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Which NFL Teams have been eliminated from the 2025 Playoffs?
Keeping tabs on the NFL teams that are missing from the postseason picture.
It’s that time of the NFL season when fans are beginning to feel the elation of an upcoming playoff run — or else, of course, of the deflating letdown that comes with casting a covetous eye toward the upcoming NFL Draft with hopes of better success next year.
Yep, one by one, each team in the NFL is zeroing in on its postseason fate — whether it’s for better or for worse. For a few, like QB Patrick Mahomes and his one-loss Kansas City Chiefs, the playoff picture’s looked pretty clear for a while now. For the rest, the playoff dominoes are falling fast and furious in these final weeks of the NFL regular season.
Click here to keep tabs on which NFL teams have locked in their 2024 playoff berths. But to find out if your team has already been eliminated from playoff contention, keep scrolling below… and maybe keep a tearful tissue close by.
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The NFL teams eliminated from playoff contention in 2025
AFC Teams Eliminated From 2025 Playoffs
Cleveland Browns: The Browns were eliminated in Week 14, with a loss to the playoff-bound Pittsburgh Steelers that put their own playoff hopes officially out of reach. The Browns approach the end of the season at the bottom of the standings in the AFC North, nursing a 3-12 record at the time of this writing.
Jacksonville Jaguars: With only three wins to their credit this deep into the season, the Jags are hanging with the Tennessee Titans in the basement of the AFC South. Jacksonville’s playoff eligibility hit the skids in Week 13, courtesy of a 23-20 loss to the playoff-bound Houston Texans.
Las Vegas Raiders: Las Vegas’ Allegiant Stadium is an awesome place to play football — at least, that is, if you’re winning. It’s tough to be a Raiders fan in 2024, with Las Vegas dwelling decisively at the bottom of the AFC West. The Raiders have notched only three wins so far this season, with their crushing late defeat against Mahomes and the Chiefs nudging them out of contention in Week 13.
New England Patriots: New England is just one win behind the New York Jets in the AFC South, but it’s all academic at the end of the day: Neither team is playoff bound in 2024. The Pats headed for the postseason exit ramp in Week 13, falling in a close game to the Indianapolis Colts.
New York Jets: The Jets weren’t looking like playoff contenders well before Week 14, but that’s the week that did them in. The Miami Dolphins prevailed in overtime on December 8 to hand New York its 14th consecutive elimination from postseason play — the NFL’s longest active playoff dearth.
Tennessee Titans: Tennessee and Jacksonville have the nether reaches of the AFC South all to themselves, each owning only three wins apiece as the NFL regular season winds down. Credit the Jags with at least doing the elimination honors: It was Jacksonville’s Week 14 win over the Titans that officially knocked Tennessee out of contention.
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NFC Teams Eliminated From 2025 Playoffs
Arizona Cardinals: In a competitive NFC West division, the Arizona Cardinals had the playoffs in sight until it all came crashing down in Week 16. The Cards’ overtime loss to the Carolina Panthers on December 22 — coming on the same day that division leader the Los Angeles Rams won their own game against the Jets — deferred Arizona’s postseason hopes for at least another year.
Carolina Panthers: Late in the 2024 NFL season, QB Bryce Young and the Panthers have finally begun to show some much-needed signs of offensive life — even when they’re losing. But for 2024 at least, it’s definitely a case of too little, too late: The Panthers’ Week 13 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers closed the door on the cellar-dwelling NFC South team’s postseason hopes.
Chicago Bears: The Bears have it rough in the NFC North, where Detroit, Minnesota, and Green Bay all command decisive wining records. Managing only four wins through Week 16, the Bears had their playoff hopes dashed for good in Week 15, watching their mathematical odds sink to zero with the Washington Commanders’ win over the New Orleans Saints.
Dallas Cowboys: With seven wins to date this season, the Cowboys are at least looking down at the hapless New York Giants in the NFC East. But they’re also looking up at eternal division rivals the Philadelphia Eagles, who’re headed to the playoffs in a year that saw the Cowboys’ hopes sink in Week 16 — all thanks to the Eagles’ wild loss — with Dallas watching from the sidelines — to fellow division foes the Washington Commanders.
New Orleans Saints: The Saints got blanked in a 34-0 thrashing by the Green Bay Packers to finish off Week 16, in the process shutting out their postseason hopes as well. At least they’re not the only NFC South team to walk the razor’s edge: Division leaders the Atlanta Falcons and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers were still sweating it out at the start of Week 17 to find their own clear paths into the playoffs.
New York Giants: The Giants hold the dubious distinction of being the earliest NFL team to face playoff elimination this season, tapping out of the postseason on Thanksgiving Day after falling to NFC East rivals the Dallas Cowboys. To add insult to injury, it’s a mathematical certainty that the Giants will close out their 2024 regular season finishing last in the NFC East.
San Francisco 49ers: After winning the NFC just one year ago, the 49ers needed some help from other NFL teams to see their Super Bowl dreams rekindled this season. But in Week 16, it all went sideways. NFC West rivals the Los Angeles Rams won when they needed to, and the Washington Commanders stayed alive in the NFC East race — two dominoes that had to fall for the 49ers, even before they kicked off (and lost) on the road against Miami later that same day.
Be sure to stay tuned into NBC and Peacock as the playoffs kickoff, to catch exclusive games - and of course Sunday Night Football on NBC next season!
