with:
• Los Angeles Chargers (9-6) at New England Patriots (3-12); Saturday, 1 p.m. ET, NFL Network
• Los Angeles clinches a playoff berth with:

1. LAC win or tie
2. MIA loss or tie + IND loss or tie

• NFC
• CLINCHED:
• Detroit Lions (13-2) – playoff berth
• Green Bay Packers (11-4) – playoff berth
• Minnesota Vikings (13-2) – playoff berth
• Philadelphia Eagles (12-3) – playoff berth
• Detroit Lions (13-2) at San Francisco 49ers (6-9); Monday, 8:15 p.m. ET, ESPN/ABC
• Detroit clinches NFC North division title and the NFC’s No. 1 seed, lone first-round bye and home-field advantage with:
• Philadelphia Eagles (12-3) vs. Dallas Cowboys (7-8); Sunday, 1 p.m. ET, FOX
• Philadelphia clinches NFC East division title with:

1. PHI win or tie
2. WAS loss or tie

• Atlanta Falcons (8-7) at Washington Commanders (10-5); Sunday, 8:20 p.m. ET, NBC
• Atlanta clinches NFC South division title with:
• Los Angeles Rams (9-6) vs. Arizona Cardinals (7-8); Saturday, 8 p.m. ET, NFL Network
• Los Angeles Rams clinch NFC West division title with:

1. LAR win + SEA loss or tie
2. LAR win + LAR clinches strength of victory tiebreaker over SEA
3. LAR tie + SEA loss

• (Note: LAR clinches strength of victory over SEA with 3.5 or more wins from the following teams: MIN, BUF, SF, WAS, CIN, CLE)
• Washington Commanders (10-5) vs. Atlanta Falcons (8-7); Sunday, 8:20 p.m. ET, NBC
• Washington clinches a playoff berth with:

1. WAS win or tie
2. TB loss or tie

• Russell Wilson went all out for his offensive line this Christmas. He got them:
• A $10,000 Airbnb gift card
• A Louis Vuitton duffel bag in Steelers colors
• Custom Steelers Good Man Brand shoes
• A bottle of his wife Ciara’s TenToOne Rum
• George Pickens is good to go for tomorrow’s game against the Chiefs. He’s officially off the Steelers’ injury report after dealing with a hamstring injury.
• Justin Fields, however, is questionable with an abdominal injury.
• Chase Brown won’t be fined for his Salvation Army jump after all. The NFL tried to fine Brown more than $5,000 for jumping into the iconic kettle after he scored a touchdown against the Cowboys earlier this month.
• Brown didn’t know he was going to get hit with a fine, either.
• “Do I really?” Brown responded when told by reporters. “I hope not… Like big fine?”
• When asked if the fine would be worth it, Brown joked, “No! Definitely not. I don’t make enough money for that s**t.”
• After leaving last night’s win over the Saints early, the Packers got some good news on Christian Watson. The wide receiver is dealing with “just a bruise” in his left knee, and could play on Sunday against the Vikings.
• That game will be critical in both the NFC North and NFC playoff race.

Matt LaFleur said the tests came back positive on WR Christian Watson’s left knee. “We got good news on him. It’s more just a bruise.”

LaFleur said Watson could potentially play Sunday at Minnesota depending on how he’s able to practice this week. pic.twitter.com/Nn2GM7jfzE

— Rob Demovsky (@RobDemovsky) December 24, 2024

• His season is already over, but this is a very positive update for Olu Fashanu.
• DB Chamarri Conner and T D.J. Humphries will miss the Chiefs’ Christmas Day game against the Steelers after being ruled out on Tuesday.
• T Jawaan Taylor and DL Chris Jones are listed as questionable.
• Jones suffered a calf injury during Kansas City’s win over the Houston Texans on Saturday. Taylor left the Texans game with a knee injury and did not return in the third quarter.
• Despite the short week and an early game on Christmas Day, the Kansas City Chiefs aren’t concerned about the status of Mahomes for the game against the Steelers.
• Mahomes injured his ankle in Week 15 against the Cleveland Browns, but showed no signs of it affecting his play during a win over the Houston Texans six days later where he went 28-for-41 for 260 yards and a touchdown. Mahomes also picked up 33 yards on the ground and scored on a 15-yard scamper.
• “Obviously the body’s going to be sore just with a short week and everything like that, but I think the ankle should be in a better place,” Mahomes said Monday. “We’ll see in practice [Monday], but as far as how I felt after this game compared to the one before, I’m definitely in a lot better place.”
• Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes scrambles away from Houston Texans pressure during the first half of an NFL football game, Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024 in Kansas City, Mo. The Chiefs defeated the Texans, 27-19. (AP Photo/Reed Hoffmann)
• Out of playoff contention, 49ers LT Trent Williams will miss the final two games of the season as he deals with an ankle injury.
• “(He) hasn’t been able to improve enough to get him out there,” said head coach Kyle Shanahan. “We don’t see that happening enough in these two weeks, especially the situation we’re in.”
• The 49ers have been without Williams, an 11-time Pro Bowler and three-time First-team All-Pro, for their last five games.
• SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA – NOVEMBER 17: Trent Williams #71 of the San Francisco 49ers runs onto the field before the game against the Seattle Seahawks at Levi’s Stadium on November 17, 2024 in Santa Clara, California. (Photo by Lachlan Cunningham/Getty Images)
• Pickens has missed the past two games due to a hamstring injury. He leads the team in receptions (55), targets (90), receiving yards (850) and has scored three touchdowns this season.
• The Steelers have a quick turnaround following Saturday’s defeat to the Baltimore Ravens. They will host the Kansas City Chiefs on Wednesday, Christmas Day, at home at 1 p.m. ET.
• Eagles coach Nick Sirianni didn’t have any medical updates regarding injured quarterback Jalen Hurts after Sunday’s loss to the Commanders, but confirmed on Monday that Hurts remains in concussion protocol after injuring his head against Washington.
• The Eagles finished the game with backup Kenny Pickett at quarterback and lost to fall a game behind the Lions and Vikings in the race for the No. 1 seed in the NFC playoffs. Hurts’ status will remain of significant interest as the Eagles prepare to face the Cowboys on Sunday.
• While it’s America’s Team that is getting the boot, the NFL made the right move here. The Cowboys-Eagles game set for Sunday will now kick off at 1 p.m. ET. The Packers-Vikings matchup — which will have serious playoff and NFC North implications — will take it’s place in the 4:35 p.m. ET slot.
• After his gruesome injury in their loss to the Chiefs, Texans wide receiver Tank Dell is set for surgery and a long recovery. He dislocated his knee, tore his ACL and more, head coach DeMeco Ryans confirmed on Monday.
• He’s out for the rest of the year, and will now start working toward recovering in time for the start of next season. Dell, who is in his second season in the league, finished with 667 receiving yards and three touchdowns on a career-high 51 receptions.
• Tight end Luke Musgrave, who hasn’t played since Week 4, is being activated by the Green Bay Packers for their Monday night matchup with the New Orleans Saints.

The #Packers are activating TE Luke Musgrave from injured reserve and he’ll play tonight against the #Saints, per source.

A remarkable return for Musgrave, who had ankle surgery in October and hasn’t played since Week 3. They’ll ease him in. pic.twitter.com/dQ4LtWVOns

— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) December 23, 2024

• Musgrave, 24, injured his ankle when it was pinned underneath players during a tackle and eventually required surgery for a torn ligament.
• Last season, the tight end appeared in 11 games (starting nine), catching 34 passes (on 46 targets) for 352 yards and one touchdown. Before his injury, Musgrave had five receptions for 22 yards.
• Following the Lions win over the Bears on Sunday, Detroit players in the locker room turned their attention to the Eagles-Commanders matchup, which was coming to an end shortly after they finished their game.
• How do we know? Just listen to what happens in this clip of head coach Dan Campbell speaking to the media. You can hear Lions players celebrating in the background as the Eagles lost on a last-minute Commanders touchdown. With a win, the Eagles could have clinched the NFC East and made solid strides toward securing the No. 1 seed (and getting that all-important bye).
• But Philly’s 36-33 loss makes it far easier for Detroit to sew up that No. 1 seed, and their players weren’t shy about expressing their joy.
• Braxton Jones of the Bears was carted off on Sunday during their loss to the Lions. According to Ian Rapoport, the offensive tackle has a fractured fibula, though luckily he avoided also fracturing his tibia. He should be back “long before training camp.

#Bears OT Braxton Jones, who was carted off yesterday, is believed to have suffered a fractured ankle, source says. He’s still undergoing tests, but as of now, it’s just the fibula, not the tibia, as well.

Jones faces a four-month recovery, back long before training camp. pic.twitter.com/rqEfSpk3M7

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) December 23, 2024

• Joe Burrow talked about that incredible pass after the Bengals’ 24-6 win over the Browns, and he had no idea how he’d pulled it off.
• “I was parallel. I don’t know how I threw it, but that one was pretty cool,” said Burrow.
• Then he followed up by giving all the credit to Tee Higgins for getting so open.
• “I need to do a better job at just picking my feet up in pocket,” he said. “I don’t know how Tee got so open. I’ll have to see it on tape, but he obviously ran a great route and saw him open enough to try that throw and was able to execute it.”
• One of the more incredible touchdowns on Sunday came from Bengals QB Joe Burrow. He threw — or tossed? — a pass to Tee Higgins as he was falling down, which Higgins caught for a TD.
• Higgins was asked about that TD after the game, but first let’s take a look at that wild play.
• So what did Higgins say about Burrow and that touchdown pass?
• “Motherf****r looked like Superman when he threw it. I’m calling him Superman from this point forward. F*** Batman. Superman.”